I know that drying your clothes on a line is old fashioned, but with the warmth of spring upon us. Why not give it a try and save money with this frugal living technique? Many of you may have never dried your clothes outdoors, but I remember my grandmothers doing it pretty successfully. It’s also a great way to save on your electric bill and help out the environment by using less energy.
While reading a few blogs around the web, I realized that lots of people are drying laundry outdoors already, and I that I really need to try it out. Just a few weeks ago it was finally warm enough to test out drying clothes outdoors. I was really pleased with the outcome. Drying outdoors really worked well with sheets, small rugs and our down comforters. I did fluff the comforters in the dryer for a few minutes, but that was it.
Make sure you always use clothes pins to hang all your clothes. Even if you are tempted to fold the clothes over the line, it takes longer to dry. Also, don’t crowd the clothes on the line because that will cause more wrinkles.
These days most of use don’t have a handy clothes line like in years past but there are some fairly simple ways to create one yourself. I like this idea from Mother Earth News that uses a “16-foot 8-by-8 for the main post, an 8-foot-long 8-by-8 for the crosspiece, and one 12-foot-long 4-by-4 for the two knee braces. As for tools, you’ll need a hand-held circular saw, an electric drill, a 1-inch-wide chisel, a 16-ounce hammer or mallet, a carpenter’s framing square, a sharp handsaw, and a socket wrench. You’ll also need some stout sawhorses. A chop saw is nice if you can get one but not totally necessary. ”
This design gives you a pretty sturdy clothes line that should last for many years. If you have a lumber liquidator in your community, check there for the posts to save some dough.
For more specific instructions on actual construction of the clothes line, head over to Mother Earth News for detailed information.
If you want to put together a clothes line on the cheap, use a sturdy rope at least 6 to 8 feet long and just suspend between two posts, trees, or whatever else you have in your backyard that sits high enough to keep clothing off of the ground. I would keep the line away from trees or anything that could get leaves, etc. on your clothes while they dry.
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