Washers and dryers, I’m so thankful to have both and the electricity to run them. However, even with a dryer I always end up with a laundry room full of wet hanging jeans, shorts, shirts, table cloths etc, that I don’t want the dryer to shrink, fade or mess up.
A video of our setup on YouTube…
I’ve always dried my clothes inside on one of these topsy turvy short-lived (they fall apart) clothes racks. Drying laundry inside takes forever and the wet clothes are always getting in the way! Can I get an AMEN please?!
When I’m impatient, I put the rack outside to dry faster… it always blows over in the wind and clothes blow off in the grass.
When I was in Amish Country PA for my first Weston A. Price Conference years ago I saw the most amazing thing… A very smart Amish woman putting clothes to dry on a line that was rigged up from her front porch. She put one item on and moved the line down to put another, all the while kids were playing at her feet… genius you say, yes super awesome.
Fast forward five years later, I’m done with my rickety clothes drying system and drying laundry in the house.
I had to clear my new Amish clothes line with the boss first… I was a bit nervous he’d say no. I mean, I’ve had a lot of hair brained ideas, but this one probably tops it… I want to put two metal lines across the yard, in plain sight of anyone who came to visit… ohhhhhhhh that’s just not done in “high society” or cultured individuals… well I figured since I make my own version of society and my own cultures to boot, I decided to ask the hubby to make me a real Amish clothes line spanning 100 feet over our back yard! Hahaha, he loves me. He said “yes”! You see this, that’s real love…
5 Reasons to Hang Your Clothes in the Sun!
1.) Dryers ruin delicate clothes, fade laundry and shrink your favorite clothes!
2.) Outside line drying sanitizes your clothes and gives laundry a fresh clean smell without toxic dryer sheets
3.) Hanging laundry in the sun, irons and starches your clothes. My table-cloth is a prime example…
4.) A laundry line gives you a place to dry and sanitize large quilts, comforters, wool bed covers, air out goose downs comforters. For this reason alone you should have a clothes line!
5.) The best reason of all, line drying puts you in a better mood. No joke. I think it has something to do with going outside in the fresh air and sun. Handling your laundry outside is therapeutic. If you’ve never hung your clothes out to dry, you’re gonna have to try it to understand.
I hung out some laundry on our way to milk our Jersey Buttercup this morning. Isabella inspected it 😉
Lehman’s and Amazon.com both have The Strata Heavy Duty Clothesline Kit by Ben-Mor. It get’s great reviews on Amazon and there’s some neat videos to see it in use on YouTube. I wanted a clothesline made by the Amish! So, what’s a girl to do, I ordered one online! 🙂 We ended up getting the Amish built deluxe clothesline from Woodward Crossing Country Basics in PA.
Keep in mind, you’re gonna have to get some additional hardware to attach it to your house or post …
We set up our line so I have to reach up to put clothes on. Our deck is very low to the ground. Also, to stay in the shade and on the deck we put up another post under the porch to attach the line to. This works really well for us.
I found some heavy-duty handmade strong clothes pins on Amazon, called Kevin’s Quality Clothes Pin
If you hang your clothes outside, I’d love to hear how you do it! There’s so many great ways to sun dry your clothes. Please comment below!
I leave you with this beautiful poem a neighbor shared with us after we put up our line.
The Clothes Line
By Anonymous
A clothes line was a news forecast,
to neighbors passing by.
There were no secrets you could keep,
when clothes were hung to dry.It also was a friendly link,
for neighbors always knew,
If company had stopped on by,
to spend a night or two.For then you’d see the fancy sheets
and towels upon the line;
You’d see the company tablecloths,
with intricate design.The line announced a baby’s birth,
to folks who lived inside,
As brand new infant clothes,
were hung so carefully with pride.The ages of the children,
could so readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed,
you’d know how much they’d grown.It also told when illness struck,
as extra sheets were hung;
Then night-clothes, and a bathrobe too,
haphazardly were strung.It said “Gone on vacation now”,
when lines hung limp and bare.
It told “We’re back!” when full lines sagged,
with not an inch to spare.New folks in town were scorned upon,
if washing was dingy grey,
As neighbors raised their brows,
and looked disgustedly away.But clotheslines now are of the past,
for dryers make work less,
Now what goes on inside a home,
is anybodies guess.I really miss that way of life;
it was a friendly sign,
When neighbors knew each other best,
by what was on the line.
What are you thoughts?