EcoWednesday – In Praise of the Humble Clothesline
October 24, 2007
It’s a new theme here at NMTR called EcoWednesday. The purpose of this is to share what you’ve done today to help minimize your eco-footprint. Or just your general thoughts on the environment. Feel free to grab this handy graphic to use if you like, ok?
Today let’s talk about the humble clothesline. Several weeks ago I decided to stop using the dryer and use a clothesline full time. I’ve been forced to use the dryer about 3 times because of rain (and not wanting my clothes to sour in the washing machine), but other than that, I’ve kept to my goal. Next time I go to IKEA I’m going to snag one of those really nice indoor clothing racks so that even when it’s wet out I can hang laundry.
While it’s added a few minutes each day to my laundry doing duties, it’s not bad. It takes me about 4 minutes to hang a load of laundry. It’s good exercise lifting wet clothing above my head, and it gets me and the kids outside. And I love the way laundry dried in the sun smells, without any chemicals from fabric softeners.
There’s a neat website devoted to the “cause” of the clothesline at: The Laundry List. These folks have actually formed a non-profit organization. It makes for some interesting reading.
I’ve always thought that clothes hanging on the line were beautiful, but apparently a lot of suburbanites disagree. According to the NY Times, “Clotheslines are banned or restricted by many of the roughly 300,000 homeowners’ associations that set rules for some 60 million people.” Another reason I won’t ever live in a subdivision again. Ugh.
Here’s another option available from Amazon: Chrome Expandable Indoor Folding Drying Rack
More Posts By Carrie:
- I Think I Miss My Dryer
- EcoWednesday – Saving Ink and Paper and Indoor Drying Racks
- It’s Frugal Week – Better Late Than Never
Comments
3 Responses to “EcoWednesday – In Praise of the Humble Clothesline”
Got something to say?
We love hanging our sheets out in the spring and summer sun. Two times this year though we got hit with unexpected rain – once we had to run out and get some cheap sheets at the store because our laundry was soaked and the power went out! LOL! But otherwise, it’s great.
I have a nice indoor rack too – we hang up a lot of our clothes anyway because it’s just helps your clothing last longer. Husband just doesn’t like bras and undies hanging all over the house!
great new theme. i will try to join in if i can remember.
[...] Carrie Lauth presents EcoWednesday – In Praise of the Humble Clothesline posted at Natural Moms Talk Radio. [...]