Showing up at my house unannounced on a laundry day during Winter months has people wondering if they’ve entered some type of laundry house.
Clothes are hanging to dry ALL over.
Shirts, jeans, socks and underwear are in plain view.
[that’s right, even underwear]
I make good use of my wooden drying rack and the four dining table chairs.
When those spots are full I hang clothes by hangers over door jams, free coat hooks and sometimes cupboard knobs, even the flat surfaces of the washer and dryer.
Basically any free and clean space that is not easily accessible to the arms of my 2 1/2 year old son. He just loves “helping” me by pulling the wet clothes off and dragging them throughout the house.
[deep breath while I gather and re-hang, gather and re-hang…]
Seriously, it is a laundry-drying fiesta inside my house.
Perhaps I should invest in more than one clothes maiden? Two of them would at least free up the door jams so we aren’t walking under wet (and then damp and then dry) clothes all day long. Okay, maybe two days long when I let the laundry time linger longer than it should. But, there are three of us and the house is in full renovation mode.
[excuses, excuses]
So why does a girl like myself live in laundry mayhem at least twice a week?
Saving money and electricity, people.
Money and electricity!
[woot woot]
Saving electricity is super easy. Flick of the switch here, twist of the tap there. Energy efficient this, unplug that. You’ve got it. But did you know that the dryer is the second biggest electricity-using appliance after the fridge?
[yes, indeed]
I *heart* the dryer for it’s ability to give me non-stiff, non-wrinkly clothes, towels and sheets.
I really *heart* the dryer for its hot-out-of-the-dryer clothes to wear on a chilly morning. Warm clothes are bliss. But, I do not *heart* the dryer for its power sucking and money draining abilities.
The average dryer costs $85 a year to operate and $1100 over its lifetime.
[ooh the possibilities of extra cash]
So, I’ve greened up my laundry habits. Rather than running the dryer for every single load of laundry washed, I hang all clothes to dry.
When items are dry I pop the super wrinkly and stiff items in the dryer for a minute or two and fluff them up. I make the most of the dryer’s heat by tossing in a full load of dried clothes and by drying loads back to back.
During the Winter, towels and sheets get the full dryer treatment.
I just don’t have the space for an indoor clothesline. But as soon as the warmth and sunshine return, they get hung outside to dry. In fact, come Spring my indoor laundry house moves itself outside to the clothesline and the deck.
While my clothes are hanging out I have more time for other things. I really dig that laundry day is no longer segmented into 40-60 minute intervals. It was always about waiting for the dryer. Now I’m free to complete other household tasks OR put my feet up and enjoy a book.
[hmmm, a real toss up]
Line-drying clothes is an effective way to reduce energy.
But if you don’t have the space to hang clothes inside (or out) or you’re a dedicated fan of the dryer, there are ways to increase the efficiency of your dryer.
One way is to always empty the lint trap. This not only helps alleviate the risk of fire, it improves the productivity of your dryer.
Another tip is to dry similar weighted clothes together. This not only dries your clothes evenly, it also helps decrease the deterioration time of lighter weighted fabrics. Please check out the sidebar of this article for more dryer-related energy saving tips.
Change begins at home, where the laundry is.
Pitch a line.
Grab those clothes pegs.
Go!
Tips to Maximize Drying Time
Efficient Clothesline Use
- Position the line or rack where it will get partial shade during part of the day.
- Place clothesline where it will get the most benefit from the wind.
- Avoid trees with birds!
- Hang clothes as soon as possible after washed to decrease wrinkles.
- Hang t-shirts by the bottom and pants by the cuffs.
- Hang towels by the short side in shadier spaces.
- Hang delicates in shadier spots to keep shape and elasticity.
- Hang dresses over the line at the waist.
- Turn sweaters and delicate tops inside out, place on hanger and clip hanger over the line.
SOURCE
Efficient Dryer Use
- Sort clothes for drying and place items with similar drying times together.
- Lightweight items will dry faster hung on their own
- Take clothes out of the dryer while they are still slightly damp. Over-drying causes shrinkage, static electricity and shortens fabric life.
- Don't add wet items to a load that is partially dry. This causes the dryer to run longer.
- Drying full (not oversized) loads is more energy-efficient than drying smaller loads.
- Clothes should dry in 40-60 minutes.
- Dry multiple loads back to back to make the most of the dryer’s heat.
- Use the cool-down cycle. It doesn’t use heat for the last few minutes, but drying continues as cool air is blown through the tumbling clothes.
- Clean the lint trap after each use. A clogged lint trap reduces air flow and dryer performance. It can also become a fire hazard.
- Check the vent to the outside. Keep it clean and free from obstruction because proper ventilation is important for the proper operation of your dryer.
SOURCE
I love, love, love my clothesline! On sunny days this winter I have been using it. The clothes don’t get all the way dry, but it reduces my dryer usage to 15-20 minutes. In the summer, I still throw the clothes in the dryer for 5 minutes after they come off the line… not only to soften them a bit, but also to kill off any bugs that have taken up residence on the clothes (beetles especially love my sheets!).
A couple of other tips for outdoor clotheslines: hang your t-shirts inside out to minimize fading from the sun; have way more clothes pins than you think you need – they slowly disappear around the house being used for other things; fold sheets in half to dry if they hang down quite low… otherwise, little dirty hand prints have been known to appear on them!
I LOVE to hang my laundry. I actually go a little nutty when I can start hang it outdoors in the new year and search for things to wash just so I can make everything smell like the sun *grin*. This time of year we have a clothesline set up in our basement near the woodstove and I dry quite a bit there to. I’m getting my hubby to install a 2nd outdoor line this year because one just isn’t enough
Great article.
Thanks for posting this. I’ve been wanting to hang stuff to dry, and this is the kick in the pants i needed!
Thank you for the reminder to get my line fixed! Rambunctious five year old boy+heavy sleeping bag drying =broken laundry line. Nice work:)
I grew up line drying clothes, maybe I am rebelling by using the dryer?! We usually hang all the heavier things like towels, jeans and lighter clothes like fleece and rad pants. I use the dryer for all the itsy bitsy baby clothes.
I really like the smell and feel of outdoor line dried laundry but I have to wait until the pollen is gone to hang things. Achoo!
I never thought about how important it really is to actually use those clothes lines that have been driving me nuts in the middle of my yard.
I moved to the Netherlands (Holland) from So. CA about 6 months ago, my husband didn’t have a dryer but I requested one for during the cold damp winters here as it was taking 2 days for things to dry and then they would start to smell, so a dryer was a must.
BUT.. it’s now spring and everything is hung outside. I make sure to only do laundry when it’s sunny. It’s still a bit cold, so if things are hung out in the afternoon, I usually finish them in the dryer for about 20 mins in the evening when I bring them in. I don’t have much of a problem with things being wrinkled using fabric softener, except on towels of course.
We’ve started line drying our clothes this year as well! Apart from the already mentioned benefits, it’s just nice to have another reason to be outside breathing fresh air and listening to the birds! It also feels good to dry your clothes ‘old-school’ and get back to the simple way of doing things. It’s been fun and easier than we thought! Take care!
I love what you have written here..
I’m an American living in Finland right now and I’ve adopted hanging my laundry to dry. Once you think about it, all of us really do waste so much. For winter I dry sheets, at times towels and socks, but everything else is hung on my inside hanging rack.. Love these by the way; eve IKEA carries something similar… I just wanted to stop by and say thank you for not being wasteful
Mustikka Mehu