Clothesline Profile – Miyuki in Tokyo

So, today is a special profile for me.  When I was in high school in tiny town Kansas, we had a foreign exchange student from Japan.  Miyuki and I became good friends in the year that she was there and stayed in touch for several years…  All in the era before the internet, so it was slow old fashioned letters. 

I’ve always thought about her since, wishing that I could reconnect with my friend, but having no idea where to find her at.  Enter Facebook.  Think what you will about it, Facebook has brought a lot of folks together that would have had a very difficult time finding each other otherwise.  Miyuki and I reconnected this way and have emailed a few times back and forth since.

She now works as a journalist reporting on the political news of the Japanese government in Tokyo.  She is married now and has a little boy who is a bit younger than my Rosie.  (Her’s in the boy on the left, the boy on the right is a friend’s boy.)

Below is what she told me in a couple of emails… Her and her family are all OK from the earthquake, though even in Tokyo there have been side affects with the radiation. 

I am ever so glad that Miyuki once came to live in Kansas and that I got to know her back then.  I’m even more grateful that I was able to reconnect with her this year and that her family is all OK from the nightmare earlier this year. 

Thank you Miyuki for being my friend and for sending me the picture and great information.  ❤

Japanese are basicly dry laundries outside. We love smell of sun and solar power seems stronger to clean up things. But now that clothelines hanging
out of apartments in big cities like Tokyo …maybe not looking good, old fasioned or for working mothers like me don’t have enough time to do so!

Anyway because of the radiation trouble, I quit to dry outside. Some of my friends are doing same. But my colleague’s wife who have two teenage
daughters living in Yokohama (basicly normal radiation level) do line dry outside. So it depends!

Here is a clothline (it is really poles) at my Grandma’s house in the Utsunomiya country side.

We use poles and pinch to hung laundry because we also hung bed mattress(futon) because of humidity.

About the picture on the left is the house about 190 years old made by woods and on the right is car park.

I started to use clothlines at my apartment again. radiation level got lower now.

But couldn’t take good pictures (our balcony is so small!)

Clothesline Profile – Vanessa of Rescued Goods

Please forgive me on being late this week on the profile… My little Rosie is in the midst of fever and has made getting computer stuff done a bit harder than normal!  She’ll be fine, but is just very grumpy.  😦

So, this week’s profile is Vanessa of the blog, Rescued Goods.  Her blog is about her life, her upcycling, garden, chickens… fun stuff!  Please take a moment to visit her blog and make sure that you say you came from the Clothesline!

And seriously folks.  I am OUT of people to profile, except for a couple of friends… So, if you like this series PLEASE consider submitting a profile to be included.  If you have a friend or family member who uses the clothesline, beg them for me, too!    Thank you!

Hi! I am Vanessa, from Rescued Goods, and I am excited to be here at Life on the Clothesline to share my clothesline scoop. So, here it is…

Both of my grandmothers had clotheslines and I remember ‘hanging’ with them as they hung their laundry out to dry. I share a fond memory about my Gram and her clothesline on my Etsy profile. When I bought my first home, it came with it’s very own clothesline-yeah! It was in a city close to many other homes, and I was working more than a few jobs at the time, so I used it only occasionally.

When The Mr. & I moved to our current home, he installed a clothesline for me that was so convenient. All I had to do was go out on my porch and hang. The clothesline was attached to my home at a level that I could easily reach standing on my porch, and we connected the other end to the kids’ playset. Perfect! Alas, after a few good years, the wind took down that clothesline in a really good storm.

 

Here is me and a good friend in front of that clothesline with lots of little diapers hanging. (Not really good picture composition, but good for this post.) What you hear about the sun bleaching out stains-so true. Little diapers look so and smell so clean when you hang them on the line!

 

So, we (by we I mean totally him) put in an indoor retractable clothesline. And, we got it long enough so we could go back and forth in our hallway to make two lines. I seriously love a 2 for 1 deal! I was using this clothesline frequently, especially with little ones’ clothing.

 

But, I really, really missed the outdoor clothesline! So, for Mother’s Day I asked for a clothesline again. Yes, it is true-I did! I got one, and take a look at this. 

 

Pretty good, huh? The posts on the end kind of tip in after a year (but not nearly as bad as this picture would have you believe), so ‘we’ have a little fixing to do, but this one is awesome. It is good for at least two loads of laundry at a time, which is good when the laundry gets backed up. (You know, if that ever happens or anything.)

I don’t always dry my clothes on the line, but Jeannie‘s blog is inspiring me to do better. And, I did hear something about an August challenge, right?  (Jeannie here – we’re moving it to September, after school starts and when it’s a tad cooler, I hope!)  I am in! Maybe if I make it all month without using the dryer I can reward myself with one of these beauties that Jeannie makes!

Thanks for checking in and reading my clothesline chronicle. Drop in at Rescued Goods anytime!

Clothesline Profile – Lynnette in Texas

Lynnette and I met a long time ago – we both served in the Peace Corps at the same time (though not in the same village) and have developed a friendship over the years.  This picture is of us at my then boyfriend’s house in around 2000 (he’s now my hubby).  The big dog was her now hubby’s dog and the black dog was my beloved Carbon.  

Lynnette is not originally from Texas, she grew up in Vermont and lived near Boston up until a couple of years ago.  She and her hubby have a fixer upper house, too (just like I do) and are working on it all of the time (just like me)…

I’m glad that you get to “meet” a good friend of mine, too!  But, I really would love to meet more of you.  I’m running out of people to profile – so if you have a line, PLEASE send me pictures and a little write up!  It’s not hard and it’s really lots of fun.  Thanks!

I guess you could say I have been hanging clothes out on the line for as long as I can remember. Before I could reach the lines, I would hand the clothespins to my mom as she hung the clothes.

The lines in this picture were put up at her house when I was about 8 or 9 years old, and are still in use today. Later, it would become an after school chore to gather the clothes from the lines – and at that age it certainly was a chore, especially in the winter in VT.

In the worst weather, we would use the lines in the basement. These were built from simple drop-down supports from the overhead ceiling joists.

     Later, as a Peace Corps volunteer, hanging clothes was obligatory, and it became a custom for me upon my return. I had rented a house in MA for several years, and during my time there, installed an inexpensive retractable clothesline on the enclosed back porch, then added a pulley line from the porch to a tree at the edge of the yard. The neighbors didn’t seem to mind, and in fact added their own pulley line mirroring mine to that same tree from their porch.

     Now relocated to Lindale, TX, I use my lines much more frequently and with more gusto than ever before. My outdoor posts were already installed when I moved in (top line picture) and although they really need to be sanded and repainted, I ran an inexpensive rope to get started – note the handy clothespin bag in the center of the nearest line.

     In case of inclement weather, I have an indoor drying rack and also use a rod in my laundry room to dry things on hangers.

     I now see the wisdom of passing this to my children, and it has become one of the tasks for my 13-year-old son to hang out and later bring in the laundry from the line. It gets him outside, and helps me out – what could be better?

Clothesline Profile – Duff in Illinois

Duff is our latest Clothesline Profile!  She lives in a very cold place in Illinois and is an avid quilter and apron maker!  Someone with a love of fabric – I totally understand that!  She has a blog, Bacon Then Eggs, where she talks about fabric and aprons and… And, aprons are so cool.  So very vintage and yet there’s so much apron love out on the blogosphere right now.  I think that I need to make myself one!  

Many thanks to Duff for submitting her profile!  If you have a line that you’d like to see up on the blog (or know someone who does) please drop me a line!  Thanks!

How do you feel about clotheslines, or why do you use them?

 2 years ago I wanted to build a house. I even drew my own floor plans! Every subdivision with open lots said the same thing—no clotheslines. So, I bought a house that was already built in the only subdivision with newer homes that allowed a clothesline! Yes, I feel that strongly about it. I love the smell and the sun is a natural, free, abundant resource! 

How often do you line dry now?  All of the time, sometimes, a few times a week…?

I line dry whenever I can—usually just towels, quilts, sheets, pillowcases, tablecloths. I always dream of running in a field of poppies when I sleep between sheets that have been line-dried; it’s something about the smell that triggers my sense of freedom. It’s what I look forward to the most every spring.

Do you work full time/stay at home?

I am a teacher so I am home all summer; however, it’s not a matter of time—my neighbor works full time and still hangs clothes out on the line.

Does your husband/partner mind the line dry stuff?  Does he help put them out/take them in?

My son thinks that the towels are a little too “scratchy” after being on the line, but he doesn’t complain.   He’s in charge of all the house laundry, so when I put a load on the line it’s a “free day” for him.   I am the only one who puts it out or takes it in, but my son would do it if I asked him to.

Do your neighbors have lines?  If not, do they have opinions on yours?  Do live in a rural area or in a town setting?  Do you have an HOA?

Again, yes, my neighbor has a line—2 in fact. I definitely covet my neighbor’s clotheslines! I live in a town setting and there are no HOAs, thank goodness! Years ago I lived in a house with a beautiful clothesline; my neighbors referred to me as “the woman who hangs out her laundry” as though it were something to be ashamed of! I don’t hang out panties or anything like that! If I lived on a farm you’d have to stop me from hanging out everything, but I live in a subdivision and that’s just TMI (too much information).

How long have you line dried?  Did your mom use the line?

I have line-dried the laundry as far back as I can remember. My mother’s clothesline was a double that ran the entire length of our backyard. She loved the smell too! We had a clothes dryer in the house, but that was only for winter and “unmentionables.”

What is your line made of/constructed like? 

I bought a length of synthetic rope that I tie onto the fence posts with fancy knots. I’d like to have something longer, but this seems okay for right now because it holds one washer load.

Clothesline Profile – Caitlin in North Carolina

     Caitlin in North Carolina is our newest profile on the clothesline!  She is a modern day back to the lander and independent spirit who is living in a way that most of us would struggle with for more than a few days.  Her blog, Ubiquitous non sequitur, is full of her adventures of growing her own food, living in the middle of no where and doing laundry BY HAND.  I hope that you’ll wander over to her site and check out all of the fun!  

     Caitilin also proves that you don’t need a big line, or even a line at all, to dry your clothes in the sun – or shade!  Just more of the old fashioned spirit of “making do with what you have” that I totally love!

      And, coming soon, I’ll be guest posting on her site about… how I lived much lower on the consumer food chain than even she is doing!  I’ll let you know when my post is up over at her site. 

     I currently live in a 1974 Airstream with my beloved dog and 15 chickens on lakefront property in North Carolina. The property has been in my family for 60 years, and has never been lived on. And now here I am! It took us months to get reliable running water, electricity and phone out here, but both my garden and I flourish, and as you can imagine, living in the woods produces some laundry!

     I grew up in Japan where the cost of electricity was so high we dried everything outside on the line, pretty much year-round. I think we may have run the dryer a handful of times in our 13 year stint there, and even then it was to either a) dry the gym uniform we had conveniently forgotten to tell our mom we needed that day quickly before going to school, or b) to heat up our towels in the dead of winter for when we got out of the shower (no heated bathrooms…)

When I first came out to North Carolina, I would tote my laundry 173 miles away to my manfriend’s house to wash in a real washer and hang out on a glorious seemingly mile long clothesline that could hold 2 loads of laundry. *sigh* (soon! Big changes are coming!)

     Now I have a job and due to conflicting schedules, I don’t make it out there much anymore, and taking my laundry into town is too big of a time commitment. So for now (I am told the manfriend is bringing me a washer soon – fingers crossed!) I wash my clothes in my bathtub – by hand – and then hang everything outside on my heretofore backup/for utility items only line. As I mentioned, I live in the woods, so I had to get creative….

     At my manfriend’s house – he is more than happy to let me take over the laundry, and I love doing it. Both grandmothers had clothesline outside, and one of them used a clothespin bag just like the ones featured here! Now I don’t have to drive 3 1/2 hrs, and I still get to relish being outside with my clean clothes.

     And there’s nothing like coming in after working outside to shower and grabbing a clean towel that’s stiff with sunshine and fresh air. I love it!

At first glance, you might think this is all the real estate, I’ve got (top picture)…   Guess again! I freely use tree limbs whenever I need to. So far they have willingly obliged.

     Laundry corner. The chickens love to hang out under the wet clothes. I sometimes get a bit lazy with the hand wringing and they go out a little wet… the chickens LOVE to attack the drops of water when they hit the ground. I’m not convinced they don’t think they’re treats!

     Me. 32 and farmsteading. Woot!

     The manfriend who keeps everything on the property running. No joke.

Clothesline Profile – Jenilyn in South Carolina

This weeks profile is from Jenilyn in South Carolina.  She writes the blog Grits and Giggles and is Southern through and through!   Which, as a former resident of Alabama, I can greatly appreciate!   And, Jenilyn also shows that you don’t have to go all or nothing in line drying to have an impact – a simple drying rack on your deck can be all you need to get going!

I hope that you are all liking my profile series.  In order to keep it going though, I need more people to profile!  So please, if you know of anyone, give them a nudge and send them my way… there’s only one way to get this clothesline idea back into “normal” society and that is by making it normal and fun.  Thanks for the help!

Hey Ya’ll! My name is Jenilyn and I’m a full-time working wife and mommy in South Carolina! We are a full-time cloth diapering family, and to make sure that our baby girl’s diapers stay fresh and bright, I try to line dry them as much as possible! With a busy work and home schedule, I’m not able to line dry all of our clothes, so I do use our dryer a lot, but there is no better way to dry our diapers! The sun bleaches out any set-in stains, and everything smells so fresh when they’re dry. We live under a lot of trees, but our back patio gets lots of sunlight. I have two wooden racks set up to dry things on in the early afternoons. Everything dries so fast!

We try to do what we can for the environment, one little thing at a time. We started out just using green bags at stores. I still can’t believe how much waste this has saved not having all of those plastic bags laying around! We try to recycle drink cans, we cloth diaper, and have recently started using dryer balls instead of dryer sheets. I didn’t realize how much waste actually came out of our dryer between lint and throwing away all of those dryer sheets! If you do use your dryer to dry most of your clothes…wool dryer balls are a real life saver!

We never had a clothesline at our house growing up, but my Granny and Papa do, and still use theirs from time to time. I always thought the sheets and clothes looked so pretty blowing in the breeze and we always had fun running through it! I started drying our diapers outside because I was curious about the sun’s “stain fighting power” that I had heard about. Once I saw how quickly things dried, I was hooked. It was also nice not running the dryer and heating up the house when it’s already so hot outside.

There seems to be a stigma about “going green” that many things that are better for the environment are “old fashioned” and this is just not true! All of the people who recycle, or line dry their clothes aren’t little old ladies trying to pinch pennies. I’m hoping our family can set a good example with the small things we do to try to help keep the planet a little greener. We certainly see the benefits!!

Clothesline Profile – Diane from CA

Many thanks to Diane for submitting her line to our profile!  She’s a super sneaky line dryer – read how she gets around her HOA rules!   We’ll be talking more about those pesky rules in future posts – but for now, all of you who are stuck with them, maybe you can get some ideas of how to get around them!

And, Diane is a blogger, too.  Please visit her site at Random Thoughts Do or “di”…  Lots of fun quilty things and recipes, too!

If you have a line that you’d like to see featured on my blog, please be sure to drop me a line!  lifeontheclothesline at gmail dot com  Thanks!!!!

We live in a “planned community” where clotheslines are not allowed, if you can imagine. I have wanted one for many years now and Mr. Romance and I finally found one we could use, inconspicuously, and still get the job done. I usually hang all my “delicates’ as Ellen Degeneres would say, and then those things I do not want to shrink or get messed up in the dryer. We only have a small line, so I would say I hang about 50% of my laundry every week, not counting sheets, towels and rags.

I use a retractable clothesline that we found at Home Depot and also a great little gizmo for hanging small items like undies and bras.  (See picture above.)

I have been a SAHM for 36 years, but have worked part-time in my husband’s dental office when I could fit it in between kids’ activities and now my crafting. I work about 4 hours a week and recently tried to resign, but my “boss” wouldn’t let me! LOL! I am a fairly new blogger and all I want to do is read blogs, quilt and then blog about quilting and my random life.

My husband is a huge help at home and always pitches in around the house. He is Mr. Romance and Mr. Wonderful all rolled into one! He doesn’t mind the line dried things, especially when I remember not to put his favorite shirts in the dryer.

So far, I don’t think my neighbors know I have a line and if they did I don’t think they would care. We have lived in our home for 25 years and our neighbors are wonderful.

I just started line drying this year when we figured out how to rig a line in our yard and keep it hidden from the association spies. I have wanted a clothesline for a very long time and feel like I am doing something great by having one. I am saving energy, being green and doing something our grandmothers might have done.

I remember visiting me my husband’s grandmother (in Pennsylvania) in 1975 when our youngest was a baby and I needed to wash diapers. She didn’t own a dryer and I couldn’t believe it. I remember taking those stiff diapers off the line and folding them. But they smelled so wonderful after they had hung out in the fresh air. I felt like Susie Homemaker on that visit.

Clothesline Profile – Andi from New Brunswick

Our latest clothesline profile is from Andi in New Brunswick, Canada, which is a little province on the east coast.  Still getting into summer there, it has been a bit rainy too, so the line drying weather is just now starting for them.

I “met” Andi through the craft giveaway thing a few weeks ago – and noticed her blog right off because it also has “laundry” in the name!  A kindred spirit!  Please check out her blog here:  http://laundryontheline.wordpress.com/  She has lots of good recipes and sewing projects and tutorials, too!

Thanks Andi, for sharing a bit about your line – we really appreciate it!

And, as always, if YOU have a clothesline and would like to share the line love with the rest of us, please drop me an email!  Thanks! 

I have always loved clotheslines. My grandmother had one, and to this day seeing clothes blowing in the breeze makes me think of her, and summers at her house. I grew up in a suburb where there was a by-law against having clotheslines of any kind (!) so they always seemed like a really special thing to have. When I got married and had a house of my own, having a clothesline was the top item on my list! (My new hubby was happy that I was going to be so easy to please…)

Our clothesline spans from our back deck to a tall tree in our backyard. (I always make sure to put short items in the middle to hang over the deck railing.) To save space on the main line, I also use a folding drying rack for small towels, socks, and underwear. I love having the time outside, and doing laundry this way doesn’t seem so much like work, but rather a chance to think, pray, and enjoy the outdoors! This works really well for us 3 seasons out of the year (provided it’s not raining!). In the winter months I do resort to using the dryer, although I still hang some items to dry inside, and sometimes set the drying rack up beside the wood stove. There is nothing better, though, than the smell of clothes fresh off the line, and I always look forward to the summer months and using my clothesline again!

Clothesline Profile – Wendy from Tasmania

I live in a rural area of Tasmania, Australia, am a mother of 3 grown up kids and 1 almost grown up who boards away for school 5 days a week and Grandma of four. I started out working life as a registered nurse but these days work part time and office assistant and bookkeeper for 4 different small businesses.

My washing line is a magnificent double string line about 12m long and definitely out off keeping with the traditional Australian Hills Rotary Hoist.  (Edited to add… that as an American, I’ve never even heard of such a clothesline!  It’s so very cool and has such a wonderful history, it makes me almost want to get one of these lines, too!)

Old Advertisement for the Hills Hoist Clothesline

 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4911687

hoistt

Click on the “hoistt” link above to see a full page ad in PDF of the Hills Clothesline!

And, if you want to buy a Hoist line for yourself, I found a company in Australia selling them  for $420 AU dollars – about $450 American.

For much of the year here it is hard to get washing dry in a day as the air can become chilly and damp by 4 in the afternoon. It has been known to be stiff and frozen if left overnight which delighted my kids when they were little. I am often obliged to finish it inside on in the dryer but most of the work is done free of charge by Mother Nature.

My line was built by the previous owner/builder of my home who was obviously a Bloke with a capital B as he didn’t skimp on materials. The line is thick wire rope from an old power line, the posts treated pine, well concreted in and going nowhere. The posts are high enough to encourage kookaburras and night time possums to use it as a perch occasionally. A couple of weeks ago my daughter caught a quick glimpse of a magnificent snowy white goshawk resting there. A rare sight indeed.
It used to come with a pair of bush pole props. For non-country folk a bush pole is a tree branch/trunk. In my case a good 5cm in diameter and 2m or so long- otherwise known by me as ‘the sticks’. Very effective at hoisting the middle of the lines nice and high. These succumbed to old age some time ago and I decided to stop washing dragging by developing what I like to call my Patented Adjustment System – otherwise known as string and a nail.

Please feel free to copy this magnificent idea but remember, not any old string will do. Something sturdy enough to withstand vigorous tugging by the elements and UV stable is well advised. And for the nail, I chose a roofing nail that has a little hat on its head which nicely stops the string slipping free. The cleverly spaced knots are entirely personal, well random actually, as long as you laundry is held clear of the ground you have got it right.
It’s lovely to see washing flapping in the breeze and don’t you like the smell of sheets fresh from the line?

Thanks so much Wendy for sharing your line with us all the way from Tasmania!  I hope that you have lovely line drying weather in your future!

If YOU have a line you’d like to share, please drop me a line at :  lifeontheclothesline at gmail dot com 

Clothesline Profile – Cheryl’s Line

The Sew Mama Sew! Giveaway for a free CLOTHESPIN BAG is found on the next post, or jump to it here!

Two weeks ago, I said that the next profile would be from someone not in the state of Texas and coming from a state that started and ended with an “a”.

Quick – name the states that fit that requirement!  Anyone…?  Alaska, Arizona… and ALABAMA!  My friend, Cheryl, lives near Auburn, AL and is this week’s profile.  We lived there a few years ago and that’s where little Rosie was born…  and we miss it greatly!  Thanks Cheryl for sharing a bit of your line with us!

“I was born under a clothes line, so to speak! I grew up in “Pennsylvanis”
“Dutch”” Country and everyone in my family had a clothesline and, even though some had dryers (gas or electric), those were only for weather that didn’t lend itself to hanging clothes on the line. I do recall that my paternal grandmother had a small backyard, so she had the “newer” square clothesline with multiple rows that you could collapse when not in use. My mother’s mom had a permanent linear clothes line in one of the most beautiful back yards I can recall! Great old barn with a pond beyond in the background! I think she had 6 lines on her clothesline, which was quite the status symbol in her neighborhood! I don’t think the arguement as to which “model” of clothesline was ever resolved; I’m sure it’s a matter of preference (or space)! However, here are some of the things I learned from all of that:

1. Always make sure the clothes line is clean (if plastic coated, wipe it off.
If the rope type, make sure it’s not dry rotted or moldy.)

2. Always have plenty of the wooden things to attach your clothes to the line (the debate still rages as to whether that device should be peg or clip! (I’m a clip person, myself)
3. Always shake your clothes out really, really well before attaching to the line. Less wrinkles and softer results follow! (In modern times, some of us throw them in the dryer 5 minutes before or 5 minutes after to soften).
4. Always rehang thick items such as jeans or sheets when the weather is not ideal so that they are completely dry when you take them in. Must say though, that jeans that have frozen on the line or gotten rained on are really, really soft!
5. Always make sure the birds are otherwise engaged so they don’t “drop” on your clothes! It might be well to say, hang the inner side of the sheets out first in case you have to give them a quick rinse!!”

So, a few more questions –

How often do you line dry now? All of the time, sometimes, a few times a week…?
I line dry when I’m off work, so, usually once a week. Would do more if I was home! I do have a foldable wooden drying rack I sometimes put on the back porch. Especially if it’s just a few items.
Do you work full time/stay at home?
I work full time plus an hour and 20 minutes commute each day so it’s usually close to dark when I get home.
 Does your husband mind the line dry stuff? Does he help put them out/take them in? (My husband is grumpy about it and will only take them in if I’m desperate.)

Charlie loves the smell of the clothes outside and sometimes does his own stuff. He’ll put clothes up, take them down and even make up the bed for me sometimes! He had a good mama!

Do your neighbors have lines? If not, do they have opinions on yours?
My closest neighbor has a line but there is a small forest between us so we can’t see each other for the most part. I’d say folks out here where I live (halfway between Auburn and Montgomery, AL) have a clothes line of some sort and hanging clothes out is part of life. I have lived where there were covenants either against clothesline or restricting what you could hang out on it and when! Not my kind of place to live!!