I posted the pic above a few days ago, when the sun was shining enough to dry clothes in about an hour. Today it’s raining and I want to add my promised addendum to the clothesline post. Thanks “Amanda” for your comment and agreement about the beauty of clothes hung out to dry — and the silliness of communities that outlaw this simple way to save energy.
One group has gone even further to celebrate the clothesline:
Project Laundry List
Our Mission: Project Laundry List uses words, images, and advocacy to educate people about how simple lifestyle modifications, including air-drying one’s clothes, reduce our dependence on environmentally and culturally costly energy sources.
What fun! And why not get behind these simple things that can go a long way to reducing energy usage.
The main block to handing out clothes (as long as you don’t live in a clotheslines-outlawed community) is lack of time. Then the question becomes: Do I want to have the kind of life where I don’t even have time to stand out in my lovely back yard and hang up clothes while listening to the birds sing? That is the kind of question that has driven me to seek more simplicity and less consumerism. The less I buy and spend, the less I have to work outside the home, the more time I get to spend with the wind, the birds and my family. Now that’s a good deal.
I’ll end with this wonderfully poetic take on the beauty of clotheslines from poet Mendy Knott called “Instruments of Peace” from her blog A Creative Life. Here’s a snippet:
“Looking out the window, hands in the kitchen sink
washing up the dishes gives a person time to think.
I see our colorful clothing fly,
this old Arkansas home’s prayer flags;
from t-shirts stitched with slogans to denims and dust rags.
The blessed sun shines down.
The breeze it blows and fills.
They sail and pull at pins
as if the billowing clothes
could keep this old world spinnin’
spinnin’ spinnin’ spinnin’ spinnin’
spinnin’ round.”(Read Mendy’s whole poem here: Instruments of Peace)
6 Comments
The best post yet. Thanks for this. I almost forgot about clothesline and how simple things really can be.
Hi! I found your site in a Google search of “keyhole gardens.” ARe there really places that have outlawed hanging clothes out?? That’s so stupid! It’s a great way to save energy, and that means less reliance on oil. Plus, sunlight is a natural deodorizer and softener and clothes just smell good when dried naturally.
Here in Egypt, where the sun is shining all year round, each and every apartment has a clothesline hanging from its balcony. This is how we get our clothes dry after washing.
It is very rare that people use driers here in Egypt. Although using a drier might seem to be easier than hanging the wet clothes on the clothesline then collecting them up again, yet the sun seems to have a purifying effect further cleansing the clothes and making them more ‘healthy’.
Traditionally, people here in Egypt used to hang their clothes on clothesline set on rooftops. Clothes tend to dry pretty quickly there given the higher wind speed and the more amount of exposure to the sun. Many Egyptians, specially in less classy areas, still do just that.
Ah, that reminded me of my childhood when my mom would hang out clothes to dry. I remember when she made our beds with sheets from the line, it would smell like sunshine.
I just installed a clothesline by my garden last weekend. I am so glad I live in a community where it’s “legal” and completely acceptable to do this. I, too, would rather be hanging laundry, enjoying the sun and wind and birds… instead of… shopping. Thank you for pointing us to that lovely poem.
Love the photo of clothes hanging on the line. I hung the bird feeders where my clothes line used to be and I miss it. Have to find a place to string another line–somewhere the birds won’t use my clothes as bombing targets;)