I absolutely LOVE the smell of summer sun dried sheets. Frankly, I’m a bit embarrassed to be from a country that values the aesthetics of a clothesline over saving money and energy! We started out draping clothes anywhere we could when the dryer broke, but when we graduated to “real” drying racks we decided not to replace the dryer. .-= Tori´s last blog ..DailyGrommet: @mombloggersclub New undertakings are always exciting- congratulations! You are right, there is something therapeutic about it! I love the process too and often have good chats with our neighbour from deck to deck while folding laundry from my drying rack. It’s a “I’m here and I smell weird” statement that I’d rather not have my family be known for. And I’ll keep the dryer things until all the wash loads, no matter the color, are done, so that I am not drying teeny loads. Was wondering what you do in the winter? I sometimes throw line dried prefolds in there too to soften up a bit. I dry my dark colors overnight (even though they probably dry faster) in my bathroom and my light colors and whites outside in the sun. Since I like numbers and I was curious about the actual financial impact of this, I monitored the change in my electricity bill: month over month, turning off the dryer has reduced my electricity bill by 15%. eta our spiders only tend to take up residence in clothes if you leave them (dry) on the line too long. I’m assuming the bugs, etc are due to living on a lot with several trees and very little direct sun but my grandmother, who line dried everything except in the very dead of North Dakota winter, had the same problem with tiny black spots appearing on her clothes that I do. My time is more valuable than that. With my towels, I line dry them and then fluff them for just a few minutes and they are usually great. Dryer sheets and fabric softener smell good, but they are not good for your clothes or dryer. I was able to make her a portable one that sits on our zeroscape patio. My neighbors think I’m crazy but I think I’m being smart! Twist the toe to “seal” off the socks and then turn the sock inside out. I find it incredibly therapeutic to hang clothes on the line and I love to take that time to listen to the world around me that I’m often too busy to notice. I had never heard of clothes being dried in a tumble-drier throughout the year…. House within 45’ of a major roadway thru our small town-you know that saying about airing your laundry…. When I bought my home it had an old clothesline setup and since I saw it I KNEW I wanted to use it. se7en´s last blog post…Teaching Kids to Declutter in Se7en Steps…. Make sure to run only small or medium-sized loads of laundry whenever possible. This post inspired me to buy a drying rack a few weeks ago. [And I have to admit that my husband’s uniforms are also in the same system, because he also was one to ask “Where is my …………..?” ]. I don’t know why, but they seem to dry faster…maybe its luck, but I’ve always been able to immediately switch the washer to the line…unlike waiting for the dryer! Some things are better off dried flat – heavy knits and delicate items that might stretch. We live in an apartment without a washer or dryer, so hanging clothes on the line saves us a lot of money (probably more than what we would save just paying the energy bill), and some time at the Laundromat. … I’ve discovered that eco-friendly laundry soaps, like Seventh Generation and Full Circle leave line dried clothes less crunchy than mainstream brands. Also, we are renting and I don’t have to get permission to put up a clothesline. No one can see except the people who live in the house behind us b/c their house is 2 story. We don’t line dry as we just don’t have the room in the back yard and I think our HOA would flip out if I used the front yard. I’m so surprised how many people line dry their clothes. I’d love to have a line, but there’s no place to run it, so for now, I have to make do with the racks. But we can do it only in summer, our winters are very, very long and very cold with 5 to 6 meters of snow… I must admit that I even have a “mental picture” of clothes drying outside that I use in order to relax in my office when it’s get too stressful. I’m inspired by Greta T and will be asking my friends to line dry one load of laundry a week to help reduce their carbon footprint. (can you tell? Have you ever lost any laundry in the wind? The only one I bought new was from Ikea — love that one, it holds an entire load. Great post!!! In the winter, we had set up lines in the basement. renee @ FIMBY´s last blog post…Raspberry love. You’ve inspired me – we live in a home with a “old-fashioned” clothesline in our backyard, but I have never dried a single thing on it (other than draping the slip and slide over it). love the way my sheets and towels smell after line drying. I’m guessing some commenters have already mentioned; but for an Aussie like myself it seems extraordinary to read an article about line-drying. Growing up my mum always line dried everything. Actually I like the scratchy feeling of air dried fabrics and would happily dry everything outside if I could figure out a workable solution. Or the $$ to get either, even used. (Even on a damp but windy day you can get washing amost dry.) I got 5 loads of wash on the line. Yay for clothes lines!! I’d love to save some ‘extra’ money and extend the life of my clothes, but we honestly don’t have enough clothes to wait 4-5 days after washing for them to dry and I don’t want to have to re-wash and re-dry everything to remove spots, bugs and bird poo (which is VERY hard on the clothes)! I must admit that I have never used a dryer sheet before :-p and don’t actually know what they are! I don’t have to iron as much as when I use my dryer. I am enjoying your blog immensely. Such a time saver. yes, yes I did), fantastic post! I have lived in NZ, Aus., and Japan. We put ~1 load of clothes in the dryer every 2 weeks or so. I’d bet someone here has a creative solution that I’m not thinking of! First and foremost, line drying your clothes will save on energy! … This post is ten (!) Mrs. Not the Jet Set´s last blog post…The Millionaire Next Door Book GiveAway! Forgive me if this has already been covered, I don’t have time to read all the comments, but if you hang your clothes on the hangers and then put them on the line this way it will save you time. After my clothes are finished washing I run them through the dryer for 10 minutes & then I hang them on the rack to dry. I love line dried clothes! My kids (10 & 13) are responsible for their own laundry. Here in Quebec, Canada, we can dry our laundry outdoors and every house has a clothes dry line. Charlie’s Soap. Using white vinegar as a natural fabric softener and deodorizer has been another natural money saver (pun intended). (twins = double the price of everything you buy, no hand-me-downs.). So for now, I use dryers….but someday when we have our own house with a backyard, I’d love to have a clothesline! Since I’m a working mom, I don’t like the time it takes, but I (secretly) find it therapeutic, too. Sometimes they are a little stiff if there is no breeze at all.