Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Clothes Line

Do you ever wonder why it took you so long to do something? Something simple and easy? Especially when it was something you really wanted? Well, I have. Sadly, I wonder this too often about a myriad of things.

My thoughts wandered this direction today after I accomplished something painfully easy. What am I talking about you ask? A clothesline! I have wanted one forever and I finally went ahead and did it. I hung it myself. Took me all of two minutes. Nothing fancy, but it works. Plus, I found another use for my beloved clothespins. hehe

Two things made me finally decide to do it. The first: I was having a hard time falling asleep. This was not because of the outrageous electrical bill I got this month, although it should have been keeping me up nights. Rather it was due to my noisy dryer. You see, here in MD, we have no laundry room just a stack W/D - an older one I might add - in the hallway near my bedroom. I was only drying clothes at night for many reasons which would take too long to explain. I would put a load in before bed and if there was anything in the load that could make noise, it would - keeping me awake. Secondly, that darn electrical bill! Again, it would take far too long to fully explain why it was so big, but let me say, it made me do a double take and make a phone call it was so outrageous. Jon and I decided we needed to be more conscientious of our electricity usage further prompting me to consider the clothesline.

Why do I like the clothesline? So many reasons...
I love how the clothes smell hung out to dry on the line. I can't imagine how good they'll smell when the plumaria blooms.
It saves money.
It's environmentally responsible.
My house doesn't heat up because of the prehistoric dryer.
The clothes aren't going to wear out as quickly.
Sun is a natural bleach.
My kids "fight" over who gets to hang up the laundry with me.
It just makes me happy. Can't really explain it. I can imagine myself having a yard again with a great big clothesline, listening to the Weepies "Simple Life" while I hang things out to dry. That makes me happy.

What I don't like:
The dryer did a great job of hair-removal aka Jack's hair, which is currently attached to everything we own.
Towels aren't as soft on the first use. They're fine after that, but they are a little stiff the first go-round.

The most ironic thing... I finally have a clothesline and it's in the smallest outdoor space I have ever had. Go figure.


4 comments:

Ingrid said...

Love it! Maybe I'll give it a shot!

chauwell said...

Does plumeria agree with this growing zone? Plumeria is my sister's favorite flower.

We first encountered it in Hawaii as well, but then she really started to love it when my family moved to Singapore and it was everywhere!

Kelley ♥ a bunch of apples said...

Loving all your new posts! Try putting your laundry in the dryer for like 10-15 min on the fluff cycle (no heat) after they are dry...that should make it all softer.
~Kelley

Andrea said...

I LOVE our dryer on at night. It soothes me and seems to help me fall asleep. I think deep down you are European. We had to air dry our clothes my entire mission. I have memories of my mom putting laundry on our clothes lines and I'd run through them, especially the sheets. I loved it!