Someday I'll write about how great it is to live in a house now instead of an apartment. There are all sorts of advantages and I hope I will continue to recognize them as such. Right now I need some really practical advice concerning a very old practice: hanging clothing on a clothesline to dry. Pretend I don't know anything about it, because as a kid I had virtually no interest in matters that are of utmost importance to me now.
Is there any difference between hanging clothes outside to dry in summer versus winter? How long should the clothes be left out in the sun? Are wooden clothes pins better or are plastic? Any ideas on how I can get both Parker and the wet laundry outside safely? Any clothes pin storage solutions in mind?
I don't have a clothesline yet, but I'm looking forward to getting one.
I'm interested in saving money on laundry in other ways as well. When I use my dryer, I know it's better to dry the clothes on low heat because this causes less wear and tear, but I wind up running it two to three times at thirty minutes each. Would I save more energy using a sensory dry on medium heat, or what? Because there will be days when I have to use the dryer. I am soon to be on the market for a new laundry cleaning agent because we're about to stop ordering from the company we always got our detergent from. Which detergents do you like, and do you prefer liquid or powder.
Anything else I ought to know that I haven't thought to ask?
6 comments:
I grew up hanging clothes on a clothes line with my grandmother. Hanging clothes out in the winter will take a lot longer to dry. My grandmother would leave them out until they were dry. She always used wooden but that was before plastic was made. I use plastic at home. My wooden ones have molded and sometime leave a yellow mark on light colored clothes. I would try putting Parker in a playpen outside if you don't want him running around. My grandmother had made a bag that hung on the clothes to store her pins in. It had a big opening so all she had to do was pull one out. Maybe try hanging a wide open bag on a hanger? Just FYI clothes that dry outside sometimes tend to be stiff and sometimes don't smell very good. We use liquid clothes detergent because the powder always clumps on me. We buy whatever detergent is cheapest. These days it's Purex.
I'm a Tide fan, myself.
Disadvantage to clotheslines: birds like to sit on them, and you know what happens next.
My only brainstorm about how to get both the kid and the clothes outside is 3 multiple trips. Playpen, kid, then clothes. Not a great solution, I know, but that's the best I have.
Saving money on using the dryer: Put the clothes through on extra spin cycle (right after the last rinse cycle). That may help dry them out some more by flinging more water of the clothes. Talk to dermatologist Robert about that. He has a washing machine that he's very proud of.
We hang a lot of our clothes to dry in the house. It cuts down on the outdoorsy aroma.
We've had better luck in the last few years doing small loads in the dryer. It seems to help with wrinkles and drying time.
Man, isn't having a house (and a yard) great.
I hang clothes out year round. They do take longer to dry in the winter but if you start the day with a load washed the night before and keep the loads coming, you can get 4 loads hung out before 10 a.m.--that usually gives them plenty of time to dry before the sun sets.
Walmart sells a good bag for clothespins that you can hang on the line. Another alternative is a clothespin apron w/ pockets--that's what I use. You can get one especially for clothespins or use one of the lightweight nail pouches sold cheaply as advertising helps at Home Depot, etc.
Personally I find that cotton clothes hung out to dry iron out nicer and more professional looking than those put through the dryer.
I know that hanging them out saves a ton of wear and tear on clothes, as I have two tablecloths that I have used for about 15 years now nearly every week and they are only just now wearing out.
If you want to get adventurous, you could try making your own laundry detergent.
It may be a lot of work for little payoff, though. I know Shannon wouldn't want this stuff anywhere near hear clothes.
The Recipe
Daniel--Looks like fun stuff. I might even be willing to try it except it probably doesn't come in a recipe for delicate baby skin. I don't particularly want to invest in a supply of borax either. Thanks for the link!
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