On these lovely July days I am enjoying hanging out the laundry so much. Here is a chore that fits well into what we were discussing last week. It seems almost incredible that anyone would hang all the laundry outside in this day and age! Is it a waste of time? Don't we have a machine for this?
The paradox is that if the keeper of the home, the wife, the… housewife (to use a word that I love for its shock value)… hasn't scheduled every moment in a bid for efficiency*, what seems like a useless chore becomes a real pleasure. Getting away from the hum of the house, doing a repetitive task out where the birds are singing and you can enjoy the sun on the leaves and the dew on the grass, well, it's not so bad! In fact, the job satisfaction, as I once heard an Indian gentleman say in an interview on NPR, is extremely very high!
*You know I love efficiency — my father was an engineer and I am all about not wasting movements and so on. But there is a true efficiency of doing the task in an orderly and rational fashion and a false efficiency that doesn't take into account a universal openness to unknowns, hard to measure, and it's this latter type that I am challenging.
And of course, there's saving money and sanitizing your clothing in the sun. I though I would give you my how-tos, even though my mother would have laughed at the idea of a post about this! Just hang it, she'd say! But it's fun to talk about such things anyway…
Set up your line:
In my previous house I had a line that went from my covered back porch landing out to the edge of the garage, and it was on pulleys. That was great. I could stand there even in a light shower (knowing it would clear up shortly), with my pins in a hanging bag on a hook under the low roof and my basket on the floor of the porch.
Even my little kids would perch on the railing and pin the clothes up! Deirdre thought it was magical and cried tears of anguish when we moved. “How can we leave the clothesline?” I know, baby…
I don't have a picture of that setup, unfortunately. Maybe she can draw one some day!
My yard here where we put the line is downhill from the house; it's the one spot that is handy to the door, in the sun, and not near trees or where kids throw balls, but it's pretty wet underfoot in the spring.
Well, it used to be quite handy, when the laundry was in the mudroom; now my machines are way upstairs on the other side of the house, and I briefly considered a pulley line out of the window up there. However, the line would then be in the shade.
Turns out, though, that it's not the hardship you would think to carry the basket down. However, the wetness underfoot does limit my line-drying season. Otherwise it's a good spot.
So do what you can. Obviously the closer to where the wet clothes emerge, the better. But don't be daunted by a little distance — you can deduct it from your upper-arm exercises and steps later, if you keep track of such things, which I certainly do not!
If all you have is a balcony, a folding rack can work, or a line stretched from one side to the other. Keep the area swept and free of spider webs. An umbrella clothesline can work in a small yard and holds more than you think. The main thing is to have it relatively clean under your feet and in the breezy sunshine. Try not to be walking through mud or weeds to your line, because you won't be up to facing the task if it's not pleasant.
I advise you to put up enough line for several loads of washing if you have the room. You want to get that washer going early in the morning and be able to hang your clothes out by noon so things dry all in the one day. If you have to wait on things to dry before you can hang more, you'll be frustrated.
With all the laundry I was doing (seven kids and the household that goes along with that size family), I knew I wanted a lot of line! I have achieved the ideal setup as far as that goes (thanks to my husband of course!): The poles are 20 feet apart. They are 6 feet high (and at least two feet into the ground, in cement, although in the spring even the footings lean in the rush of water from the hill. I try to remember to push them in place before the ground dries out again but I don't always, so they may appear wonky some years!
The lines are 2 feet apart from each other. The crossbars are 8 feet long, so the outside lines are one foot in. This gives me 80 feet of line! Usually enough!
Hang the clothes:
I prefer spring clothespins; you can get them at the hardware store. I like having them in a clothespin bag or in my apron pocket, bringing them in every time — that way they last longer and don't get moldy. You can leave them out on the line and just replace them more often. On a porch or balcony they will last longer. I need to open the new pack I got in the spring!
Change your clothesline when it gets dirty. Clothesline is not expensive and a new one in the new season is a refreshing lift.
If your neighbors or visitors can see the line and you'd like some modest privacy, hang the undies and so on behind the shirts and towels, out of direct view.
I use one pin per small undergarment, two for underwear t-shirts. Hang shirts by the lower hem so you don't get awkward stretch marks on the shoulders. Hang pants, shorts, and skirts by the waistband so the hem isn't distorted.
Don't stretch the garment along the line — that way you have more room on your line and the item doesn't get pulled out. The exception is dish towels and napkins, which dry neater pulled to their full width (but not under tension, so that when you fold them they aren't pulled out on one edge, and will fold neatly).
If you are running out of room or clothespins, you can use one clothespin to secure two items — two dishcloths together or shirts sharing a pin on each edge with the next one, for instance. And put the ends of shirts closer to each other — they can hang down and will dry just fine.
Heavy mats can be doubled over the line, or their weight will cause them to pull out of the pins, especially if a strong breeze comes up. Big sheets and blankets can be pinned across two rows with four or six pins, hanging down between but not touching the ground.
Long ago I posted about one time when my friend's dryer was broken and she came over to hang her things. Her children did the chore for her and the littler kids pinned small garments to the bottoms of the bigger items that the taller kids had hung normally! It was pretty cute. And worked just fine.
I can get extremely OCD while hanging clothes, and have to remind myself that it's not that important! I end up fussing about whether dishtowels are arranged by kind together and socks as well… too silly.
Take them in:
I leave my basket out in the path between the asparagus beds. Be aware that the basket will kill the grass under it in the hot sun, even after just an hour or two! Somehow it doesn't kill the weeds on that path, though…
Before getting the clothes down, I shake the basket out so as not to import stray spiders and so on.
Take your clothes down, throw them into the basket, and voilà! Your laundry is ready to fold!
FAQs
Stiff towels? Doesn't bother me! I don't like wimpy, soft, one-tick-above-damp towels. I am always happy when I pull out a line-dried towel! That said, you can give them a fluff in the dryer if you really need to.
Bird poop? Because you've located your line away from trees, this rarely happens. If it does, you can spot clean easily or just re-wash. But I can count on one hand the times this has happened, really.
Rain? I try to time the drying to avoid the rain, obviously. Sometimes it rains, and you know what? The sun comes out and the things dry! They are on a clothesline! Worst case, you have to put them in the dryer for a little while, or hang inside. Oh well!
Bugs? Give the things a snap as you throw them into the basket.
Fading? I like to have an inside rack no matter what. The things that would fade outside will fade in the dryer too.
Pollen? In some seasons, the trees are spewing pollen and that can be a problem for those with allergies. I do the sheets in the dryer when the pollen is high. But usually it's not a problem. I wonder, too, if more exposure builds immunity? I don't know. But normally we don't worry about it. I will say that when the pollen is bad, it's a good idea to wipe the clothesline down with a damp towel so you don't get a yellow line on your clothes!
I hope you have a chance to hang your laundry out! If you do, what are your tips?
Remember, most things in life are learned by doing!
bits & pieces
- Of course, hanging laundry is part of daily life. Not being over-scheduled allows the woman to be free to meet the unusual and sometimes difficult aspects of life that are not so peaceful — but a peaceful existence requires that someone be available, and with a loving heart. I appreciated this reflection from Lucille Foley on her journey to the hidden life of home, the woman's secret weapon.
- I personally played Für Elise to death back in the day, and normally cringe whenever I hear it these days. I don't know how piano teachers get through the Für Elise stage… but here's a version that makes it all better again! Beethoven meets Flamenco
- I will never eat fake meat. Meat is good for you and for the environment! (When raised properly of course.)
from the archives
liturgical living
Our Lady of Mount Carmel — I should have saved that documentary I posted last week for today, but you can watch it now!
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Kate says
I lived in California for about 20 years and hung laundry all the time, including some winter days. We had miles of wire clothes line. I could have done the whole neighborhood! Now that I’m in Ohio, I rarely hang laundry. It rains often and suddenly. And I’m older and I don’t do as much laundry.
Julie K Whitmore says
A word about humidity? I live in Maryland.
and only seem to be able to use my beloved clothesline in the spring and fall with any regularity.
StepSteckBry says
Julie, I live in the Deepest South where the humidity in the Summer is almost always 60% or higher and temperatures well into the 90s. I hang laundry outside to dry and it does. If at the end of the day if still feels a bit damp which is rare, I pop it in the dryer for 5-10 mins and all is well.
Leila says
The humidity is an issue. Like I said, you figure things out as you do them. I can’t hang laundry here in early spring due to the wetness of the ground — I can’t even get to the line sometimes! You do what you can!
In humid weather you do need to leave air to circulate; no doubling up on clothespins, no hanging things by one pin. You probably have to start earlier in the day. And then, yes, sometimes a turn in the dryer is necessary, but at least it’s not for as long.
Melissa says
My jaw dropped when I saw the title of this post. About an hour ago I was walking inside from having hung my laundry on the line and thought, “Auntie Leila should write a post with specifics about how to pin up clothes, etc.”
I live in Brazil, where it is uncommon to have a dryer, though as an American this was a new thing for me. I have a wonderful, old gas dryer inherited from my missionary in-laws, but over the past few months I have been hanging laundry more, inspired by what you have written!
Thank you for this post, and for all your writing. I look forward to each Saturday in hopes of a new post. And I’ve loved the first and third volumes of the Summa Domestica, and just started the second last night (I read them out of order because my husband started in on the second, attracted by the beauty of the books!). I cannot overstate how you have encouraged me in my life as a homemaker. Thank you, and may God bless you!
Leila says
Melissa, that’s amazing!
I’m so glad you love the books! That makes me so happy!
Rebekah says
I absolutely love the ceiling clothes drying racks that seem so common in brazil! My husband is going to make me some cause I can’t seem to find them here.
Cirelo says
Try pulleymaid.com for hanging dryer racks– the best!
StepSteckBry says
Hanging laundry in my grandma’s MS Gulf Coast backyard is a warm memory for me. I loved how the clothes fluttered in the warm coastal winds and how the laundry always smelled of salt and sunshine. GrandMa is long gone and while I don’t live near the shore, I do hang my line between two huge red oaks in my central MS backyard. I like to sit on our deck with a cup of Earl Grey and watch the early morning sunshine cast shadows of the leaves, clouds, and occasional hawk across the sheets.
Amy says
How did you know my husband just put up a clothesline for me?! Thanks for this timely post! I never wanted the bother of hanging out clothes, but the financial situation being what it is, we’re looking at ways to save money. I have jus begin my clothesline experience and am enjoying it so far!
Elizabeth W says
I really love this theme of what our time is really for…I get very confused about how to think about my time and have a sort of default setting of kicking myself for wasting another day…anyway, keep it up!
The interesting Heather Heying, ex–Evergreen professor, who derives her philosophy from the evolutionary not the religious angle, had a Substack post the other day (“The trivia of days”) about the false bargain of efficiency and convenience. There was a haunting line: “Were we not to be freed from constant attention on the trivial? Was that not sold to us as the point? Instead we have the ascent of the trivial. Before, the mundane was also the fundamental, and therefore not trivial at all.” I saw it and thought, that reminds me of Auntie Leila…
Cirelo says
I went through a deep depression coming back from living overseas in a rural area. There I felt so necessary, like my work was essential for survival. I KNEW there that it mattered how I worked in the house because if I didn’t my children ( and I) would go hungry. No Supermarkets, frozen food or mcdonalds to fall back on. If I didn’t hang the laundry out it would be days before there was something clean to wear. It was so real. It felt like nothing mattered when I returned home to ease. Why bother when I’m so clearly easily replaced by something that can do it better? Posts like this helped reground me in a sense of purpose.
Mrs. Bee says
In Italy you can find neighbors sharing a clothesline on pulleys stretching from one side of the street to the other, or across an alley. It’s more common in the south than in the north, where people are more formal, but even in the north villages are sprinkled with lines right in the streets, because yards are rare in close-knit neighborhoods and towns, but houses can go up two, three or even four floors, so up goes a clothesline! It’s a cheerful, soothing sight that speaks of the comfort of being home and taking care of your family.
My grandmother taught my mother to choose plastic-coated ropes, they are durable and easy to wipe clean, which is a must where there’s some air pollution.
Rebecca says
This post brings back a lot of memories. I was born in the early eighties, one of five children. My mother had no dryer and hung all the laundry. In the winter it was hung in the back room that was just for the woodstove. I did not like that my clothes smelled like the stove!
I helped hang and take down the laundry in the summer. My mother did artistic painting projects for pay at the big farm table and at some point we children started painting words, pictures and patterns on the clothespins. A peek at her clothespins now shows pins painted by us, our childhood friends, random visitors and even the man who I ended up marrying. When my mom hangs the laundry, each pin holds a memory. A couple of years ago, she asked the grandkids to add to the collection.
My clothespins are from here: https://classicamericanclothespins.blogspot.com/2013/09/classic-american-clothespins.html?m=1
I couldn’t stand the cheap ones anymore.
I also am ridiculously compelled to hang items in categories.
Great post!
Stephanie says
One tip I picked up somewhere about t-shirts. I had issues with lower quality shirts stretching out and being too wide after being on the line. Now I fold them in half lengthwise and give a tug to stretch them from neck to hem. Then hang from the hem, still folded in half. So far they dry just fine that way and fit afterward!
Theresa Tucker says
I grew up in San Francisco (in the 70s & 80s when there was still a strong middle class mostly Irish & Italian Catholic cohort.) Behind our flat there were 2 pulley clothes lines which held clothes and cookies and more. It connected us with our beloved landlady, Mrs. Kane. My mom & her would always stick their heads out & chat when the other one was hanging out wet clothes.
Emma says
What a wonderful image!
Lisa Beth W. says
I love hanging out laundry, but I have to figure out where to put a line here in our small yard that has so much shade. I don’t want to have to resort to one of those umbrella style lines. I have usually had a large, sturdy, retractable line (with five lines and about 25 feet long), on six inch posts buried deep, so as to avoid having it in the way.
I always fold my T-shirts over the line in half so I don’t usually need pins for them. And they don’t get stretched strangely downwards at the sides of the hems, either.
I have the same laundry basket as you, I think! Green, with yellow handles, possibly bought in the 1990’s? It’s seemingly indestructible!
Stephanie says
Baskets! I think I had that basket in purple in my college days. Would have been very late ’90s. Do baskets exist that are sturdy enough to carry a large load of wet laundry? It seems like I constantly have broken baskets. I’ve taken to layering 2 or 3 baskets to carry the laundry out to the line, but even so, I have a feeling they won’t last all that long.
Leila says
Ah yes — gosh I’ve had mine for so long! The new ones do seem very flimsy!
Lisa Beth W. says
I find that of the readily available and not crazy expensive ones, Sterilite is the best. That’s the brand of my big ancient one. 🙂 And some smaller ones that I have.
Sarah says
I’ve also recently found that IKEA bags make great laundry baskets that one can sling over a shoulder, still carry at least a bushel of clothes, and tote a baby! But I love laundry baskets too. I just dump the contents into my bag and then leave them to be filled in the rooms again.
Theresa Tucker says
Sorry for a 2nd comment but I love clotheslines. Not sure if this is a problem across the country but here in the rural West, if you leave clothes on the line overnight, you’ve got to shake them vigorously because sometimes bats take up residence. We learned this early on when we moved here. & Yes, it’s hard to get a bat out of your house!
Leila says
Oh my!!
Aunteater says
We have had birds attempt to nest in the clothes before— that was when we had a covered sun-porch, enclosed (we thought– but there turned out to be an opening near the roof), and I would sometimes leave jeans on the line for a couple of days when it was very humid, just to be absolutely certain they were dry. When I was a kid, I used to get lazy about baskets when getting clothes off the line– I would unpin stuff, and throw it all over my shoulder. One day, toward evening, I threw a couple of shirts and then a towel over my shoulder, and then, right by my ear, the laundry *squeaked*! I threw it all on the patio and backed up a few steps. Mouse. Arg.
Sherrylynne in Mpls says
Other advantages (..an ode to laundry lines from Minnesota)
–a dream to iron line-dried men’s dress shirts; so crisp!
–as I like to show my children the dryer lint catcher …. that’s your beloved shirt or blanket in there, but not when you hang it on the line. You are preserving your thread count.
–no dryer sheets needed. Nature’s scent is heavenly.
–linen sheets and pillowcases dried on line make me swoon. It brings me back to our honeymoon in France and Switzerland.
–and airing out blankets, comforters, duvets, etc (especially in the winter) is a treat to bring back in and see it all fluffed and fresh again.
–hangers spaced with a pin on the line is how I get more on my small line on my tiny city lot. My boys love how their t-shirts look like brand new again.
–lastly, I live in the city and have a nice garden but for my neighbors visible on one side…Yet when the laundry is hung, it is all sweet privacy and my feminine genius flags in the breeze and announces, “Yes, yes, I am a housewife!” Thank you, Leila! You are speaking my love language. Keep it coming!
Leila says
Great comments — and putting shirts on hangers outside is a great idea!
Anonymous mom says
Just my two cents on the carnivore article- IMO – after uncomfortable trial and error- I’ve found that swinging too far one way or the other on the meat versus fiber issue is just foolishness. I have digestive problems and hormonal problems and as I’ve gone down the extreme exclusion diets to try to get relief I’ve actually made more damage.
I need fiber to regulate my hormones and create a healthy microbiome. I need meat to get quality nutrition.
The diet God provided for his own people was meat and bread and honey and milk. I think we need to examine the real issues( which is a lot of food contamination in America and a sick obsession with “Health” and diets).
As I also work on feeding my family from our home built food forest, and urban farm animals, I can see that one is incomplete without the other. We need our meat rabbits and chickens and we need the starches and greens and fruits. And they need each other to grow.
So while I agree- meat IS good for the earth and for us- the extreme carnivore position of the author made it a weak article.
Leila says
Yes, I agree. A good balance. We are so out of control. Why can’t we just eat good food and stop trying to come up with new fake ways to produce what is abundant in God’s gift to us?
Jennifer says
Probably most, if not all, women already know this… but remember not to hang sweaters unless you want them stretched out! I bought a 3-tiered mesh shelving contraption several years ago (probably from amazon) that hangs with 2 hooks. It allows items which need to be laid out flat to dry to do so and is convenient if you have limited space to lay out your sweaters for hours to dry!
Leila says
Yes, great tip! Always lay sweaters flat to dry!
Denise B says
I also have fond memories of hanging laundry out whenever visiting my grandma. Laundry day and using the wringer washer was one of my favorite activities! It was not permitted on the Military bases of my childhood. Here is my tip…Now, unless a storm is in sight, I fold as I take down from the line. It is so pleasant and easy (especially for those of us that hang like items together). And putting everything away is a breeze.
Carol Kennedy says
Thank you for the article about meat! Meat is under attack these days and we are in danger of losing it’s value in our children’s diet. My family has moved towards an almost exclusively animal based diet, with little starchy/processed foods. Recently my son was in a discussion with friends in which he posited that meat was more nutritious than vegetables and was roundly attacked (in a friendly debate), which led him down a rabbit trail of nutrition study. He wrote it all up on his substack (https://jfish1535.substack.com/p/suppose-then-we-sit-down-and-argue) and passed it on to his friends. I am sure he wishes he had found the article you shared (I just passed it on to him).
As for hanging laundry outside—unfortunately it isn’t allowed in my neighborhood, but the principle of slowing down and doing things for effectiveness rather than efficiency has been close to my heart for a long time. Thanks for the reminder!
Amelia says
I was hoping to do this more at our new house with a lovely acre of land. However, everything I dry smells bad! I don’t know what in the world is happening. It didn’t happen at my old house and stuff from my dryer doesn’t smell, but I don’t know what in the yard could be causing it. Any troubleshooting tips? I’m sad not to use the big line my husband installed.
Melissa says
Have you tried putting it in the dryer for ten minutes after you take it down off the line? I find that helps with the smell. 🙂
Leila says
That’s so weird!
Is it that the clothes are sitting in the basket long enough to get a bit moldy before being hung?
Is there air flow around your line? Is there some weird tree nearby?
Make your friends come over and figure it out! And then tell us!
Aunteater says
If it is very, very humid where you are, you could be getting a bit of mildew in the clothes. That has definitely happened to us during the rainy season.
Amelia says
I tried again with a small portion of a load and no smell, thank goodness! Now I suspect it was a particular pollen or similar something in the air, so I will pay attention that time next year. It is a lovely simple pleasure to be able to use it again.
Rachel says
I got a rotary drier for Christmas. It has 196 feet of drying space, and I love that I never have to move my basket when hanging laundry. Now I just need to get into the habit of using it!
Carol Kennedy says
By the way, the Beethoven link doesn’t seem to be working.
Leila says
Ah, thanks, fixed it!
Elizabeth says
Line-dried clothes is about as good as it gets! I change bed linens but will “save” them for washing on a day when I know I can safely hang them outside (rainy south La season). Nothing like crawling into a bed made with fresh sheets from the clothes line! And yes, I do organize like pieces before I head to the clothes line for efficient hanging.
I use our old kids’ wagon to transport the clothes basket to the clothesline….it can carry a huge basket of heavy damp clothes along with an occasional grandchild coming along to help Grandma hang the clothes. In addition to extending the life of those weaker new clothes baskets, the wagon also helps extend the life of my not so young arms.
Years ago I had a young nephew come for a visit and when he saw the clothes drying on the line he asked if my drier was broken!
Kimberlee says
Oh, lovely topic! There’s nothing like fresh air scented clean sheets and towels. We have never owned a dryer, but I’ve never had a line either; I prefer to use drying racks (I have super sturdy Amish-made wooden ones) or just the deck railings and chairs. This way I can bring items in as soon as they are dry rather than waiting for when the whole load is dry, and I can quickly grab all the clothes if it starts to rain heavily. It’s also faster without pins (I know speed isn’t everything, it’s just how I’ve always done it!). Washing and hanging things inside out cuts down on fading, and I bring colored items in as soon as they are dry. I give each article a good shake to get wrinkles out before hanging, and make sure things are hung ‘straight’ so they dry in their proper shape. Dress shirts, blouses and dresses go on hangers as someone mentioned – really cuts down the ironing. Underthings can go on the inner rungs of the rack. Hanging clothes on racks indoors helps humidify the heated house in winter when the weather is too bad for outdoor hanging. I appreciate the mention of upstairs lines- made me remember my grandfather’s two family house when I was a kid, where each level had its clothes line, both running to a very tall pole. 🙂
Leila says
Yes to shakes and straightening!
Aunteater says
I know we all have our own tried-and-true ways to do it, but…. eek! You’re hanging the shirts wrong! Doing it the way shown in the pics will stretch the sides of the shirt, sometimes permanently. It is better to fold the bottom hem of the shirt over the line, and use three pins That way if it’s stretches, it does so evenly. They don’t dry quite as fast that way, but it’s better for the shirts.
Leila says
Ha! I have tried all the ways… I don’t like folding over because then the shirt has a line and a mark from the pins. Since I wear my shirts (knit t-shirts) outside (don’t tuck), I don’t want that line, nor do I want the wear from rubbing on the clothesline. I don’t find that they stretch when I do it this way, but if I pulled them all the way apart rather than let them hang down as shown in the pics, they would stretch.
But yes, each housewife simply has to DO the thing and see what she thinks! I’m happy to have you do it your way!
Mary Helen says
Love hanging laundry, for all the reasons everyone has mentioned!
My tip – when the sun is very strong (most of the summer here in VA), I bring my laundry basket back inside after hanging. When I used to leave it empty under the clothesline until I was ready to take down, the sun weakened the plastic and it cracked sooner.
Anna says
“But it’s fun to talk about such things anyway…”
I love laundry, so thank you! It is my prayer and dream to have a clothesline. Sometime soon, hopefully!
This post is music to my ears.
Elizabeth says
Thank you Auntie Leila—I was the one that asked about line drying a few posts back, so this was perfect, of course! Reading through all the comments now to absorb all the helpful tips. I’ve been enjoying my makeshift clothesline this summer, so I can’t wait to install something more permanent.
Amy A. says
If I was going to write an Auntie Leila style post in the vein of “How to take a shower” this would be my topic of choice 🙂 So lovely to see so many other people chiming in! I will share one tip I have learned for anyone who finds the repeated bending of hanging clothes on the line to be a troublesome part of the chore (those of us who are pregnant or have back pain – I am both on a regular basis!) Obviously the easiest thing is to have a helpful child with you to hand you things from the basket, or put the basket on something nearby like a folding chair or a picnic table. Failing that, when I am hanging small items like underwear, nursing tanks, boxer shorts, etc., these are the ones I am most likely to drop if I try to hold them in one hand while hanging/pinning/snapping with the other. So I run my arm through the leg holes of underwear and boxers, through the arm holes of tank tops, etc., and voila, I can carry more than I could just in my fist, they don’t get crumpled in my hand, AND I can’t drop them! It was a blessed day when I figured that one out!
Dixie says
That’s smart, Amy! When I hang things to dry on hangers on my shower curtain rod, I just lay a stack of wet things over my shoulder to carry into the bathroom. It works well for T-shirts, especially.
Oh, boy, I really want an outdoor line now!
Amy A. says
Dixie I often put larger things over my shoulder, like Tshirts that you mentioned. I found the smaller items kept falling off, which necessitated a new solution. Or maybe I just need to lift more laundry baskets and broaden my shoulders! 😉
Anna says
These comments remind me of when I lived in Jerusalem and we would hang laundry on the roof where I lived and volunteered. The laundry would dry in ten minutes! It was very hot and dry. It was so much better than the dryer.
Elizabeth Pullen says
In regards to your article about eating real meat: Sadly, there is a new disease that develops after being bitten by a Lone Star tick that makes a person allergic to all mammal meat, called “alpha-gal”. My 17 year old daughter has it.. If she eats any beef, pork, venison or consumes by products from them, she can develop an anaphylactic reaction.She can’t even tolerate the smell of bacon cooking. We have had no beef, pork, or venison in the house for two years. We eat only chicken ,turkey, fish and seafood. We live in Virginia and this disease is on the rise!,
Leila says
I have heard of this!
Have you seen this report of acupuncture remedy? https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acu.2021.0010?journalCode=acu
Midwest housewife says
My husband had this several years ago. He would break out in terrible hives all over, even the bottoms of his feet. He also had wheezing and difficulty breathing. Over the years since, he’s been able to slowly add back in beef and venison. Now he can eat a steak and potato dinner without trouble. Like the tick toxins finally were flushed out or diluted? Maybe there’s hope your daughter could eventually eat mammal meat, too.
ringofendlesslightblog says
Oh thank you Lelia! I’ve been hang drying my clothes for a couple of years now and it brings me great joy. However I’ve been hanging them wrong😂 I’ll try the upside down method on the load in the washer now. I actually get sad in the winter when I cant use my line any more😭
Esther says
Where we are in life right now prevents me from line drying but at one of our houses my husband installed two retractable lines that could be moved into the garage in inclement weather. Our electric bill dropped by a third! One of my tricks was to put a laundry basket of wet clothes in a stroller or wagon and just push it along with me to reduce the amount of walking back and forth. Also a bucket clipped to the line with a carabiner for the clothespins. I hung a lot of prefold diapers out those couple years!!
eileen0829 says
Ah pollen ruining my laundry! If anyone struggles with a pollen allergy, check out the book Gut Health and Physiology–allergies are the lowest form of autoimmune disease and the solution to a pollen allergy is gut rehabilitation. My family members suffer debilitating pollen allergies but are getting better and better with gut rehab! Check out the article, “Pollen is not the Problem” on the Healthy Home Economist.
Sarah says
This is just lovely! Thank you, Auntie Leila. I always thought laundry on a line looked beautiful. One thing I’ve found especially helpful – “dew bleaching”. There’s a reference to it in Anne’s House of Dreams, where Mrs. Lynda has some quilts to freshen and says “dew bleaching will work wonders.” Leaving clothes out overnight is magic! Best thing ever for getting rid of odd detergent perfumes on those lovely hand-me-downs. Leaving the clothes out in the rain is even better for stubborn perfumes, letting them dry on the line for a day or so. Just in case it’s helpful to someone else with a basket of otherwise lovely finds!
Leila says
Oh yes, a real process — thanks for reminding us of the name from the Anne books! Dew bleaching is for real! If I go through my whole whitening process (I write about it in the laundry posts here and also in my book) and am at my wits’ end, out in the sun the item goes!
In general, the line is the solution.
aussiethreads says
Here in Australia it is the norm to hang your washing on the line. Those who don’t tend to live in the inner city. I only use a dryer when it rains for days, and many don’t own dryers
Sarah says
I am late to the party, but I love this post! Of all my jobs as a housewife, the laundry routine has taught me the lesson you talk about on this blog, that if I accept the daily tasks as my vocation and devote myself to mastering them, instead of rushing through them as burdens to get out of the way, then I will find that those very tasks give me so much contentment and peace, and I find myself actually looking forward to them!
I live in CA and have never owned a dryer, so I have been forced to accept line drying as my only option if we are to have clothes to wear. Now I honestly look forward to hanging laundry. I love the whole process of sorting the laundry, soaking, treating stains, giving extra care to delicates, washing and then hanging it all out in the sunshine. I feel like I have discovered a hidden talent in me that noone even cares to recognize these days. I am good at doing laundry! I relate to Mary Emma in the Ralph Moody books, who has a reverence for fine laundry and took such pride in her work as a laundress.
Thanks for this post and the comments. I love talking about these kinds of things.