The older I
get, the more I love my air conditioning. It’s an extravagance that I didn’t
have as a youngster, as well as a clothes dryer. But I wouldn’t want to do
without either now. To enjoy the cool
air in the hot summer months, I try to do all my outside chores in the early
morning and late evening. That includes hanging the clothes out to dry and
bringing them in when they’re done. I could just throw them in the dryer but I
really hate to turn on something that generates heat during the months when I’m
paying to cool the house. So the oven and the dryer are rarely used in the
summertime. If you’ve been thinking
about using a clothesline but you aren’t sure about it, here are some tips from
a seasoned user. Your family size, weather, and daily routine will influence
what works for you.
Since there are only 2 of us, I find it easier
to wash a small load every evening and hang it out first thing the next
morning. This way, if the weather turns rainy for a day or 2, I don’t get too
far behind. If I had a large family, I’d probably check the weather to choose a
wash day and hang everything out the next.
With
multiple loads I’ve found that the lag time in waiting for a load to wash,
before hanging it out, is an inefficient use of time and not everything will
get finished drying before the end of the day. It’s much more streamlined to
wash one day and hang the next if you don’t have a mountain of laundry to do.
It’s also important
to know how much space your washing will take up on the line. If you wash more
than will fit in one go, you’ll be spending more time checking on it and
rearranging to get everything done on time. But that may be ideal if you’re spending
the day washing AND drying. In this case, it’s handy to start by washing the
heavier items that will take longer to dry- towels, jeans, and blankets. The
early morning breeze and noontime sun will help them to dry quicker so you can
move on to the lighter items that can dry in the afternoon, when the air may be
more still.
If you’ve
only washed enough to fill the line once, it’s easy to incorporate a time to
take down and fold into a routine. There’s an old saying, “clothes off the line
before suppertime.” It works into my plan to wait until the air is a little
cooler before I go out to take them off the line.
Taking
clothes off the line may seem a little daunting at first. After all, you’re
outside and everything is a little stiff. But a firm shake is all it takes to
loosen up the material enough to fold it and stack it in the basket. Since all
the clothes are lined up and visible, sorting into a basket for each person is
also a breeze! If the stiffness is too much to tolerate, you can also tumble it
in the dryer for 5-10 minutes on low heat to restore the softness and still
reduce the amount of heat you’re generating.
Whether you
choose to start hanging out your laundry regularly or just have a clothesline
as a backup tool, one of the best benefits to line drying is the fresh sunshine
smell your clothes will have. I hope these tips will ease any doubts about
giving it a try!
