Once your clothes come out of your washing machine all nice and clean from your homemade laundry detergent don't automatically pop them in the dryer. Line dry them instead! I know many of you live in a community with homeowners association restrictions that don't allow you to line dry your clothes. But, you CAN still line dry your clothes with a little effort.
I used a couple of folding drying racks like this one here while we lived in an apartment and in a neighborhood that didn't allow clotheslines. In the winter I would set them over our heating vents to help them dry faster and it also helped to add moisture to the air during the cold months. Humidifying and drying at the same time, love a multi task!
But now we live in a lovely community that doesn't put a ban on clothesline but, sadly, I don't see any in the backyards. Right now I just have some lines strung between two trees and it can be taken down and up when need be. I hope (cross my fingers!) that next spring I can have a permanent one set up once we clear out some more of our property. It's a little overgrown in spots to say the least.
Why go to the hassle of line drying you ask?
You save money but not running your dryer. How's that for a big reason? I don't know how much but I've seen it estimated to be about $25 a month. It depends on how often you do laundry, there are 5 of us in my family and I do a good bit of laundry.
The clothes last longer. Lint is fabric from your clothes, so every time you run them through the dryer a little piece of your clothes is left behind.
My clothes come out less wrinkly. Hurray for less ironing!
I don't have to worry about leaving the house with a dryer running, you know the whole risk of fire thing.
It's good for the earth God gave us.
Sunlight bleaches and disinfects, so put your whites out during the sunniest times.
It's exercise.
Some helpful hints for those who are ready to give it a go:
Shake your clothes out before hanging them.
Hang socks by the toes.
Hang shirts by the hems so you don't mess up the shoulders. You can hang knit shirts on a hanger to retain their shape.
Dresses can be hung on a hanger and then on the line.
I hang the undies up by one clothespin to save space.
Fold sheets in half because they take up a lot of space.
Plan laundry days around the weather.
Hang towels and other heavy items on the end to eliminate saggy clothes line.
To make the laundry chore more tolerable, I made a cute little clothespin bag. It makes me happy. :)
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| pretty patchwork details |
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| full of pins |
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| she's bulging with all the pins we need! |
Don't line dry? Well, the clothespin bags are also great for storage. You can use it store craft supplies, bag clips in the pantry, mittens in the winter time or you daughters tights in her closet. And I'm sure you can think of a few more ways they could be useful!
