Late afternoon photo....

I took my bike out after an early supper looking, or shall I say 'sleuthing' for laundry. I found myself stopping on the pathways, crouching behind bushes and leaning against fences to get photos. Some were lovely sheets blowing in the salty air, others were old time breeches hung out back by fishing sheds, but I loved the colors of this photo the best. Sigh. A wonderful day at the beach and towels hanging out to dry in the air!

Lou Ann
Indiana/Ocracoke Island

Stop Gov. Lingle from Vetoing the Right to Dry

Yesterday's AP wire: Lingle issues list of this year's potential vetoes

House Majority Leader Kirk Caldwell, D-Manoa, said it was good news Lingle did not target any major legislation for potential veto.

But he questioned why Lingle would want to veto an energy conservation bill that would guarantee people the right to hang their laundry on clotheslines.

The legislation would supersede any homeowner association rule prohibiting clothesline use, he said.

"It's a small thing, but it would help on conservation — encourage people not to use their dryers," Caldwell said.

Lingle said the bill would potentially invalidate homeowner association rules.

I wrote to her with comments similar to these:

Please do not let the new-fangled and expensive trump the old-fashioned and affordable. Windmills and solar panels are chic, but most people cannot afford them. Everybody can afford a clothesline and it is possible to rake off about 25% of your monthly electric utility bill by making the switch.

Eliminating Jim Crow and the FCC requiring communities to allow satellite dishes are great examples of times when the government has fixed homeowner association rules without invalidating them.

Now is the time to allow people to save money and energy. The people speak through their legislature. I know how easy it is to listen to the powerful, rich community associations and their lawyer-lobbyists. I work with them all the time; however, now is the time for you to lead.

Do the right thing for the planet and future generations. Sign the Right to Dry into law.

A Brilliant, Legalistic Approach to the Right to Dry

This letter speaks for itself:

To my neighbors the Members of the Board:

First of all, thank you for taking on the volunteer work that you have. We are grateful for that. Second, I did read your 10/15 email with regard to clotheslines, and have since read a good deal on the subject regarding the legal definition. As you know, about 60,000,000 people in the USA live under some 300,000 Homeowners Associations, many of which, like ours, preclude the use of visible clotheslines. Others preclude the use of "air-drying apparatus" to include clotheslines and any other structure for drying textiles, but ours does not. Since the field of law concerning HOA agreements is well-established, the distinction is meaningful.

I purchased my rack years ago in a box that called it an "Umbrella Rack," but have long since discarded the box. However, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office maintains the patent to my rack in its extensive website. It is categorized by the U.S. Patent Office under Class D32 (Washing, Cleaning or Drying Machine), Subclass 35(Laundering, Cleaning, or Drying Tools or Implements), Subclass 58 (Drying Rack or Form).
An example is shown on website page which shows on page 3 of 36 an example of a rack, as well as an actual clothesline category that my rack is not part of. A cross-reference is given on web page of class 211 (Supports: Racks) on which page stands the quote "The term 'racks' includes frame structures and supports having flexible supporting elements such as strands or straps, as the article-supporting elements."

I found a rack similar to mine under U.S. Patent 2,474,922 in http://www.patft.uspto.gov/.

The government of the U.S.A. designates it a rack, which is how it was labelled when I bought it.

I will say that I have never made a fuss about other people's covenant infractions because I feel it is truly egregious behaviour to bother a neighbor.

Sincerely,
Deborah
F.

From a (puzzled) Brit

Hello again from sunny and windy UK - great drying weather.

*It's Not Rocket Science - like most Brits, after 30++ years of drying outside I HAVE NO SYSTEM. Just check the weather - if you are feeling efficient you could check the TV forcast - and just chuck it all out on the line - it drys - you bring it in later on ......

*Today was our fabulous English village's open Garden Day spent visiting neighbours gorgeous backyards to see their foxgloves, fab roses, clematis's, lavender, hollyhocks .... I could go on and ........

Yes, they all had outside drying facilities and, no, we do not love in a deprived ghetto but in the fifth best area of our lovely country (as voted in a recent national TV poll).

Have a good week. Cheerio from across the pond!!

Updates & My Clothesline :)

Spoke with the teacher. She said that she just grabbed a few plays from her pile and they just didn't have clotheslines in them. She also said that she has to put her clothesline back up because she lost the tree that it was attached to. :) Haven't heard back from AARP....

Ok my clotheslines....

What Does Your Line Look Like?

On June 10th, I posted a picture of what my clothes line looks like on my own blog. I asked my readers to do the same. Peppylady heeded my request.

I came to age in the early 90s. Growing up my mother never had a clothesline she always used the dryer. I don't know if my maternal grandmother had one -- I assume she did -- but I do know my paternal grandmother does. Without a washer and dryer, she goes to the laundromat every week to do her laundry. In the winter she uses the dryers but in the summer she hangs her laundry on the line as a way to save on the number of quarters she uses weekly.

For me, I started using the line as a way to cut down on my electric bill with the environmental benefits secondary. I was a adult commuter student, struggling to eat and pay the mortgage while going to school full time. My husband and I made as many cuts and changes we could while I was in school because we were sinking financially. After I graduated we continued to hang the laundry and make other changes as a way to save money and Mother Earth at the same time.

We didn't realize how much using the line cut down on our electric bill until this last February. Even in the winter I hang the laundry, although on racks in the house as opposed to outside on the line, but last February I got lazy about doing so. When the electric bill came in there was a $30 increase which Wolf couldn't figure out. It was at that time my commitment to using my line was cemented.

Often I stand on a soapbox and preach to my friends and family about ways to save Mother Earth and money. It's paid off. A couple of my friends have started line drying their clothes, have eliminated bottled water, and eat as organically as they can afford. I encourage you to do the same!

Take a look at this page on my blog to see the other changes we've made around our homestead-ette.

Please post a picture of your clothesline for us all:

Turtleheart Cove
Allie's Answers
A Homesteading Neophyte
Cauldron Ridge Farm
Children in the Corn
The Extra Ordinary

AARP (post 1)

I sent this into AARP. I don't know if anything will come of it but will post the response when I receive it......

Hi! I am part of a group at http://www.laundrylist.org. We have a message board at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProjectLaundryList/Is there any way to pass these links to your readers? I am 47 and still have fond memories of hanging laundy on clotheslines as a child. Too many people younger than myself look at using a clothesline as a sign of poverty. We are looking for people who are older to post their thoughts and feelings on the subject of clotheslines. Their memories, what they did before dryers, hints, tips, why it is good for the world and not a sign of poverty. What it was like when it was as much a way of life as breathing. Thank You Nancy Piltzecker

Things that make you go hmmmmm

My son's school play was today. 5 skits revolved around energy conservation. It was cute, a very long 45 minutes, but cute. They talked about light bulbs, appliances, wind turbines, short showers, etc. The science club recently fundraised for a greenhouse. The teacher, who has won awards for her green efforts, was my son's teacher this year. I was kind of surprised that not a peep was mentioned about clotheslines. Not a peep. I'm going to try to remember to give her a call this afternoon and ask her why it wasn't mentioned. I'll post what I find out later....

Faster Than The Dryer

Summers in the Great Central Valley of California are notoriously hot and dry. Those of us who live in this climate sometimes describe it as "OVEN heat" as opposed to the high-humidity of summers in other locations. The summer before last we had a stretch of triple-digit days that must have lasted three weeks: add even the slightest breeze and this means clothes hung out on the line dry FASTER than the electric clothes dryer.I've made the most of this -- I took the rolls of the carpet we were replacing last summer and unrolled portions under the clothesline. I think I have the only wall-to-fence carpeted drying area in town, and I kept a lot of carpet out of the landfill!For me, it's more about WASTE than COST. I hate the idea of running a dryer any day the clothes can be dried outdoors. My four kids used line-dried cloth diapers... I think we had a total of ten diaper years in there. Besides, I like how T-shirts, towels, and especially things like the bathroom rugs feel and look when they're line-dried. People think it's funny that I get emails about being politically active about clotheslines, but for me, it's like bicycling and breastfeeding: a no-brainer. All good.

The advantages of the south

There are many advantages to living in the south, but while the rest of you are swimming in floods, those of us in Georgia are in the midst of an ongoing drought.

Now I don't want to minimize the seriousness of either of these conditions, but for a poorly organized person like me, it makes laundry a whole lot easier when you get long, dry, hot days. In fact one day last week I managed to get the whole laundry washed and dried in one day!

The first lot was washed Sunday evening, and went onto the line first thing Monday, before I went to work. The second lot went into the washer early Monday too. That was put onto the line about noon when I came home, and lot #3 went in. Finally lot four was throught the washer onto the line, rather hopefully, at 4pm. On a 90 degree day, that showed no sign of cooling down for the overnight, that last lot was dry by 8pm. That was four full loads in one day!

The trick is probably prioritizing. Jeans and heavy shorts need more time, so they go first followed by the lighter stuff.

There are not many days when this works for me, but when it does - it really is a pleasure.

Sweet Scent of Laundry

It is early morning on the Ocracoke Island where I spend my time working. By night I lead ghost and history walks and tell stories at the old Opry...by day? I am a laundry connoisseur. If fact the first summer I was asked to come to the Island by my sweetheart I said, and I quote..."..only if you provide me a clothesline," and he did.

So, I like the idea of saving money..I also like the romance of hanging out laundry. I got up early this morning to hang out sheets. The sky was a soft pewter gray with just a tinge of sunshine as the cardinals around the cottage kept me company with their morning sun. All day I will go about my other activities with one eye on the clothesline. By nightfall the sheets will be sweet scented with yaupons, cedars and salt from the sea.

Lou Ann from Indiana and Ocracoke

I have an issue with the Electric Company

I'm trying to figure this out in my own little person vs. corporation way. Maybe someone knows how to explain this to me better. Here is an example.....

I do 20 loads of laundry in a month (cold water wash). I use the dryer each time. The electric bill increases slightly.
I read on my electric companies website how each dryer load, for my location costs me $2.25
The next month I do 20 loads of laundry (cold water wash) and hang them on my clothesline.
Why doesn't my electric bill drop by $45.00?

Realistically , if you make changes in your house (light bulbs, turning things off, etc) that are suggested by your electric company shouldn't your bill soon be very, very low?

Thanks :)

Once upon a time...

Dear Friends,
I am so excited to share thoughts on the environment including gardening and cooking and hanging out laundry, of course.

My first memories of hanging out laundry were as a child when we used my Mom's sheets (while still on the line) for the back drop for our shows! We promoted our shows which always coincided with laundry day, charged a quarter admission and set chairs up in the backyard facing the line! We charged out from behind those sheets in costumes and gave stellar performances for all the neighborhood children...and getting rich as well. We would count our coins and Mom would gather up the laundry. With the sheets all clean and back on the bed, we headed straight to our pencils and papers to write a new show for the next week! AS I have ended up in theatre, I would have to say that laundry gave me my leading role!!

Lou Ann from Indiana and Ocraocke Island

Hang it Up, and They Will Come.

I live in a townhouse with a postage stamp-sized yard. You know the ones: Little variety, every house looks the same, etc. Up until this past year, we really didn't make much use of the "yard," other than to mow the grass from time to time, keep it weed-free, and use the garden hose now and again.

This spring, we started a container garden. We grow all kinds of things. We also put solar lanterns out each day to charge. (We use them in the house as night lights, which cuts down on our use of electricty.) The biggest thing we've started doing, however--against our HOA's wishes--is that we have stopped using our electric dryer and now hang all of our laundry out to dry.

Before we started any of this, the only company we had in the yard was the sunlight or the moonlight, maybe a bug or two, slugs...

The other night, my boyfriend got my attention and showed me that we had a new visitor : A baby rabbit! Cute little thing.

I feel like, when we tread lightly upon the Earth, she responds. I have begun to really believe this. It makes me happy to know that lessening our impact is making local wildlife feel safe in our yard. To me, this little plot of land is now more alive than it probably ever was before I lived here!

Then again, I'm a bit of a romantic at heart!

Karma got me :(

I was naughty, I admit it! I got lazy and didn't keep up with the laundry. Then one energy driven (or was it too much coffee?) day of "I have to get this laundry done before I get buried and no one bothers to look for me in here" I resorted to using my dryer. Over and over and over again. I didn't feel too guilty because I've actually gotten my slacking sessions down from 4 times a year to two so I am making progress. So I was washing (in cold) and drying (on medium) and putting away. I was careful to put all my husband's stinky sweaty shirts aside so I could wash them in warm water with a heavy dose of vinegar. Well, it came time to wash the pile of hub's shirts so I pretreated and sprayed some vinegar on the exceptionally stinky areas and ran them through a warm wash. Then karma stepped in. It was beautiful out, enough wind to give the clothes the extra little bit of softness that only the wind could do. It was my last load, no pressure. I gave in to lazy and threw them into the dryer thinking that they did, surprisingly, smell alittle foul coming out of the washer. When the cycle ran and I opened that dryer it was the most horrible smell one could encounter. The smell of musty mixed with old liverwurst and topped off with skunk. UGH! Karma bit me in the.... So tomorrow I will be re-washing all these shirts and hanging them out in the sun where I know they will come in smelling like a little bit of heaven. And I will think twice when it comes to messing with karma again!
Nancy

Of course it is.

When I was a kid growing up in western New York in the 70's my mother had a clothesline. Well, of course she did - we spent every day in the summer in a swimming pool, so when we got home we'd sling our towels out to dry and use them again if they didn't need washing. She'd also hang out sheets and diapers and anything else that needed it. Sure, she had a dryer as well, but that was for the winter when we didn't fancy jumping five foot snow drifts to crack our skivvies off the line.

When I got married to my British husband and we settled in a flat in England it had a clothesline too. Well, of course it did - British kitchens are often too small to house a washer, dryer, and dishwasher. And since the dishwasher is our "marital bliss" machine and we wanted a washer, we didn't get a dryer. But that was okay, as we lived in the port city of Southampton and the sea breezes often dried our laundry as we hung it out.

As we moved, our clothesline moved with us. But it didn't make it on our last move, from Ascot, England to Atlanta, Georgia. But that's okay, because I bought drying racks at Target and put them on my deck. Because of course everyone has clotheslines.

Okay, it turns out everyone doesn't. In fact, my subdivision is considered forward thinking because it allows them as long as they cannot be seen from any direction. But that's okay - my drying racks are about the same height as the deck, so they don't stand out too much. And I can screen them with an outdoor screen if they become an issue.

But why would I bother? Well, let me tell you a little secret: since I stopped using my clothes dryer, my electricity bill went down by 30%! Because between my youngest (in cloth diapers), my four year old (wets the bed sometimes) and my six year old (four costume changes a day, dahhhhling) I do a lot of laundry. At least two loads a day, often up to six.

So, is it worth it to me? Financially alone, I can say of course it is.


UPDATE:

I've edited this post to show you this - it's from the energy bill that came today:



Check out the average daily KWH a year ago, and then from this year! We've got a long way to go still, but we're getting there.

Introduction & Laundry Soap Recipe

I am new to using a clothesline. When my electric clothes dryer stopped working, I decided I would save some money and buy a clothes line instead of buying a new dryer. I had already started trying to cut down on chemicals I use in the house. I have been using the following items to clean the house regularly: lemons, salt, baking/washing soda, borax, vinegar, dish soap and bar soap. For example, to clean the stove top and under the burners (yuk! the place where I forgot to clean and it looks really burned and set), I cut a lemon in half and sprinkle some salt on it and use it as a scrubber. It works better than commercial cleaners and is not toxic! So I was thinking if I can clean my stove w/o harsh chemicals, why not my clothes? Why should I pay a premium price to have so called safe and gentle laundry soap? I recently started using the following laundry soap in my washing machine w/vinegar for fabric softener. Hmmm...maybe I should switch and do the laundry in the bath tub and sell the washing machine. Maybe the dishwasher could even go. That thought feels really liberating. I could live without those machines. Let me think about that again...I could live without those machines. After all I "discovered" I don't have to buy expensive chemicals to clean my house. Why not then put some elbow grease into the laundry and dishes too?

Laundry Soap Recipe:
Recipe #1
1 quart Water (boiling)2 cups Bar soap (grated)2 cups Borax2 cups Washing Soda
Add finely grated bar soap to the boiling water and stir until soap is melted. You can keep on low heat until soap is melted.
Pour the soap water into a large, clean pail and add the Borax and Washing Soda. Stir well until all is dissolved.
Add 2 gallons of water, stir until well mixed.
Cover pail and use 1/4 cup for each load of laundry. Stir the soap each time you use it (will gel).
(taken from http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-laundry-soap-detergent-recipes/)

Actually I altered the recipe...I did not add the 2 gallons of water and left it as a concentrate because I did not have a large enough container handy. I just add a small spoonful to the washing machine instead of diluting it. It works really well and my clothes don't smell perfumed. All you can smell is clean. One exception...I used a wooden spoon to stir it and it seems the soap is permanently ingrained in the wood!

As for the line drying, it works very well for me and it is saving a lot of electricity! I do not want to go back to the dryer.

Best regards,
Mrs. King

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. -John 8:36

A day to do the wash

Another great day in Virginia. We have been battling a lot of storms so I have had to use the ugly dryer. Today I see some sunshine so I am going to put up my sheets and towel. I just love the way my towels feel off the line. I like the roughness it gets my dead skin off before I put cream on.
Well got to go the washer is done now.