I Love Clotheslines

I love to hang up clothes to dry. I get it from my mother, who did laundry for a big family long before dryers were common. You'd think that after years of it, she'd have gotten tired of it, but it was always one of her favorite things to do.

One of the nicest things my son ever did for me was put up old fashioned clotheslines in my back yard. He had someone make metal T posts, then set them in concrete and strung the lines. I love it and use it as much as I can.

I also have a yarn and string combination in my basement, which one day is going to break and take down a small load of wet clothes. Then I'll be ready for a more stable indoors "clothesline." (Diehard frugalista: I'll get the most out of that flimsy line that I can first.)

Anyway, I went browsing, planning ahead to that day. There are a lot of sites online where you can find retractable lines, wooden or metal racks or other clothes drying products, but one that caught my attention as I browsed with this in mind, is a site from Australia (Lifestyle Clotheslines) whose products almost make me wish for that tacky little line to fall down now.

I'm not kidding. I daydreamed about using some of those lines. They look so trim and fit right in... ok, I'm not paid to advertise this site! But I did enjoy my time there. I wonder what the shipping would be from Australia...

Frugal Bonus to Line Drying and Ironing Clothes

After I took this picture, I was stricken by the statement it made. Something about a die-hard frugalista? :)

It's a given that we can save utility dollars by drying clothes on a clothesline, but when we line dry clothes, we're not only saving on the electricity or gas it takes to run the automatic dryer, we're saving on wear and tear of fabric.

Dryers pummel clothes - they beat them against each other and against the dryer drum under heat. Why do they turn out so soft? Ever put on a pair of worn jeans and enjoy how much softer they feel than a new pair? The dryer is wearing out the fibers of your clothes.

Drying clothes in an automatic dryer also sets stains which usually become permanent.

If you pull clothes from a washer, put them in a dryer, then on a hanger or in a drawer, the chances of seeing minor problems are small. Not until they're large problems do you notice them, and then it takes a lot more trouble to repair - and sometimes it's too late anyway.

When you iron clothing, you get a chance to notice worn areas, loose threads and stains. You can deal with these right away, saving a bigger problem in the future and often, saving the item itself.

Moral for the day: An ounce of prevention is worth more than the cure! Or... maybe it has something to do with shoveling snow from under the clothesline.