Outdoor Clotheslines

If someday I had to stop homesteading there are two things I’d never give up. One is my chickens, and the other is my clothesline. I think most of you would probably agree on keeping chickens. Chickens make cute noises, come in a variety of colors and breeds, and lay some mighty fine eggs. Everyone loves chickens. But a clothesline, you ask, why a clothesline? Well, I’ll tell you.  Not only that but, I’ll tell you why you should have a clothesline too.

First and foremost a clothesline does not have to be elaborate. According to Wikipedia ‘A clothesline or washing line is any type of rope, cord, or twine that has been stretched between two points,.. outside or indoors, above the level of the ground.’ I think we can elaborate that idea further and describe a clothesline as anything above the ground you can dry your clothes on. Sounds doable to me.

Secondly, I can’t emphasize enough how much I love my clotheslines. Love it. Every time I visit someone else’s house, I’m shocked how few people own a clothesline.  To me, it’s as if you don’t own a compost. Both are such wonderful and functional items I can’t believe everyone doesn’t own one. Sometimes, I just stand around for a moment after swimming on vacation, lost on where to hang up a swimsuit and towel. “Why isn’t there a clothesline?”, I think to myself. 

With that said, here are six wonderful reasons to own a clothesline.

1. They make your clothes smell wonderful. Not the artificial smell of dryer sheets but the smell of cut grass, a hot hay field, or outside after a spring rain. Nothing smells better than clothes dried on a clothes line. Nothing. Often, I will pull out a blanket from the linen closet, or better yet a pillowcase, months after I’ve lined dried it, and I can smell summer on it. My husband has often caught me in the closet, in the middle of winter, inhaling the smell of summer on my pillowcases.
2. You can dry your wet camping gear or tarps. Now, I’m a fair weather camper, I’m not going to lie, but you know the saying, ‘the best laid plans of mice and men..’.  Sometimes your gear just gets wet. So, the best place to dry some very large sleeping bags and tents are a clothesline.
3. Sunlight kills bacteria and viruses. I’m not joking it does. That’s why they make UV pens to kill bacteria and viruses in water if you travel or backpack, you can find them online if you are interested. Every year I try and hang up all my blankets, comforters, and pillows to let the UV in sunlight kill anything that may be in there. And it makes them smell good too. Clotheslines also work great for drying cloth diapers and cheesecloth as well. It kills all the smelly bacteria in the cloth.
4. Hanging up your clothes saves you money. Dryers happen to be one of the most energy expensive items in a household, you can read about it here. Dryers are also super expensive at a laundromat, ridiculously so, save some money and hang them up at home. Drying your clothes in a dryer are also hard on your clothes by wearing out your clothes faster. All the of the lint that you clean out of your lint trap is part of your clothes just wearing away as you dry them. Hanging your clothes on a clothesline is free except for a little bit of time. Peaceful time that is, see the next paragraph.
5. Hanging clothes on a clothesline is peaceful. It’s true. I like to hang my clothes up early in the morning, sometimes while drinking my coffee. It appears to be a boring chore, so my kids leave me alone. I stretch out the job as long as possible for that reason. On a hot day you can throw wet clothes over your shoulders as you hang them up and it keeps you cool.  It’s a very quiet time for me as I daydream by myself. I highly suggest it if you have young kids. Or even if you don’t have kids.
6. Clotheslines can fit your lifestyle.  There are many types of clothesline, many that even fit in small spaces. Apartments, homesteads, duplexes, you name it there is an appropriate style of clothesline for you.  You can even use some established infrastructure such as lines on your porch railings.  People have been line drying their clothes for a very long time, so there a lot of options here.

Types of ‘Clotheslines’

1. The Classic– It’s the clothesline you remember in your grandma’s backyard. Usually there are 4-5 lines stretching between two T shaped posts in the ground. This is what I have but, it works best with large yards.
2. Umbrella or Rotary clothes lines – This type of clothesline might also might have been in your grandma’s backyards. Designed for smaller spaces there are usually 4-5 lines run between four arms that radiate from a central pole in the ground that spins. It’s the same concept just more compact.
3. Folding rack – You can buy them anywhere. They come in lots of styles, they fold up and can be used indoor or out. I especially like them for small items such as socks and udnerwear which take a long time to hang up with clothes pins.
4. Pulley clothesline – This is often what you see in cities. Two wires along a pulley that strectch across an alleyway or along a window. It just proves that you can hang your clothes up anywhere.
5. Retractable clotheslines – These are lines that are extendable and retractable as needed. They are great for apartments or small yards where you don’t want lines out all the time.
6. Other – Use something you already have such as a fence or the railings on your deck. Again you don’t need anything fancy, the point is to dry your clothes outside to reap the benefits. Or if you can’t do it outside, dry them inside, that’s ok too.

I hope I have convinced you to hang up a clothesline at your house. You will not regret it, I promise you. Even if you use your line occasionally to hang up a manky rag, it will be worth it. But, I implore you to use it more, especially for bed linens. They just smell so good. 

For those of you with a clothesline already why do you love your clothesline?