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Subject: |
How To Hang Clothes On The Line |
| Date: |
2009-02-02
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How To Hang Clothes On
The Line
By Jill Cooper
LivingOnADime.com
Many people want to learn how to hang clothes on the line - whether it
is to save money, protect the environment, or just because line-dried
clothes smell so nice. An often overlooked benefit is how much line
drying will save on wear and tear on clothing. Unfortunately, due to
lack of knowledge, after the first try or two of hanging things on the
line, people usually get frustrated and quit.
It seems like hanging clothes on the line should be simple, right? How
hard can it be to stick a clothespin on the fabric and put it on a
line? But, as many have discovered, the results can be stiff and
wrinkled clothes.
Like so many other homemaking skills, there is an art to hanging
clothes on the line. Like other skills, it will take practice. Don't
give up if it takes time or is hard the first time around. With
practice, you will be able to hang an average load of laundry in about
5 minutes and take them down in that amount of time. They'll be as
wrinkle-free and soft as if you did them in the dryer.
Here are a few things you will need to know before you start.
- This is what I do to keep my
laundry dryer soft. You can do one or all of these if you want. First,
when I have a dryer, I always fluff my clothes in it for about 5
minutes. This uses almost no electricity and makes the clothes just as
soft as if you had run them full cycle in the dryer.
When I don't have a dryer, I try to hang my clothes on a windy day. It
does the same thing as a dryer. In Kansas, a windy day can be almost
everyday, but for those of you who live where a 5-mile an hour breeze
is considered a gale-force wind, don't despair! There are other things
you can do.
- As I begin to hang each piece of clothing, I give it a sharp
snap, or shake, holding from the bottom of a shirt or pant legs. This
doesn't take long. I just do it as I am going from the clothesbasket to
the line, making it done and ready to hang when I get it up to the
line. You don't need to do this with everything; for example, you don't
need to do it with socks or undies. I do it to items I don't want
wrinkled or things I want soft, like towels.
- I always use fabric softener; if you prefer, you can use vinegar.
- Fading is not a problem for me here in Kansas. It is hazy and
defuses
the sun's rays slightly. When we lived in the northwest, though, it was
a real problem. If you find fading to be an issue, just turn things
like jeans or dark t-shirts inside out.
It also helps to slow fading if you bring items in as soon as they are
dry. In the opposite way, I leave my whites out as long as I can
because it bleaches and brightens them.
- You will need clothespins and a clothespin bag or apron. You can
get
clothes pins and bags at Wal-Mart or Dollar stores. They are usually
with the things like ironing board covers. I prefer a clothespin apron.
I made mine; it is about 10 inches long with just 2 large pockets on
the front for the clothes pins. It ties around my waist like an apron.
Either a bag or an apron is just fine.
Before You Start
Hanging out the clothes properly starts before you even leave the
house. The next few steps may make me sound like Martha, but there is a
reason for the method. Most of these steps not only speed the hanging
of the clothes, but they also make taking them in quicker. The steps
even help in folding and putting away.
If you are brand new to hanging clothes on a line, you may want to just
practice hanging things the way I will show you. After you get that
down, you’ll want to speed things along by practicing the next steps.
Before I put the clothes in the basket to take outside, I sort them
quickly on top of the washer or dryer. This doesn't need to be done
perfectly and will get easier the more you do it. I pull out the big
items like the sheets or tablecloths. I fold the sheets in half and
gently lay them in the basket. This way, when I am ready to hang them,
I just pick them up out of the basket by their four corners and quickly
hang them because they are already folded and ready to go.
Next I do pants and jeans. The legs get folded with the seams together
(see a picture below) and then folded in half and laid on top of the
sheets.
Any large towels go next. I just lay them in the basket.
On the washer
or dryer I lay piles of t-shirts all together, shirts together, hand
towels together and all like things together in their own piles. I then
stack them into the basket beginning with largest items and working my
way to the smallest. The next items in the basket are washrags,
dishrags, and underwear. I lay them in flat piles, corners together,
like laying a stack of papers. I do this because I can pick up the
whole pile (or half, depending how big it is), and take it to the line.
Because the corners are together, I can pin one corner after the other
very quickly without having to go back and forth to the basket each
time to get another item and I don't have to stop to straighten each
one.
Last in the basket are the socks. I straighten them out and flatten
them, laying one on top of the other, toes together. Again, I can pick
up a stack of them and quickly go along the line, hanging them without
having to return to the basket each time.
Pinning Clothes on the Line
Jeans
Hang by the legs. Water wicks down to the heaviest part of the jean
(the waistband). The weight of that water combines with the weight of
the waistband, pulling on the pant legs and so pulling out the
wrinkles. The same idea applies when steaming a garment. Gently pulling
on it will remove wrinkles.
You can pull the pockets out if you want. I don't usually do that
because they seem to dry fine, even here in humid Kansas.
Shirts and Blouses
Hang upside down by the side seams. This puts the heaviest part of the
garment at the bottom, as explained before. It also prevents puckers
from the clothespins (as you would have if you hung them by the
shoulders).
T-shirts
If you don't straighten out t-shirts, the corners at the seams can have
points from the clothespins. To prevent this, bring the side seams
together then the center of it and gently pull, then hang by the
bottom. You don't need to pull all your t-shirts. I have a couple that
don’t seem to hang right, so in order to prevent the pointy sides you
can get on some t-shirts, I do this. I normally don't pull the kid's
items because they aren’t as much of a problem.
Sheets
To hang a fitted sheet, I tuck one corner into another, fold it in half
and hang by each end with the pockets (or corners) hanging down.
For a flat sheet, I just fold it in half.
Towels
Towels are simply hung by one edge.
You will want to note that for items like towels, dishrags, underwear
and t-shirts that you can pin the corner of one item with the corner of
the next item. This will cut down the number of clothespins that you
need to use.
Undies and Socks
If you don't want the whole world to see your undies (or "smalls" as
our English friends call them), then you can hang them on the back line
or the 2 lines in the middle. Socks are hung by the toes and I usually
hang a pair together. This saves on pins and time.
Stands
It is nice to have a stand on which to set your basket. It saves you
from bending over each time you pull an item from the basket. Even a
small table or chair would help. Tawra has a metal table she uses (see
picture below). It has metal legs from an old TV tray. Legs like this
work better if there is a board attached across the top.
Years ago I got a shopping cart from a grocery store auction and it was
just perfect as my "laundry cart." It was the right height and I could
roll it to where I needed it. I made the mistake of getting rid of it
when I moved. Now I use a thing from the 50's I found at a garage sale.
It has TV-tray type legs with a canvas bag across the top. It is the
perfect height and has a place for the clothespins on the side.
Taking Things Down
I fold my clothes as I take them off the line and most everything is
folded by the time I take it into the house. It takes so little time
that I was folding faster than Tawra could take the pictures. Less than
30 seconds.
A couple of last tips:
See which way the wind is blowing and hang your clothes so that the
smaller things are in the front. That way the wind can pass through to
the large things at the back. If you put the large things in front it
blocks the wind from getting to the smaller items behind them. Unless
you need to hide your undies like I mentioned above.
Always bring your clothes pins in at the end of the day. It helps them
to last longer and prevents black marks on your clothes that can happen
when the clothespins are left out.
It you haven't used your clothesline in a while run a rag along it to
clean it off before hanging the clothes. This doesn't have to be done
often only like in the spring if you haven't used it all winter or have
gone a couple of weeks without using it.
Don't let yourself get overwhelmed. This is a lot of information. Take
it slow. Maybe start with just hanging sheets out for a while and dry
the rest of your things in the dryer. Before you go outside look at the
picture of the jeans and how I hung them and practice putting the legs
together by the seams. Maybe one day you could practice with just
socks.
Do baby steps so you don't get frustrated and give up.
Jill Cooper is a frugal living expert and the co-editor
of LivingOnADime.com.
As a divorced mother of two, Jill Cooper started her own business
without any capital and paid off $35,000 debt in 5 years on $1,000 a
month income. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com.
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