Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Clothesline

Clotheslines and irons-- items of the past? Back a ways when he was 12, I once asked my nephew S- to help me hang some clothes. He looked at me like I was from outer space! I rephrased it. "We'll hang some clothes on the clothesline off the back deck." His comment was, "What's a clothesline?" We preceded to hang a basket of laundry, and he claimed his experience with our pulley clothesline was great fun! I asked myself back then has the clothes' dryer removed clotheslines permanently out of the general lexicon? Recently, I asked a couple 'youngins' that I work with this question-- Do you iron your shirts and pants for work? They( a guy and two gals) just smiled and grinned. But how do you get your shirts and pants so wrinkle free, I asked? Incredulously, all three stated in unison... the clothes' dryer! Your witness! I rest my case, your Honor!

13 comments:

  1. I have always loved how clothes smell fresh off the line! I, unlike the younguns with whom you work, do iron. However, I do know that you have a family member who never irons and believes that the dryer does a fine job of eliminating wrinkles!

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  2. Unless the item is 'wrinkle free', which means the clothing is treated with chemicals that will eventually be our demise, I don't see how a dryer eliminates wrinkles! I still have to iron things out of the dryer, for sure! And so should everyone else, methinks.

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  3. Come on over to southern Italy where the clothes dryer is an exotic rarity and everything gets ironed - even sheets, towels, underwear!

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  4. One of the simple pleasures that our younguns miss is hanging clothes outside on a line. I did it as a kid for my family and I still do it now when MN weather permits. Love fantasizing about the owners on the rare occasion when I see clothes on a line. Thanks for the memories!!

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  5. Ironing used to be such a zen experience for me, but I haven't used one (except when sewing) for years. I toss shirts in the dryer for about five minutes, then pull them out, give them a snap, and hang them. Tada...no wrinkles. Love the blue themed shirts, Birdman.

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  6. Those are some handsome shirts! Blue is my favorite color! You had better count them when you take them off the clothesline - one might be missing ....

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  7. Shall we add record players and rotary phones to the list of relics fading from public consciousness?

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  8. I agree with your missus that even out of the dryer clothes still need to be ironed. Especially if you want that crisp "ironed" look, which I do, most of the time. If pressed (ha ha) for time I do like Brattcat does and give them a quick dry and then hang them up.

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  9. I still iron my clothes! I remember watching mom ironing sheets and pillowcases in the kitchen growing up. I do miss the clothes line and the wonderful smell of bringing them in. Thanks for the story BM.

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  10. Ok, that does it. Even I'm drawing the line at ironing underwear!

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  11. Oh we have had the same idea on the same day ;-)

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  12. I miss the clothesline ritual and the fresh smell of air dried clothes with the exception of painful red knuckles you'd get in the dead of winter trying to get those frozen sheets dried.

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