Laundry is not my favorite household chore. In fact, I really really don’t like to do laundry. Unless the weather is nice and I can hang my clothes outside. Then I don’t mind doing the laundry at all. There’s just something so relaxing about hanging clothes out. And seeing those clothes hanging on the line all day, dancing in the wind. And the wonderful smell of those sun dried clothes. One of things I so love about summer is being able to have bedding that has been line dried. I seem to sleep so much better on sun kissed sheets! But one thing I haven’t hung out for years was my towels. My “guys” didn’t like how stiff they were coming off the line. So, I did some research to see what I could do to keep them from getting so stiff and this is what I found out – if you tumble dry your sheets for about five minutes in the dryer before you hang them out – they won’t be so stiff. Yeah! They aren’t quite as soft as I was hoping but they are definitely softer and it’s so worth it when you consider how much money you are saving by using your clothesline and not your dryer. It works for jeans too! A few things I do when hanging my clothes out:
- Since my actual line is plastic cord I clean it periodically with a little warm soapy water and a rag. Otherwise it can get really gross and gunk may come off onto your clothes.
- I hang my whites in the direct sun and my colors in the shade. You can also hang your whites on the outside line and your colors on the inside lines to keep the colors shaded. The sun can fade your clothes, which is great for whites, not so great for colors.
- I snap each item of clothing before hanging to reduce wrinkles.
- When hanging a variety of clothes that belong to different family members, I dedicate a separate line for each person. I also hang like clothes together – bottoms first, then shirts, socks, etc. It just looks nicer to me! I used to not dedicate a line – but would hang all bottoms first, then shirts, etc. It looked so nice but . . . .
- Dedicating the lines makes it easier when taking the clothes off the line. I always fold them as I’m taking them off and this way they are separated according to person which makes putting them away so quick and easy. Just grab each individual pile out of the basket and carry them to the coordinating room – easy peasy.
I find it so relaxing to hang my clothes out. It make me slow down and enjoy the outdoors. Listen to the birds sing, watch the kittens play. All while doing a chore that when done inside is exactly that – a chore!
