hang out and chill out

October 28, 2014

Each time I go back to Australia and spend the holidays with my family, I find myself outside hanging washing on the line. They still do that there. It’s not unpleasant. In fact, it’s lovely. It’s a quiet, almost meditative time spent doing a job you need to do. It’s not really something you can rush so it brings a mindfulness with it. I need more of that.

I finally ordered this fold-out drying frame which lays flat against the wall when not in use. I have it along the side of the house we don’t use much, right near my laundry. It doesn’t get much sun but if I hang out a load or two in the morning, it’s dry by the end of the day and my laundry seems to stay a lot more organized.

As I slide each clothes pin onto a t-shirt or pair of jeans, pajamas or a swimsuit, I can’t help but think about the fact that I am employing the sun and the breezes to help me in my task. I am not turning on a machine and then paying for electricity and/or natural gas to run it.

In reality you are probably only saving about 50 cents a load in power and whatever you spend on dryer sheets, but you are getting fresh air-dried clothes, which smell great and will look good and last longer. The fluff you pull out of your dryer vent comes from somewhere. It is literally your clothes and towels breaking down with every load.

You’ll also get those cool chill out moments every day or so = priceless!

Hills Drying Frame available here

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4 Comments
    1. We did a lot of hanging clothes on a line during my childhood. It brings back a lot of nice memories! (Also, as a married couple in a tiny apartment, we did the drying rack thing to save some money.)

    1. I’d never thought about where all that fluff came from in the dryer before!

    1. I want to do this! Our grandparents were the true greenies.

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