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Joys and Sorrows of Hanging out the Wash

8/18/2012

2 Comments

 
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So, after years of procrastination and indecision -- and opposition from my husband, who hated the idea -- I finally put up a clothes line in the back yard. I dug a deep hole and my friend Victorya helped me mix the cement, pour it around the base, and square everything away. Pretty simple, really. I wanted a clothesline to save energy, but also because I had such fond memories of helping my mom hang out the wash in our big side yard, where I mostly climbed the cherry tree and watched the clouds. I remember how fresh everything smelled.

Well, I put the clothesline very near our compost bin. Normally there's no smell, but lately I've been dumping the remains of the vegetable plants I've been harvesting behind the bin, and just yesterday I dumped several pounds' worth of outside red cabbage leaves. Pee-yuu (or however you spell it)!

Another challenge is that, of course, different items dry at different rates -- Rob's poly/cotton shirts first, towels last, and everything else in between. He didn't want me to hang stuff outside because he thought everything would be stiff. His shirts dry just like in the dryer, soft and wrinkle-free, but the towels (and underwear!) are stiff. I've been surprised by how long most things take to dry, so sometimes, either because they're not quite dry or because I want to soften them up, I throw them in the dryer for a few minutes. I've also discovered I HATE hanging out socks, so sometimes I just throw them in the dryer right away.

So I don't know how much energy I'm actually saving, though I'm sure it's something. I'm of the school that believes individual action to address climate change is a necessary but far from sufficient condition for change. Governments have to get involved, obviously, and, just as obviously, governmental action can slow down or speed up climate change (as in continuing to give huge subsidies to fossil fuel industries).

One thing about hanging out the wash -- it does put one more in touch with nature and the weather: sunny or cloudy, dry or humid or even raining after I've finished clothes-pinning everything on the line. I do love listening to the cardinals, chickadees and robins, and watching the gorgeous monarchs feeding on the aptly named butterfly bush nearby.  And I'm going to find another place to dispose of my garden's biomass, so I can smell the flowers instead.

2 Comments
Wendy Kohli
8/19/2012 07:11:00 pm

Melinda, Philip and I have been hanging wash, intermittently, since moving to Hamden ten years ago. I resonate with many of your feelings about it. This summer, after spending time in Germany with eco-conscious folks, we saw their creative use of drying racks. So now we place our clothes drying rack on our deck and drape all of the small things, like socks, on it--instead of hanging them on the line with clothes pins. I was amazed at how much the drying rack can hold. So, between the line and the rack, I can dry my entire laundry if I want. (I do use the dryer as a backup, or for certain garments). I have grown fond of hanging things out to dry; it slows me down and connects me to one other dimension of my life in a way I don't feel when I put things in the dryer.

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Joan Saddler link
8/25/2012 12:01:47 pm

I love the idea of hanging clothes out to dry. We always had a clothes line in the backyard of my parents' house, and used it all the time. Hmmm, I think I need one, too!

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    Melinda Tuhus

    Welcome to my blog, Leaves and Fishes. It connotes that I'll  often be blogging about environmental issues, though certainly not exclusively. It also references the idea that when people pool their resources -- even if meager --  generous and equitable outcomes can result. Finally, since  "leaves" and "fishes" are both nouns and verbs, I hope to have fun with the words I write. 

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