National Clothesline Week! Seriously!

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Some day a bright young thing working in a basement lab using cheap hardware store parts might come up with a better way of obtaining free energy, but until that time comes clotheslines are the next best thing!

IN THE MEANTIME…LET’S CELEBRATE — The first week in June is International Clothesline Week and was created to encourage people to hang their clothes on a line to dry instead of using electricity or gas sucking clothes dryers.

For nearly 10 years, thousands of people and communities worldwide have participated in International Clothesline Week, and many communities have revised their regulations to allow clotheslines. Now that’s what I call changing the world for the better!

Do you remember your mom hanging clothes out to dry?  Do you remember seeing all the bright colors flapping in the breeze? Can you smell the fresh spring day while taking them down? Even in winter clothes were hung out to dry, sometimes coming in so frozen they could stand on their own.

Now most people use dryers exclusively and world-wide that adds up to a lot of dryers!

Opt for Breeze Power, Sun Power, HUMAN Power!

Did you knowOver 80% of households use a clothes dryer, drawing huge amounts of precious energy! If every household spent even one day hanging their clothes out to dry it would save a huge amount of energy and equal a huge savings in dollars. More importantly less dryer use translates into fewer pollutants and fewer health consequences associated with coal driven electricity.

As a global community, if we could all hang our clothes to dry, it would mean healthier mentalities, healthier relationships and a healthier earth.

And that’s just one day; how about a week, a year, a lifetime??

Things to consider about hanging clothes to dry:

  • saves up to 10% of residential energy; running a dryer 20 hours a month will cost you on average 100 kilowatt hours. A clothesline’s operating costs are zero!!
  • less need for nuclear energy or coal energy
  • less emissions which saves our health, literally less deaths and saves the earth
  • using solar and wind power is FREE
  • clothes smell better (like sun and air)
  • clothes feel better
  • clothes will last much longer (less wear and tear from the heat and tumbling of the dryer)
  • clothes don’t wrinkle – no need to use an electric iron, another savings
  • no need to wait for the dryer to finish
  • don’t have to empty the lint tray
  • improve relationships; working together for the greater good builds friendships and love…
  • can be therapeutic – the time it takes to hang the clothes can be time of reflection of you, family, earth, etc.
  • burn calories – because you’re exercising many muscles you burn about 45 calories every 15 minutes.
  • Go a step further and use cold water for your wash to save additional energy. Hot water does NOT clean clothes any better than cold. Hot water DOES deteriorate clothes faster and fades colors quicker. If cold doesn’t work for you, use warm instead of hot. This step alone will reduce massive amounts of pollution!

So, folks, break out your spare rope, dust off the fence or set up a clothes rack and let your tighty whities blow in the breeze. Making this part of your homestead routine will save you money, be a relaxing part of your day and make your clothes smell fresh and natural. Who could ask for more!

To read more about laundry check out our previous post “Lessons in Laundry” here 



One Response to “National Clothesline Week! Seriously!”

  1. mandy says:

    Gosh, call us Aussies old fashioned, but here in Australia (even in wintery Canberra where I live) the outdoor clothes line is still heavily in use. (How could we deprive generations of kids the joy of a good swing on the rotary hoist!!) When it rains or washing only partly dries due to winter weather we use those things called clothes-airers wire or wood contraptions that are used to and dry things indoors indoors. Its a sign of pending winter when our big hardware store has these up for sale !

    (Of course these contraptions are whisked quickly away when unexpected visitors arrive!!)

    Tumble driers are for apartment dwellers who don’t have balconies or desperate times in rainy spells.

    Sun and wind are FREE, the sun sterilises and things just smell nicer.

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