Laundry & Clothes Lines

[Pinga]

I am wondering who hangs out your clothes on a clothes line?

If you don't have a clothes line, do you use a drying rack?

 

[BetteTheRed]

I have a clothes line that stretches from one corner of my house to a hydro pole. Gets regular use in the summer. Will hold two 'normal' sized loads. Don't use it for personal stuff like knickers, but for all sheets and towels. Towels get tossed in dryer to de-crisp.

 

[Pinga]

Since we moved into the house, I have been using the two clotheslines.

It is a decent setup.
One shorter line, one longer line.
Accessed from the back stoop
Catches a good breeze as the wind comes across the side of the house, and then whips across the back.

Our old house had a clothesline as well, but it was an umbrella style. To get sun in our backyard, there were few places that it could be, so there was a bit of a walk to it.
I also am not a fan of umbrella clothes line, i don't feel clothes dry as well on them.

 

[BetteTheRed]

And my dryer is gas, which is both super-efficient, and lasts a lot longer than a washer.

 

[Pinga]

I have a clothes line that stretches from one corner of my house to a hydro pole. Gets regular use in the summer. Will hold two 'normal' sized loads. Don't use it for personal stuff like knickers, but for all sheets and towels. Towels get tossed in dryer to de-crisp.

I didn't use it in January as it was soooo frigid most days, and my husband noticed the difference in our hydro bill. Now, it likely wasn't just the dryer, but, dryers are notoriously expensive to run.

I love doing laundry -- don't ask me why, think it reminds me of my Mom.

I hang everything -- undergarments to towels and sheets. Then again, we are pretty private up here.

The two lines run to two different trees. One is about double the lenght of the other. The one will hold a full load, the other will hold two loads.

 

[Pinga]

And my dryer is gas, which is both super-efficient, and lasts a lot longer than a washer.

Good point re gas. We have gas at the old house, and plan to bring them over to the new one. Have to run a gas line first though.

 

[BetteTheRed]

See, there's a huge difference. Gas dryers cost very little to run, and they last much longer than electric ones. My house is 58 years old, and we are on dryer #3, I kid you not, and #3 is only 3 years old.

 

[BetteTheRed]

BUT, there's nothing like sheets done on the line. That ozone smell is like a sleeping pill for me.

 

[Mendalla]

I have a clothes line that stretches from one corner of my house to a hydro pole.

Damn, now you're making me nostalgic. That's Mom's clothesline to a tee.

We don't have a line at this place. The subdivision covenants disallowed them when we built. We could probably do it now but that's Mrs. M's call since laundry is her department. We did have one at the place we owned in Hamilton in the late nineties and she did use it.

 

[Pinga]

Oh, the smell. I love the smell of fresh sheets off the line.

Next time that I have clothes flapping (lol, though no undergarment), I will take a photo and post.
Would be fun, Bette , if you did too...or others.

Note: My mom hung clothes on the line all year around, and she had a gas dryer all of my life. I remember the jeans coming off and standing up in the corner.

 

[Carolla]

Laundry heaven - two long lines to hang everything out! We have an umbrella style one - doesn't hold as much as I would like. In the winter we hang stuff in the basement though - rarely use the dryer. It drys surprisingly quickly - and I guess adds a bit of humidity to the house too.

 

[Seeler]

On your bringing back memories of mom doing the laundry on Monday mornings – old wringer washer rolled out to the middle of the kitchen floor – clothesline running from the stand just outside the back door to the the corner of the backyard fence. Everything was hung out back then starting with dishtowels and ending with dark work Clothes.
Nice days in the summer when the women shared friendship over backyard fences. A friendly rivalry about who could get their clothes out first. And the suspicion that Mrs. M did her laundry on Sunday evenings to be first to the clothesline on Monday morning.

And in the winter frozen fingers hanging steaming clothes on the ice-covered line, and even colder fingers wrestling them frozen stiff from the line to bring into the house and finding a place for them to stand or hung until they thawed and finished drying. And then ironing the stiff, wrinkled garments.

I thank God for my first dryer. I had two babies in diapers at the same time, before disposable diapers were commonly used. I still used the clothesline occasionally during summer until, during a repair to the back deck, it was taken down and not replaced. I still miss hanging out sheets and other bedding on a nice breezy warm day. But I love my dryer.

 

[Lastpointe]

I have an umbrella one in my yard. Works pretty well
In my laundry area I have a line that runs from one side of the room to the other and doubles back. So it becomes three lengths of line about ten feet long each. I use that tons.
I also have a few pull up rods that each can hold about six hangers. So great for shirts

But I still use the dryer a lot. And I love hot towels right out of the dryer

 

[Lastpointe]

On the same vein


Who irons?

I iron pillow cases and the top two feet of the top sheet. I love the smooth crispness

And then the odd cotton shirt that needs it. Hubbys dress shirts went to the cleaners

 

[Pinga]

@Lastpointe - some of the guy that I travel with use a cleaner at their target destination (which they travel to weekly). They drop their shirts off on Friday when they leave the city, and pick up on Monday when they land. Works great, and they have a very small carry on.

I iron infrequently. I have a couple of blouses that I prefer ironed, and I tend to wear rarely. My youngest son, though, is an amazing ironer, and does it regularly for his reserves shirts, pants, and gear. Oldest son also likes a crisp shirt. Actually, i guess my husband does too sometimes, but, they all iron their own.
I don't iron anything like tea towels or sheets, but mom did for years.

***
Interesting re the hanging of clothes in the house. I did not do that at all, or rarely. sometimes took stuff damp out of the dryer.
I finish things off the line in the dryer. For one thing, I have a stupid phobia re spiders in the clothes, and figure a quick zap in the dryer will kill them.
For another it just knocks off any residual soap, and fluffs them. (and, it is probably what i am used to)

****
When we had our housewarming, the previous owners and their family came up (they live next door). The kids could not believe the room that we spend most of our time in (family room / great room). It has a gas fireplace. Finally, one of the daughters said to me, this room is amazing. They had lived in it for 17? years or so. "Mom basically used it for drying clothes. It was a junk room. She had a clothes rack in front of the gas stove.

It is funny how we use rooms differently. I could see putting a rack up in January next year, or for rainy days when the fireplace is going and clothes can't go on the line.

 

[Mendalla]

In the winter we hang stuff in the basement though

My mother had lines in the basement (long room that used for storage and Dad's workshop). She used a dryer, too, but I can't recall what got hung and what got dried in terms of laundry. We used to use it to hang wet coats and such when we came in from rainy or snowy weather.

 

[Carolla]

My dtr lives in a tiny lower level apartment in a house - and it has a gas fireplace. She got a drying rack too and often dries her clothes there, preferring it to the dryer. We have a couple of those folding racks too - metal ones - sure can put a lot of socks & undies on those! Looks like this - you can find them on sale sometimes.

 

[Mendalla]

My dtr lives in a tiny lower level apartment in a house - and it has a gas fireplace. She got a drying rack too and often dries her clothes there, preferring it to the dryer. We have a couple of those folding racks too - metal ones - sure can put a lot of socks & undies on those! Looks like this - you can find them on sale sometimes.

View attachment 2350

LIttle M has a folding one for putting his wet bath towels and stuff on. He uses the dryer for drying clothes (they have an in-unit over-under laundry in his residence apartment).

 

[revjohn]

We use a clotheline when the weather allows.

It means we might have to chase some articles because it can get a smidge windy. Fortunately we have lots of alders to catch errant sheets and such.

"Some day on clothes" means "it is really windy"

"Luh!"means, "isn't that your laundry blowing into the bay?"

 

[ChemGal]

I use a drying rack for most of my clothes. Even if I did have a line I would use a drying rack as many things would get stretched out. I don't put things outside, and my doctors warn against doing it. I do hang some things to dry - jeans, hoodies, sometimes yoga pants, leggings and dresses (upside down typically) depending on space left on the drying racks/hanging space. I use a closet - door open and the shower rod.

I do use the dryer for some things - towels and sheets especially.