The je ne sais quoi of clothesline drying.

[Mrs-M]

Tis the clothesline drying season! Good old line-dried goodness!

Anyone care to share their favourite things associated/related to clothesline drying?

Here are but a few of my own.

I love the soft squealing/squeaking sound the pulley closest to the house makes as I wind out or draw in the line! So old-fashioned! Plus, it's like a statement (of sorts) in it's own right, sort of like a quiet calling out to everyone around me announcing that- "I'm hanging laundry to dry outside"! So liberating and freeing. So relaxing and soothing.
When it comes to hanging same or like items, i.e., towels, etc, I love the rhythm I at times work myself into. Holding pins between my lips, snapping the item to straighten, tacking one corner with a pin, then the other, then reaching for another towel right afterwards loosing barely a second in between, like a mechanized production line of sorts. (Hands going constantly, continually).
Last but not least, the look! I just can't think of anything more homey and welcoming than a clothesline decorated and dressed with freshly washed goodness!
Inspiration for this thread? The result of me just finishing pinning-up a wash-load of laundry a short time ago! What a way to welcome a relaxing Saturday afternoon/evening at home!

[redfox]

My husband takes incredible macro photos of the sheets on the line as they ripple in the wind.

[Wildflower]

Mrs-M, I love how descriptive you are in your posts! :) And I'm envious you've had the weather to be able to hang clothes outside to dry. I haven't been able to here. All we've had the past week is constant rain and several tornado warnings on top of that. Looking forward to the first decent weather day that I can hang the clothes out....

My favorite thing is the smell - the combination of the clean laundry along with the outside air. Lovely aroma!! :)

[Float On]

My husband takes incredible marco photos of the sheets on the line as they ripple in the wind.

And I've got an incredible collection of clothspins photography I did as well as clotheslines to decorate my laundry room. I've been on the search for vintage photos of clotheslines at flea markets and have come up with zero!

My DH hates me using the clothesline, he says it bugs his allergies. Shhh. I just snuck two loads out to the line this morning. The line I had to string up myself from the deck and around a couple of trees. Its retractable so he doesn't have to 'see' it.

[Sad Eyed Lady]

Mrs. M have you looked at this websitehttp://www.laundrylist.org/clotheslinesacrossamerica? Although it says clotheslines across America, it is really across the world. There are beautiful photos of laundry drying in tiny French apartments etc. People upload photos of their clothes drying and I love looking at them - a beauty all their own. You will probably find a couple from me! Enjoy.

[Simpler at Fifty]

Your post makes me proud that I hang my clothes every week from April-November. I also hang like things together (part of my organizing skills I think). I hang the bath towels, then hand towels, then washcloths on the same line. I hang all the underwear on one line and NEVER on the outside line (lol). When we bought our house I had 3 questions, can I have a clothesline, can I have a garden and can I have a fence. The clotheslines went in first. We were the first ones to have lines. The neighbors would use them to hang their sheets, blankets and comforters. We have 30 homes in our subdivision and 18 have clotheslines now. We would not have bought a home in an area that did not allow clotheslines and gardens.

[Tammy]

that allergy connection is true. I loved hanging clothes out to dry, but years ago I changed completely to using the dryer, because my asthma and allergies are much worse if I don't. The dampness in the clothing serves to collect all the allergens in the air as the clothing waves in the breeze. It's like wrapping my body in the things that make me feel awful. I just can't do it anymore.

[Rosemary]

I hadn't been able to line dry much laundry this spring, until this week - our weather has been incredibly, unusually rainy. Even for spring!
But I dried 3 loads the other day and as I took them down, that wonderful aroma of sun-dried cloth hit me. Line-dried sheets are the best!

[Mrs-M]

To be perfectly honest, up until just a few days ago our weather had been awful! Rain, rain, and more rain. Nice days were far and few between, but now it seems the weather has taken a pleasant turn and shifted towards more favourable conditions, more favourable for line-drying!

Redfox. Your husbands pictures sound great.

Wildflower. Thank you for the kind words. Hope your weather turns soon!

Float On. What a fabulous idea on decorating your laundry room with clothespin/clothesline photography. P.S. I'd be just like you in the way of secretly hanging out washables to dry if DH were against it! ROTFLMAO!

Shalom. I can't wait to delve into the link you posted! Thank you so much for that. I'll post a follow-up here after I do so.

Simpler at Fifty. Our old house didn't have a clothesline at the time we bought and moved in, so I had DH put one up just before our first was born. The yard was small so it wasn't much of a line, but it definitely served the purpose. This house on the other-hand had one which was such a selling feature for me! Even if we were to buy in a brand new subdivision I would look for a home that had a clothesline! If not, then a proper yard with enough space for a clothesline!

Tammy. Shucks... Wish you could still enjoy the goodness of clothesline drying and airing.

Rosemary. Oh, how I love the fresh scent and sun-dried feeling too! The laundry I hung out last Saturday was still damp when I checked on it before getting ready for bed, so I left it out all night, a rarity for me, but nonetheless, it sat out all night and by late Sunday morning I was out pulling everything in!

Seems the common denominator among all of us has been wet, damp, miserable weather thus far. I'm OK with it (to a degree), but I am finding myself longing for the days where I have the entire house opened up. The combination of the warm and cool mixed air flushing in and out of the house feels so good. Such a refreshing smell and that good old feeling of- "life is great"!

[Sad Eyed Lady]

Although I have a double clothesline outside in the yard, I am thinking of getting a retractable clothesline to put on the deck for when I just have a few things and just want to step out the door and hang them.

[Mrs-M]

Originally posted by Shalom_Poet.
Although I have a double clothesline outside in the yardYou just HAD to bring that up didn't you! :laff: Just to make me jealous! I've always wanted a double line.

P.S. I went in and checked out the many photos of clotheslines courtesy of the link you posted. Wow! Awesome!!! Now I want to submit a picture of my own to add to the collection.

Here are a handful of my favourites.
MA, Waltham, clothesline with red and white gingham tea towels.
MI, Houghton, old white house with window shears drying on line.
IN, Bloomington, woman "incognito" behind sheets.
OR, Portland, laundry blowing.
KY, Frankfort, line full of white cloth diapers.

[Sad Eyed Lady]

So glad you liked the clothesline website Mrs. M. I visit it fairly often and look at the photos; there is just something about them.............peaceful. Be sure to let me know when you get yours uploaded so I can take a look. Also, you could put them in your album here and we could all see your clothesline!

[Mrs-M]

Hi Shalom! I want to make taking a few good quality clothesline pictures of my line to be my project for this summer! Good idea on posting in my album too!

P.S. KY - Morgantown? Do you recognize the two clothesline pictures from there? :)

[Sad Eyed Lady]

Hi Shalom! I want to make taking a few good quality clothesline pictures of my line to be my project for this summer! Good idea on posting in my album too!

P.S. KY - Morgantown? Do you recognize the two clothesline pictures from there? :) Yes, they belong to a very nice, intelligent, sweet, generous simple living person that I happen to know quit well! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mrs-M]

Originally posted by Shalom_Poet.
Yes, they belong to a very nice, intelligent, sweet, generous simple living person that I happen to know quit well! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!MML! (Make me laugh). :)