Did you pause at the title of this post? I mean, how can you mess up line drying? I hope most of you have it down perfectly, but so many people quit after a bit because:
1. Their clothes come out stiff and wrinkled
2. They get black marks from the line
3. Their neighborhood won’t allow the line
4. It takes too much time
Here are some tips for you to help you stick with it.
1. Know why you want to line dry. Is it the fresh smell? The savings from electricity? The stain removal and disinfecting power of the sun? Whatever your reason, make sure it’s good enough to help you stick with it.
2. To prevent marks on your clothes from the line, the first dry after a long break with the line, give the line a wipe down with a damp cloth. This removes any dust marks left by the rain or winter snow so they won’t end up on your clothes. It should only take a few minutes.
3. Before hanging your clothes on the line, shake them out really well. This will smooth any wrinkles–especially the wrinkles that form in ruffles. If they dry straight, you won’t have to iron.
4. Think about where the clothespin dimples will end up on your clothes. I like to hang my shirts upside down so that any dimples will be at the hem where they are hardly noticeable and not right at the shoulder.
5. If you have any stains left on your clothes, make sure they are facing the sun when they line dry. Chances are the stains will be gone when the clothes are dry.
6. Don’t leave clothes out too long when they are dry. The sun can fade the colors, it might rain, and it makes neighbors cranky.
7. Store your clothespins inside. It might be a pain, but it keeps the pins from getting weatherd and moldy. I have a hanging clothespin bag that will slide along the outdoor line while I’m using it, but also has it’s own hook in the laundry room for inbetween uses. This is very convenient, since I often use clothespins for indoor tasks, such as closing food bags.
8. If your clothes come off the line too stiff for your taste, 3-5 minutes in the dryer with a dryer ball will have them soft in no time and takes very little energy compared to drying them in there.
9. If your neighborhood won’t allow clothes lines, consider getting a fold up drying rack. These are useful for indoor and outdoor drying and camping too.
10. Some clothes dry well on a plastic hanger. Men’s button-down shirts are one example. I like to secure the hanger to the clothesline with a clothespin to keep them off the ground. Knits don’t do well on a hanger as it tends to add big dimples in the shoulders.
11. If hanging clothes on the line takes up too much time, try training a child to do it. Even a young one can learn to do it well, and often a healthy dose of praise is the only reward they need :).
12. I’ve found I prefer the wooden clothespins over their plastic counterparts since I store them indoors. The plastic ones break very easily while the wooden ones have lasted for years.
Advanced:
Try a clothesline under a (even better: transparent) roof.
Carports etc do a good job at this, will eventually hide the annoying subject from the neighbours and provide warmth and protection.
😉
Even if you have clotheslines, sometimes it is faster to use a drying rack for smaller things–socks, underwear, washcloths, cloth diapers and homemade wipes. I generally own both (lots of times I have not owned a dryer, so make sure to have a rack for using indoors if I MUST get something dry on a rainy day), and will often use the rack for the little stuff–especially if I know I have more laundry to hang than I have line space. One caveat: the diapers do sunbleach much better hung properly on the line.
If my neighborhood did not allow clotheslines, that would be one time I would get active in neighborhood politics. I have a problem with forcing people to do something that wastes energy. Right now, I am living in Silicon Valley. There are 300+ days of sunshine per year–and all of them great for line-drying clothes!
I had my husband put a piece of chain on each end of out clothesline and I put shirts and dresses on hangers to dry. Also, when taking socks out of the washing machine I match pairs around the top of the clothes basket. When I hang them on the line, I hang them heel to toe. That way when they are dry I can just roll up the ends before removing them from the line. I go a step further and hang each persons socks together and criss cross them in the basket and they are already sorted. I wash pants/jeans inside out and buttoned/snapped, unless there are no pockets or cargo pockets on the outside. I button them or they fall open and you get fade marks on the top. I learned that as a young sailor. When I had to replace some uniform pants that I shouldn’t have to replace.
I have been hanging out clothes on the line for 47 years. I like to hang my tops on hangers clipped with a clthes pin but on windy days I would look out and the tops would be off the hangers and the clothes pins would be broke. My husband came up with a great tip. From the end of the clothes line to a fence he hung a chain and I slip the hanger into the holes and put a clothes pin on and it stays just fine.
Thanks for the tips, though for some things–like the line and clothespin issue–I won’t have. We live in the Japan, and here they’ve made line drying an art! In fact a lot don’t have traditional “lines”. They have metal y or checkmark shaped things with grooves specifically to hang clothes on hangers or special hooks they’ve devised just for their posts. They also have different folding racks, fold up hanging extra racks with clips attached for socks and things, etc. It’s awesome, and a friend just took me shopping to get exactly what I need. Even though we’re only here another year I want to really get into this so I can bring it back to the states with me.
They make a clothesline & hook system that has a retractable line for nerindoor use the perfect size for hanging just above the walls of a tub/shower combo. So when not in use it’s barely noticeable but when you need a line in winter or rain or whatever you just pull the line & hook the special tip of it into the holder & hang your items in your shower. If company stops by just pull the shower curtain & liner & it’s out of sight!
opps I hit the keyboard as I hit post! should just read…”retractable line for indoor use..” excuse the extra letters. lol
Any hints for if you live in a muggy swamp? I have a little drying rack in the garage (I have a small house and no backyard, and I don’t really feel like putting my clothes out on the sidewalk is a good plan, given that we’re in a very “everyone put unwanted stuff on the curb for others to take without having to go through a freecycle email hassle” neighborhood!), and things often tend to stay damp for several days and end up getting mildewy and need to be washed again. With general 90% humidity (we’re in Houston), things often just don’t get dry outside the dryer and in the shade… When we have kids, my mother says to come over and put the cloth diapers out in the sun at her house (she has a big yard), but not happening in the regular laundry cycle yet!
(And, off-topic: I love your useful ideas posts.)
Marguerite,
Ah, we have humid summers like that too. When it gets bad, I have to relent and use the dryer. Sometimes things can stay out all day and still not dry otherwise. We used to plan our wash day around the weather, but with our larger family, we wash 3 loads every day. Don’t feel guilty when the dryer is a must, but hang outside when weather permits.