Wednesday, May 31, 2017

The joy of line drying

Photo of sheets and pillowcases on a laundry line in a garden
Typical sunny day in the garden
On days like today (and for the past week and a half), drying my laundry on the line is such a pleasure.  I love to go out with the basket in the morning and peg it to the line.  It takes me about 8-10 minutes to get it out of the washing machine and onto the line out back--not a huge time commitment, though slower than shoving it in the dryer.

But hanging it out, smelling the fresh air, listening to the birds and seeing the greenery and flowers all around is just lovely.  It's a relaxing task and I truly enjoy it.

Taking it off the line in the afternoon isn't always as fun, however;  I have to fold it and put it away (though I leave Franklin's and Partner's clothing in piles for them to take upstairs themselves).  I try to fold each piece as I take it off the line, and place it into its designated pile in the basket:  all towels together, etc.  I prefer to fold it right there, although if I'm in a hurry--like when it's starting to rain--I'll toss it in the basket quickly and fold (or rehang on the airing rack if still wet) indoors.

On school days I'll generally put a wash on when I get up in the morning (around 8 am), but otherwise I'll put my wash on the night before;  the regular wash cycle of my front loader is around 90 minutes and I prefer to sleep in an hour extra--I don't want to wait around for the wash to finish until 10.30 or later on these days.  I can just get up and hang it on the line.

And when I change the sheets, putting the new line-dried ones on, they smell and feel so fresh and clean--no comparison with machine dried bedding.  I just love it.