But today I pulled out the umbrella clothes line and hung out the towels and sheets. I purchased one of these great contraptions from Walmart last year for about $30. (Note: yes from Walmart and yes it was made in China. I will say that I researched purchasing an umbrella clothes line that was made in the US, but I was unable to justify a $100 purchase when I wasn't sure if I was going to use it regularly or not!)
With our very dry and hot weather (it starts to feel like the inside of a clothes dryer around the end of April), my clothes, towels, and sheets end up dry in about one hour. Today took a little longer since it was cool and calm. I never put my laundry out on a windy day; I would end up with dirtier clothes and my allergies would flare up!
Hanging clothes to dry is a great way to save energy in a couple of ways. First, you aren't using the energy to dry the clothes. Second, you aren't heating up the house and making your air conditioner work harder.
I actually kind of like going outside to hang up the clothes; the air around the clothes hanger is a couple of degrees cooler from the evaporation and it just is kind of old-fashioned. My kids run around under the clothes and it is fun to stand in there amongst the laundry. The hummingbirds come to see what I am doing and I get a little dose of Vitamin D.
You might have concerns that your laundry ends up stiff. I have an easy solution: I toss my clothes in the dryer for a very short time (5-10 minutes) with a dryer sheet. No stiffness! This can also be an advantage for shirts that usually need to be ironed or with your sheets. You may eliminate your ironing duties (another energy savings).
It can also get your whites "whiter." Sunshine is a great bleaching agent!
You can tell I like it...will you try it out? Let me know! ;-)
--Katie
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