My clothes have been dried on a clothes line very few times in my life. For the first few months living in Tijuana (2004-2005), we didn’t have a drier. We pinned our wet clothes on orange and yellow plastic ropes, strung across the patio. Here, you can see our neighbors clothes line, including socks hung on the chain-linked fence:
My American patience level got the best of me and I bought a dryer. I’ve used dryers before. I grew up with a dryer. You press a button and clothes come out dry a few minutes later. Dry and wrinkled, that is. No matter what settings I use, I end up with wrinkled clothes. To this day, I haven’t mastered the magic combination of heat, load size and timing. Note the ironing board tucked next to the stacked washer/dryer (2007):
On the surface, it may look like an upgrade, but I’m back to the drawing board with all new settings. It’s like microwaving popcorn without a popcorn button. Inconceivable. I’ve flirted with the idea of taking everything to the cleaners, but that seems like one step too far across the yuppie line. Maybe I’ll string up a clothes line across the new patio…
Just imagine. You’re beaten silly in soapy water only to be tortured for another half-hour in a tumbling inferno. Or, you’re gently draped in the open air, kissed by the sun, the breeze whispering sweet nothings in your ear.
[ view more clothes line photos | slideshow ]
5 replies on “Clothes Line vs Dryer”
That is just pure genius …
Mom still likes to hang dry her clothes…..
That last photo is gorgeous, love the vignetting.
We’ve tried to cut down on our dryer use at home – hanging them is easier on your bills and emissions. It can also heat the house up a lot.
When I do my laundry at my parent’s house (to save money), I have to dry my clothes on the line. They have a dryer, but it is very slow, so on hot summer days the sun works a lot quicker. I’ll bring the clothes down when it’s still slightly damp and throw it in the dryer for 10 minutes so it softens up a bit.
we just discovered the wonders of clothes lines as well:
http://tinyurl.com/2xjye5
I grew up in the country and the clothes were always hung on the line, no matter what time of year, (and that was in the midwest). The memories are not as sweet as the smells were, but we needed less bleach, as the sun did wonders on the whites with the green grass below, we got our exercise, and heaven forbid the dogs were feeling playful, because if they were the sheets became a toy flapping in the breeze at first, and then a blanket to lay on.
I have now decided to go back to the good old days now that I am fifty and want to do my part for the environment. Besides, I just got laid off and it will keep me busy.