I Love My Solar Powered Clothesline!

It’s a beautiful sunny morning in Seattle and my clothes are already washed and out hanging on the line. I’m taking advantage of the free natural solar dryer that we all have available. I, frankly, have become a bit obsessed over this whole line-drying thing!

It all started a while back when my dryer suddenly didn’t heat anymore - still worked, but no heat. This was in the dead of winter - rainy, damp, cold and wet out. I was trying to find places in the house to hang things; the shower curtain rod, backs of chairs and hanging things around the house. Things dried fairly quickly - a little stiff, but okay. I decided to invest in air-drying aids to continue on this ‘new’ line-drying adventure.

I got one of those folding clothes drying racks. They hold quite a bit of clothing and they are good to use in winter, or when it’s raining out. Another handy thing is a lingerie hanging dryer - this is a hanger with a rack of attached clips. It’s great to hang socks and underwear on. I also hung a cotton clothesline outside. This worked for awhile but the cotton line slowly started disintegrating over time…I needed a more durable clothesline.

I searched high and low for a decent clothesline but there were seemingly none to be found. Then one day I was in the auto supplies department at Target and happened to espy all kinds of rope (so that’s where they hide them!) I bought some heavy nylon rope used to tie up boats; I figured that would be durable. It works great!

I have gotten really used to my air-dried clothing. Everything is so clean…not with that filmy layer of dryer sheet residue. It’s been determined that you can save up to 20% on your energy bills just by line-drying, so that’s a big incentive too. Plus the lovely sunshiny smell of air-dried clothing is something that cannot be duplicated. It takes a bit of getting used to having clothes out and about drying…but there is something just so homey and comforting about it. Seeing clothes waving on a line is just so…cheerful!

Happy drying!
~Marilyn

National Hanging Out Day

Today is the day when we all hang laundry out across the nation. Alas today is one of those rare, but necesary, rainy days in the south and my laundry doesn't stand a chance of getting dry! So in the spirit of the day though, I did venture out to take this picture of my lonely laundry line. It sits towards the back of the property about 80 feet from the house, and is nestled between hedges on the property line on one side, and a small grove of trees and shrubs. Right now the azaleas are in bloom, so each morning I get to pass the fragrant cherry laural and look at the abundant flowers on the bright red azaleas.

The Betsy Ross Freedom Drier

Q: What's a flag?

A: A flag is patriotic laundry, drying in the wind.

As we all know, in many cities and towns, clotheslines are illegal. However, hanging a piece of red, white, and blue linen from a pole is not only legal; it's encouraged.

Ladies and gentleman, I proudly introduce to you the Betsy Ross Freedom Drier!

The Betsy Ross Freedom Drier is named after the most famous inventor of freedom-representing-laundry in history.

The freedom drier is a vertical system of drying clothes. There are four "rope ladders" 90 degrees apart from each other.

Naturally, the halyard and pulley system on a standard flag is designed for only one or two flags. Not to worry, sailboats have been in existence for 1000's of years. The technology to hoist a rope ladder ring of wet clothes certainly exists.

Additionally, for those who still have difficulty accepting all the colors and randomness of laundry, a "green scene" can be screen-printed on a sleeve that would surround the rope ladder ring. (see picture below) With today's printing technology, the scene could be anything from an oak tree to a blue background with puffy clouds.

Is this concept easier than using a $20 clothesline? Absolutely not. It's simply another method to sidestep the serious problem of "aesthetic laws" and to help look at the challenge in a different way.

What's the end result of the Betsy Ross Freedom Drier? There will be an increase in patriotism! More people will fly the flag of the nation that is supposed to represent freedom while drying their clothes for free!