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Air Drying Clothes Without A
Clothesline
by Jill Cooper
We all know that if we don’t dry our clothes in the dryer we save on
electricity, but many of us don’t think about how the dryer reduces the
life of our clothes. For a long time I couldn’t understand why so many
people were buying scads of socks and underwear for their families every
few months. When my children were growing up, they almost never wore out
their underwear and socks and we owned only about a quarter as many pair
as most people. No I didn’t buy some name brand known for its child
proof quality. I usually bought the least expensive ones I could find.
Fast forward a couple decades. One day after folding my grandson’s new
underwear, I noticed that the waistband was terribly rippled. After
doing some research, I discovered the answer: The dryer was destroying
the rubber elastic in the socks and underwear. I rarely dried my
family’s clothes in the dryer, so the elastic never broke down. It
doesn’t just happen with underwear – Have you ever noticed pilling
(those little fabric balls) on your clothes and linens and the resulting
lint in the dryer? That is the result of the fibers being rubbed thin.
The dryer also shrinks clothes and sets in stains.
The two reasons I think most people don’t line dry their clothes are
that they think it is inconvenient or they’re just not sure how to do
it. Here are some of the best tips I have found to air dry clothes
without a clothes line.
Though I don’t use the dryer to dry my clothes, I do use it for five
minutes or so with some loads (just long enough to fluff the clothes). I
put one load in the dryer and only leave then there as long as it takes
me to load the washer with the next load.
If you have no clothesline, you live in an apartment or your homeowners
association won’t allow clotheslines, here are a few ways to dry without
a clothesline.
You need at least one drying rack and some type of clothes rod. You can
buy drying racks at most discount stores or hardware stores. You might
locate a clothes rod in your laundry room above the dryer, use a sturdy
shower curtain rod in the bathroom or get a metal clothes racks that
hooks over the back of a door. You don’t need much. I can hang two loads
of laundry on one drying rack and 2 feet of clothes rod.
Hanging on a Clothes Rod
Hang as many items as you can on clothes hangers, beginning with the
obvious things like dresses, dress shirts and blouses and hang the
hangers on a clothes rod to dry. Be sure not to put the hangers too
close together or the clothes will not dry. You can also hang things
like pajama tops, t-shirts, small kid’s shirts and one piece outfits.
Lightweight pants, pajama bottoms, skirts and sweats can be pinned on
clothes hangers and even sheets can be folded and hung on them. If you
are really short of drying rack space, you can hang socks, underwear,
wash rags, hand towels and towels on hangers and add them to your
clothes rod, too.
Hanging on a Clothes Rack
When hanging clothes on a drying rack, I start at the bottom with socks
and underwear, wash rags and baby clothes. Young children’s clothes and
hand towels go on the middle layer and the top rack is for towels,
jeans, pillow cases, sweaters, sweats, pajama bottoms and t-shirts. I
try to use every inch of space, so if I put a pillow case on the rack
and there are a couple of inches left next to it I put a sock there. I
even hook bras on the corners of the rack.
Drying racks are handy because they can be moved to speed up the drying
process. Place them outside on a sunny (but not windy) day. Inside the
house, try putting them over a vent and the heat or air conditioner will
dry them faster. If you don’t have central heat or air then you can
place them in front of your heater or a fan. Don’t place clothes close
enough to heaters to be a fire hazard.
If you are short on space and don’t want to look at a drying rack in the
middle of the room, do the laundry before bed, hang it and in most cases
it will be dry by morning (especially if you set it above an air vent).
Try hanging large king sized sheets or blankets over your shower rod,
over the rail of your deck, between two lawn chairs or folded in half or
quarters over your clothes rack. When you fold large items, you must
flip and turn them every 5-10 hours so that each side gets dry.
Sometimes it is useful to hang a clothesline in the basement or attic.
Be sure to check out your department stores and hardware stores for
other ideas. They have many clever items like retractable clotheslines,
things to hang over doors and some not so new ideas like extra large
drying racks that can hold two loads of laundry each.
Even though this may sound complicated at first, once you do it a few
times it becomes second nature to you. Pretty quickly, you will discover
the most efficient way to hang your clothes on the rack. I know
automatically that three wash rags fit across the bottom bar of my rack
and the two socks will fit next the that particular t-shirt. It’s like
putting a puzzle together- the first time takes you longer than the
times after that because you know where the pieces fit.
About the author
Jill Cooper raised two teenagers alone on $500 a month income after
becoming disabled with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. She is the inspiration
behind her daughter Tawra's frugal cookbook Not Just Beans: 50 Years of
Frugal Family Favorites. To read more of Jill's articles and for free
tips and recipes visit
www.LivingonaDime.com.
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