The Laundry Line

I know lots of my peers remember growing up with laundry lines of some sort or another, and running between the lines of clothes drying in the wind. I remember the feel of running between the sheet lines, and feeling the slightly damp cloth try to grab me on the way through. I had forgotten, however, the fragrance that came with that smell.

My husband and I finally decided to ask our neighbours if we could use the old reel on a pole that they have in the back - it looks as if our house used it years ago, as the reel was pointing our way anyway, and since they weren't using it, we thought it would be good to have someone use it! They agreed, and away to Rona we went, picking up a laundry line kit, and various assortments of pins.

Now, in Vancouver, especially East Vancouver, you see laundry lines hanging out the backs of most of the houses. Perhaps because this is how it is in Europe (China too?), and we have so many of us recently immigrated. I don't know, but I do know that I am used to seeing laundry waving in the backyards of my neighbours, and was just a product of 'my generation' in thinking dryers were the only way to go. Suffice to say that with the latest earth developments in global warming, we have been going back to our roots, and this is one of the ways!

So, back to the clothes line. Ok, so we hung it up. Both of us grew up with clothes lines, although the kind I used was the kind in a box that you pulled out when you needed it, with 4-5 lines in it, and the kind Tom used was the kind we have now - on a reel, a single line looped over. Neither of us had been involved in the hanging of it, so we didn't know much.

First off - it was WAY easier than we thought it would be! Less than a 30 minute project in fact. well, except for the first mishap, which was that I accidentally tangled the spool of cord, and spent about 15 minutes UNtangling it. Not as much fun as we had hoped.

Second, we made a small error, (the package came with no instructions), and put the tightening clamp on the TOP side of the reel. Later, when my clip that kept the lines closer together got to the middle of the line, it knocked all my freshly hung clothes onto the newly laid dirt below (we're leveling and reseeding our lawn below). Hmm. ok - lesson learned (and noted NO where): Put the tightener on the BOTTOM line, and when you start to hang laundry, start with the tightener, and hang next to it, sending it off in front of you. .

Ok, that done, I happily used the advice of all the blogs and websites I visited, and hung my laundry the following ways, to great success:

1. Tops are hung from the bottom, bottoms are hung from the top. (i.e. shirts upside down, pants from the waist).
   
   
2. Hang colours inside out to keep from fading.
   
   
3. Hang towels and sheets in half, and then clip the corners onto the line. Then clip only the back side in the middle, leaving the 'windside' free - this makes a lovely billowing effect, that dries it really nicely too.
   
   
4. Hang socks with one clip connecting only the back side of the sock (so the air gets in faster). I tried hanging the sock over the line - it dries too slowly. I also tries clipping both sides of the ankle, and it left that part wet too.
   
   
5. Hang rags over the line, with one clip in the middle only - they seem to dry fast enough (maybe because they have a looser weave than socks?)
   
   
6. Don't be afraid of the rain or clouds. You don't need the sun to dry your clothes. We're in the Pacific Northwest, and even though it was cloudy and a little drizzly all day the past few days, the clothes on the line still dried within a few hours. Never underestimate the power of a little breeze! If it rains, the clothes on the line will get an extra rinse cycle for free! YAY!
   
   
7. Hang your shirts on the hanger, and you might not even have to iron them! Also, it takes up less space on the line. Oh, and it's faster and easier to remove!
   
   
8. Keep a small drying rack inside your laundry area for your 'unmentionables' - underwear, bras, you know - those items. Or, just keep them inside your fence. No one really wants to look at what they can't normally see on you - or if they do, you might want to be nervous! The last thing you need is a panties stalker!
   
   
9. Run your towels/jeans in the dryer for about 10 minutes, when they are almost dry on the line - this makes them fluffy and soft, and you are still saving a ton of energy.
   
   
10. For fluffy clothes, I usually put them into the dryer when I take them out of the washer, and dry them as long as it takes me to load the next load of laundry. it warms them up, fluffs them, and makes it easier to grab them to put them on the line. I'm still saving lots of energy, but it basically acts like a fabric softener, and I still get the fluffiness.
    

I'll add tips to this as I learn them! Good luck if you try it!