When I first saw this sign at Kendall Hardware in Clarksville….I had gone there to look at their woodburning stoves, as we’re looking at some alternative ($$$$$$$$$) ways to heat the homeplace this winter, as opposed to oil heat. And when I saw this sign I was genuinely excited….What a great idea I thought, because as you know, the electric clothes dryer is a big waster of your kilowatt hours….some say they cost about $100 a year to run. But then someone pointed out to me in a rather droll fashion…”They’re talking about a clothes line.” Oh. Then I’m not really interested.
Hey, I grew up hanging out wash in Alabama(I know, so old school but my parents were not quick to get the latest, not when they had 3 girls to hang the wash), but let me tell you, for those of you who’ve never had the pleasure, hanging wet sheets on a cold day with freezing fingers is not as picturesque as it sounds. I’ll never forget when we got our first clothes dryer…we were simply amazed by how soft everything was when they emerged all warm and fluffy…..not stiff , like from the line, and while I know there are many of you who just LOVE the smell of line dried laundry, I’ll just buy a laundry detergent with a fragrance called “Fresh Linen” and call it day. But there has been a resurgence of interest in drying laundry outdoors….for environmental reasons and more personal ones….websites devoted to the art, and ways to make your laundry less stiff. But I’ve been there, done that. Don’t want to go back.
Oh there are times I do use my solar clothes dryer…. a few white things like tablecloths that dry well in the sun, stretched out on the grass… and in the summer, they even bleach out a little. It’s great, as long as a dog doesn’t pee on it. But I love my dryer…love it. I suppose it would be ok to have a drying rack like we used to have at home for drying things in the basement in the winter….(you know the old wooden folding ones?)…might as well make use of all that heat and add a little humidity at the same time. But the dryer stays.
