I’m doing laundry today, and feeling a twinge of guilt each time I shut the dryer door and press the button to start the wet clothes tumbling. You can count on an Alabama summer to provide blast-furnace heat each day — heat that will dry those soggy jeans almost as fast as you can hang them out — but it’s awfully easy to find reasons to default to the convenience of my electric dryer. I know better, of course. Hanging my clothes outside is a simple way to shrink my household environmental footprint. Dryers gobble up a considerable amount of electricity — more watts per hour than washers, water heaters, air conditioners or dishwashers — but a clothesline doesn’t use any at all. I think about the oily mess unfolding on the Gulf coast beaches 30 miles south of my house, a disaster that resulted at least in part from our huge national appetite for energy, and I resolve to do better.
Levi Strauss & Co. is getting in on the energy-saving act through a contest called Care to Air. They’re seeking ideas that will improve or replace the clothesline, and anyone can participate. Air drying ideas will be accepted until July 31, and winners will be announced in August. In addition to the satisfaction of helping to cut energy use, five finalists will win $500. A panel of judges will award prizes ranging from $4,500 to $1,000 for first, second and crowd favorite (that last category will be decided by online votes). Levi’s new clothing care tags urge their customers to only use cold water for laundering, to line dry and to donate old jeans to Goodwill.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to the hardware store for some clothesline.
Margaret-Ann Allison said:
Not many even have a clothesline these days. I risk giving away my age when I say that back in the early 50s (when I was a teen) and Jeans were just becoming popular with the girls (Southern ones anyway) we bought them tight, went home and got in a cold bath with them on – molded them to our (OH! for those days!) cute little figures and then wore them around until the dryed. No stretch fabrics back then — it was do-it-yourself time.
Few things are as good as going to bed on sheets dried in the summer sun!
Becca said:
great post! I am in Pensacola and hung towels out on the line today. I’m sure it was just as hot in Mobile as it was here–but the humidity put a bit of a damper, so to speak, on any quick drying ideas I had! I think they’re dry by now but it could’ve been a lot quicker!
trish said:
do not have a clothes line here, but I did mow my entire yard this weekend with my little green no gas no electricity push mower. take that BP.
Elephant's Eye said:
I do find it frightening to think how much energy is used by tumble-driers. I can understand if it is snowing, or raining for days, or you live in a flat with no access to clothes-lines. But in a house with a garden, in summer …?!
Shady Gardener said:
I used to hang out my clothes all the time (my husband made me a huge clothesline) when our kids were little. I loved it because I was able to be outdoors a LOT! 😉
I have a mini line now, but often forget to use it. And I DO feel guilty when it’s nice out and I’m using the dryer. I’ll see if I can do something about that!!
Gillian said:
What a great sketch – I’m so glad I found your blog.
I’ve used clothes lines all my married life (41 years!) I do have a tumble drier but will only use it in extremis. Laundry that’s hung outside to dry smells so much sweeter!
Nydia said:
Great idea, Val, thanks for sharing, I just posted it at my Facebook page, with a link to your blog. We don’t have a dryer machine at home, and clothesline is the most common thing here in my country. If new ideas to improve it can be found, the better for the environment and to save energy! The Gulf disaster is beyond words so terrible it is…
Kisses from Nydia.
Jennifer said:
I haven’t had a dryer for 4 years. We air-dry everything. I have a clothesline for big stuff. I hang the little stuff (socks, underwear, and kids clothes) on a wire rack. Then I hang all our shirts on plastic clothes hangers. I really like hang drying our clothes. It’s a great excuse to get outside and enjoy a minute alone:) I love the sketch!
Jen
Angela said:
I live in a trailer park, and while I miss my clothes line we are not even allowed to hang clothes outside in anyway-shape-or form.