This past Monday, I caught these late afternoon shadows at play out back. It got me to thinking. Who hangs their clothes outside to dry anymore? I bet the numbers are way down. Well, we still do. Is this a country thing? Maybe an inner city thing? With the advent of dryers, is this becoming a thing of the past? One time back when my nephew Stephen stayed with us for a week, he helped me hang clothes, using our long clothesline. He was amazed at how the line worked and that all our washings were hanging off the deck. I showed him how to reel them out and then hours later how to reel them back in. Although we have a washer-dryer off the kitchen, we still try to hang the laundry when the weather cooperates. And of course, we get that added benefit... that fresh laundry, air-dried smell. Ah...
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Morning Shadows
This past Monday, I caught these late afternoon shadows at play out back. It got me to thinking. Who hangs their clothes outside to dry anymore? I bet the numbers are way down. Well, we still do. Is this a country thing? Maybe an inner city thing? With the advent of dryers, is this becoming a thing of the past? One time back when my nephew Stephen stayed with us for a week, he helped me hang clothes, using our long clothesline. He was amazed at how the line worked and that all our washings were hanging off the deck. I showed him how to reel them out and then hours later how to reel them back in. Although we have a washer-dryer off the kitchen, we still try to hang the laundry when the weather cooperates. And of course, we get that added benefit... that fresh laundry, air-dried smell. Ah...
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I love to hang laundry out, but here, with the quickly-changeable weather and the scores of birds flying overhead (and leaving droppings behind), it's often more trouble than it's worth.
ReplyDeleteI try to hang my clothes out to dry, too-- it really helps with the energy bill! Not to mention it's just good for the soul to be out there with the birds chirping and the sun on my shoulders instead of mindlessly folding laundry in front of the TV.
ReplyDeleteI think that hanging laundry out to dry is enjoying a comeback, actually. Many younger people (dare I include myself in that demographic?) are trying to do what they can to reduce the energy they use. I live in quite a liberal area, so my numbers are probably skewed, but I see lots of clotheslines in use around here.
and you are being very green! Lines are making a come-back in my area of Toronto too.
ReplyDeleteI don't even own a drier Birdman. I think we are pretty lucky here in that there always seems to a period in between rainy days to get the washing dry. I love that 'fresh air' dried smell to clothes as well.
ReplyDeleteLiving in a downtown rowhouse in Montreal has robbed me of this simple pleasure. But I can still remember helping my grandmother retrieve her laundry from the clothesline. Sweet memories.
ReplyDeleteAppreciate your comment on my blog. :)
Ever since my American wife moved to India with me she started this bad habit. I think She is liking it more than her American dryer.
ReplyDeleteFantastic shot!
I still hang clothes out to dry and had the clothesline full just today. Nothing like sheets that have hung on the line. Nice
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the aroma of clothing just off the line. :)
ReplyDeleteI was going to say that it is having a very small comeback, but just look at how many of your commenters hang out their wash! I don't think this constitutes a statistically valid sample. Me? Nope. I toss everything in the dryer, except my golf shirts, which I don't want to fry. I hang those (inside) to air dry.
ReplyDeleteBrings back memories of my grandmother and her refusal to use an electric dryer.
ReplyDeleteDryers are almost unknown here and I luckily have a wide terrace...
ReplyDeleteI used to insist on it but gave up that fight years ago. So everything that we dry goes in the dryer. The clothes line came down and I can't remember the last time I ran into it.
ReplyDeletemy mom always hangs the laundry to dry in the garden. and then i could hide behind it....
ReplyDeletewe dont have a garden, but i never use the dryer; i hang it in the living room! only the bedsheets are too big to hand out; how i wish i had a garden!!
but the washers here cause a lot of lint, making all my black clothes look so horribly dusty! colleagues advised me to use the dryer to get rid of that, but i dont like the smell of machinedried clothes.....