It’s a beautiful sunny morning in Seattle and my clothes are already washed and out hanging on the line. I’m taking advantage of the free natural solar dryer that we all have available. I, frankly, have become a bit obsessed over this whole line-drying thing!
It all started a while back when my dryer suddenly didn’t heat anymore – still worked, but no heat. This was in the dead of winter – rainy, damp, cold and wet out. I was trying to find places in the house to hang things; the shower curtain rod, backs of chairs and hanging things around the house. Things dried fairly quickly – a little stiff, but okay. I decided to invest in air-drying aids to continue on this ‘new’ line-drying adventure.
I got one of those folding clothes drying racks. They hold quite a bit of clothing and they are good to use in winter, or when it’s raining out. Another handy thing is a lingerie hanging dryer – this is a hanger with a rack of attached clips. It’s great to hang socks and underwear on. I also hung a cotton clothesline outside. This worked for awhile but the cotton line slowly started disintegrating over time…I needed a more durable clothesline.
I searched high and low for a decent clothesline but there were seemingly none to be found. Then one day I was in the auto supplies department at Target and happened to espy all kinds of rope (so that’s where they hide them!) I bought some heavy nylon rope used to tie up boats; I figured that would be durable. It works great!
I have gotten really used to my air-dried clothing. Everything is so clean…not with that filmy layer of dryer sheet residue. It’s been determined that you can save up to 20% on your energy bills just by line-drying, so that’s a big incentive too. Plus the lovely sunshiny smell of air-dried clothing is something that cannot be duplicated. It takes a bit of getting used to having clothes out and about drying…but there is something just so homey and comforting about it. Seeing clothes waving on a line is just so…cheerful!
Happy drying!
~Marilyn
I'm Marilyn, and I'm obsessed with vintage clothing, thrift stores, clotheslines, and Chanel. Welcome to my down-to-earth world!
MMMM…nothing smells better than sun dried sheets…
I wonder if they even sell clothes lines anymore. I remember the day when everybody had one and you had to be careful running around after dark in people’s yards… You could be hung!! Not by the neighbors, but the clothesline…LOL
Thanks for the nice memories..
Hi Debbie – My sheets are out drying on the line as we speak. A beautiful warm sunny day today…can’t wait to smell the intoxicating aroma of sun-dried sheets!