Whatever happened to the old fashioned clothes line?

[Aussie leftie]

I was recently talking to my sister who lives in Minnesota and she informed me that its not commonplace to use clothes lines. I was flabbergasted. I can understand having to use clothes dryers in the winter months, especially in Minnesota, but what about the rest of the year. With the cost to the planet and the pocket of using electricity and gas, don't you think it would be a simple solution towards part of the problem.

I live in Australia and nearly every backyard has a clothes line. Also, the government provides subsidies for anyone who wants to install solar panels or solar hot water systems. Subsidies are also provided to anyone who wants to install water tanks because of water shortage due to consistent droughts.

Do you think it would be a good idea if your government provided subsidies to anyone who wanted to install a clothes line in their backyard. I think it would probably be so much healthier to dry laundry in the sun and fresh air than in a clothes dryer.

[fed_up_mother]

1. What happened?

Deed restrictions.

[Kutjara]

3. Yep, in some communities...

...you'd sooner be able to sacrifice your children on a satanic altar in your front yard than put up a clothesline. The same Residents' Association Nazis that would happily crucify someone for letting their grass grow 1mm too long, would actually draw and quarter anyone unwise enough to air their (clean) laundry.

[fed_up_mother]

9. When I lived overseas I used a clothesline

and I dried my clothes on radiators in the winter. A little stiff, but hey, it was cheap. :)

[JFreitas]

28. I live overseas...

in Portugal, and I dry my clothes on the clothelines, and on the radiators in the winter! I can't remember when I used the drying program in my washer last.

[Suich]

2. I have a clothesline in my backyard.

I use it on the 5 sunny/non-rain days we have each year!

I love sheets dried on a clothesline!

:hi:

[El Supremo]

4. Too many Democrats hanged themselves with them. n/m

[murray hill farm]

5. I just put up a clothes line in my yard.

It took a lot of searching to find the old time T metal poles, but finially found a company that still makes them...and since the shipping was included I ordered them....got them a week later and now they are up. There is something so good about hanging clothes on a line..something that is so rewarding in so many ways. In a way it is a soothing activity...a sort of immediate gratification. Difficult to explain unless you have had the experience. I immediately washed my sheets just so I could have again fresh sun dried sheets and the wonderful smell of sheets that have dried on a line. Then I washed everything I could find to wash....it is just a pleasure to do...and to take them down and fold them from the line into a basket. Nothing ever needs to be ironed...and although towels come down a little more stiff than u are used to from the dryer, they are much more absorbant when you use them. I have not used my dryer since I got the lines...and maybe I never will again. Toooooooo cool. People tell me that it doesn't take too much to amuse me. Ha!

[Aussie leftie]

13. good on you

I am fortunate to live in an area where its possible to dry clothes on a line all year round. I live on the south coast of NSW in Australia and it would be considered as environmental stupidity to use a clothes dryer. I find that the sun also helps to remove stains. When I had a baby, the nappies (diapers) ended up so much whiter by drying them on the line.

[shraby]

14. A long stick with a fork in the end works as

well as a narrow board with a notch cut in the end. That's what my mom and I used to use. Also I used to have one line in the hall upstairs in our house that had a forced air furnace that I could put 4 loads on at night with one piece of clothing flopped over the other and it would all be dry the next day. And on the plus side not one of my 4 children caught colds all winter because of the extra moisture in the air.

[momwholoves2cook]

42. Where did you purchase your clothesline?

I am wanting to install a clothesline in my yard. I am having a hard time finding the poles. I want them to be sturdy enough to hold heavy things like towels and blue jeans. I am so tired of things taking 2 and 3 hours to dry in the dryer! I hope you can help me....:) :patriot:

[Longhorn]

45. Check out

www.clotheslineshop.com. They have some good stuff and shipping in the US is included in the price. :hi:

[Warpy]

6. Line dried clothing here in NM this time of year

will be dirtier when it comes off the line than when it went into the washing machine because the winds are howling and red grit is flying.

However, I dry things outdoors later in summer when the winds have died down, festooning shrubs and patio furniture with the stuff.

In spring and fall, though, that clothes dryer is damned nice to have.

[stuntcat]

7. Australia rocks

I think. I've heard of a lot of things Australia's doing.. like TOGETHER.. like AGREEING to ALL do better x(

I've wanted to put up a line in my yard for years but I haven't yet, I have to finally do it this month, I'll be the first in the neighborhood and maybe that will get someone else to do it. Most of my neighbors are from other countries where I doubt everyone grows up with dryers and dishwashers like we do here.

[Aussie leftie]

19. I dont possess a dishwasher n/t

[murray hill farm]

21. I don't either.

Wouldnt have one. People I know think I am horribly deprived (or depraved, depending), but I rinse and soak dishes all day and wash them all after dinner...and then they air dry. so, simple and so easy. A lot of things that people think they could not live without...really require more work and time than if they did not have them.

[crispini]

41. Modern dishwashers actually use less water than washing by hand.

I don't remember where I read that, but could probably find links if so desired. :hi:

[kestrel91316]

51. They DO use electricity, however, and the resources expended in

their manufacture are, well, shall we say CONSIDERABLE. IOW, it isn't just about water usage.

[kestrel91316]

50. Hey, being able to live without dishwashers and clothesdryers and

other such dreck is a real advantage when it comes time to move to the little old Thoreau cabins of our dreams, right??

[ChazII]

33. Another DUer with no

dishwasher or clothes dryer. I am proud to say that my clothes line is, always has been and will be my backyard. A benefit of living in Phoenix.

[yop]

34. Dishwashers aren't so bad

link

[ChazII]

36. Cool

Thank you for the link! I appreciate your time and effort. This is something I will look into. My house was built in 1960.

[kestrel91316]

49. I have a dishwasher in my apartment, and have had them in

4 of the 5 other places I have lived in Los Angeles. I haven't USED one since about 1986, however. I don't know how to turn one on, and the ones in apartments never have instruction manuals with them by the time I move in.......so I just wash my dishes by hand. No big deal.

I also have a wooden clothes drying rack which I have used LOTS in the cooler months here. I had a clothesline at the house I lived in for 8 years, but not now. If I don't let the laundry pile up, I can do most everything on the rack, and in this climate it dries FAST 9 months out of the year. Every once in a while I a dryer for big stuff, sheets, etc. Oh, and I launder most of my clothes by hand, lol.

I know. I'm such a Luddite. I don't tell many people here about this - they would think I am crazy. And I NEVER talk about the homemade soap.

[Captain Angry]

8. What happened? TINY backyards

All the building, all the huge houses on teeny tiny plots of land.

That and the death of patience. Must dry clothes in hot machine, must rush to 5 events, can't be home to watch clothes.

[kestrel91316]

52. You don't need a big yard for one of THESE:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009WG6KM

I had a retractable clothesline on my patio because the umbrella clothesline base in the ground in the yard had no umbrella top part, lol.

[Aussie leftie]

10. Obviously, attitudes (for the sake of the planet) should start changing.

I only use my clothes dryer when absolutely necessary, I wash and reuse my plastic kitchen tidy bags and we try to grow some fruit and vegetables in our backyard. At the moment petrol costs approximately $1.62 per litre (which equates to approx.$6.48 a gallon). We only use the car as a last resort.

[wellstone dem]

11. My mom in Minnesota had sheets on the line today when I visited.

My yard is too dusty. (dogs)

[Aussie leftie]

16. I wish everyone was like your mom

Its unfortunate that your dogs sound just like my dog. She's a "working dog" by nature, and she runs everywhere. We used to have a fully grassed backyard but not anymore. What we've done is put down some chicken wire in areas where we want her to stay away from and that seems to work.

[izquierdista]

12. Typical American extravegance

From my travels, I have observed that the U.S. is the only country where clothes dryers are common appliances. They also make it official by having zoning laws, covenants and apartment by-laws that actively discourage air-drying of laundry. Americans condescendingly look down on laundry hanging out to dry on apartment balconies as "third-world flags".

Also, winter in Minnesota is the BEST time to air dry clothes, due to the very low humidity indoors from the heat. Just hang them up and they will be dry in a few hours.

[no_hypocrisy]

15. I haven't used dryers for 14 years. One load of laundry is spread out over

three clothes racks to dry. I have a clothes line in the attic for extra large loads.

[femmocrat]

17. I still use a clothes line, weather permitting.

In PA, I can even "hang out" (as we say here) during the winter if it's above 40 degrees or so. Nothing smells better than clothes dried outside. The smell of those fabric softener sheets makes me gag.

[murray hill farm]

22. I once lived in northern michigan...

I always hung out my clothes all winter and sometimes they would freeze, but even so they would dry and then they were wonderful. I cannot immagine anything smells better than sheets that have frozen and then dried. Even in warmer seasons, if it rained...we just called it an extra rinsing.

[snacker]

18. There's one in our yard...

and I use it all the time. In winter, I hang clothes in the basement. I only use the dryer for towels (unless there's a nice warm breeze--then they're outside on the line). I could never live in an area where clotheslines are banned.

[pansypoo53219]

20. we have 4 short lines

used occasionally because i have hay fever. BUT, i also use it for my pole bean 'trellis'. i have string from stakes to the line. worked really well last year. because i can't bulid a structure like my grandpa had. was easier to pick the beans tho. works really good to dry my dyed yarn, when i dye yarn.

[Glorfindel]

23. I use one all the time - quit using a dryer when mine died

and I decided not to replace it. I don't miss the thing one bit!

[bhikkhu]

24. Thanks for the reminder - a spring project

Along with the bigger garden, which is going well. We have used the dryer through the last five summers...another thing that has to change. Thanks again.

[JDPriestly]

25. I have an old clothesline in my backyard.

It is quite wonderful. It consists of one poll solidly fixed in place in a cement base in the earth. Four bars extend from the poll, and a series of clothes lines are stretched in a spiral that forms parallel circles around the poll.

When we first moved into our house about 20 years ago, the poll stood tall in full sun. But since that time, one of our avocado trees as grown to nearly cover it.

I used the poll a lot when we first moved in. My children were small then and we had a lot of laundry. I now use a gas drier. I've been thinking about restringing the poll. Here in Los Angeles, we probably have enough heat and sun and dry air to permit the use of a clothesline pretty much all year.

[LiberalEsto]

26. Homeowner associations killed them

Heaven forbid anything should look "different" in a homeowner association-plagued development. Ten years ago I lived briefly in a neighborhood with a homeowner association. One of my neighbors painted their front door a lovely, cheerful yellow. Before you know it, the association swooped down and forced them to re-paint the door in one of the handful of "approved" colors.
Some HAs won't let people put up holiday decorations or yard sale signs. I'm happy to say I've been living in an older, non-association dominated neighborhood where I have a clothesline and can paint my house trim whatever damn color I please.

[TexasBushwhacker]

31. I will never live under HOA tyranny again

The thing that's ridicuous to me is that restrictions are WORSE in working class neighborhoods. You can't have a clothesline because it looks "tacky" (ie. poor). You can't paint your house in bright colors. If your car has broken down, you can't work on it in your own driveway. You have to have a certain type of grass for your lawn (and it will be a non-native grass that needs way too much water). If you're single, you can't let anyone know that you're renting a spare room because that violates the "unrelated adults" clause. Etc, etc, etc.

[emmadoggy]

27. Time.

People -both moms and dads - working too many hours and then rushing around to do grocery shopping or errand running or carting their kids to a plethora of activities. No time to spend carting the laundry outside and spending the time to both hang it up, wait for them to dry and then go back out and take them all down. Also, don't have to worry about a sudden rain shower or thunderstorm coming up and soaking them or a too-windy day scattering them all over the neighbor's yard and beyond. And the winters in northern states can be quite long, leaving only a few months of clothesline weather. And during the transition months, who wants to have to put on a coat and shoes to head out to hang up or take down laundry several times a day........

That and all the other reasons posted in the other responses.

I sense a comeback in the works though, possibly, as more and more people start to really feel the crunch.

I've thought about it lately too. But as you can gather from my response, I'm generally pretty lazy and a dryer is just so much easier and more convenient. I could probably manage the time issue, but the effort involved is my biggest hurdle. I may have to suck it up and just do it pretty soon though. And yes, the environmental reasons are definitely a huge consideration.

No flames necessary, please. I'm aware that my excuses are lame.

[End Of The Road]

47. I don't think your excuses are lame

because mine are about the same!

I leave for work at 8 a.m., get home around 6. I do most of the laundry on the weekend, and the idea of hauling four or five loads from the washer (in the garage) through the house to the backyard, doing all that bending to get it hung up, is daunting. My backyard has lots of trees-- in the spring yellow oak pollen gets all over everything, and in the summer it's crepe myrtle flowers. As much as I love the idea of a clothesline, and remember the smell of line-dried sheets from my childhood, I'm sticking with my dryer.

[GreenPartyVoter]

29. I need to get one. I want one of those umbrella ones since my backyard is small.

[depakid]

30. Hills Hoists are an Aussie icon!

There's even one in the National Museum in Canberra.

Yet I don't recall ever seeing one in the states.

[Aussie leftie]

35. I use a Hills Hoist

and have used it for the past 20 years. Before that, I was living in Queensland and used line which was threaded between 2 poles. Admittedly, the climate that I live in is conducive to using a clothes line all year round. I find that the sun helps to clean the washing as well. If the people who use clothes dryers could see how fast their meter ticks over when dryer is in use, they would soon reconsider the old fashioned clothesline.

With today's environmental awareness, it may not take too much to overturn some of those outdated local rulings which ban clotheslines. To me, visual pollution is the smog which is caused by the power stations which is generating the power to use clothes dryers and dishwashers.

My only problem with using the clothesline is that its the location that my dog chooses to leave her droppings. Small price to pay.

[Bigmack]

32. YES! I totally agree with your post. Clothes lines

are GREAT. My old man put one up for me (here in northern Washington state) a couple years ago and I use it ALL the time in the summer, a lot of the time in the spring and fall, and even sometimes in the winter. Everyone who COULD, SHOULD use an outside clothes line. Ms Bigmack

[freethought]

37. We had a big one when I was growing up

My father put it in. Two pieces of galvanized pipe bent at a slight angle for easy reach. My mom was a great advocate of them. At one point a couple moved in next door, they absolutely screamed "yuppie". The husband put out just a few hints of how much he didn't like the clothes line. Somehow he thought that it represented urban blight that he was running as far as he could from. There were no covenants in our neighborhood, my parents ignored him.

[kestrel91316]

38. We always had a clothesline when I was growing up. Mom had a dryer,

but only used it in inclement weather or for towels to fluff them. I had clotheslines in all of the little houses I have rented over the years. I also have a wooden dryer rack, so even here in the apartment I can hang dry.

[Javaman]

39. Clotheslines are alive and well here in Austin, Texas. nt

[crispini]

40. I've got one!

All the greenies in my 'hood do!

[momophile]

43. I use mine whenever I can. even in the winter if

we hit a warm enough day. and this fall we'll be hanging a line in the basement to dry inside and maybe add some moisture to our dry Colorado air.

[Fovea]

44. It's in my back yard and gets plenty of use.

I have a dryer, but on good weather days, the line makes the clothes smell better, IMO.

And I am not alone, my neighbors to the north and south have them.

[Throckmorton]

46. My asshat neighbor took mine down

Turns out the tree was actually in my yard after all. Over Paid Pharma Researchers that bought at peak market.

[tom_paine]

48. My clothelines are were built poorly positioned.

They are on the side of my house which is shady most of the day, even in summer.

I have ben meaning to move the to the sunny side ofthe yard so I can start using them, but haven't yet.

Thus, I am one of those to blame.