Mar
31
Written by:
Susan.Eccher
3/31/2009 8:30 AM
Sigh. It's Tuesday, so that means trash day, laundry day, picking-up-Cheerios-off-the-floor day while entertaining two shrieking kids... this domestic goddess-ness gets a bit tedious (especially since this kinda sounds like every day, not just Tuesday!). And it's a bit cold, gray and dreary here in Jacksonville, and we thought it was Spring! Ah, Spring, a great time to start hanging out laundry to dry in the fresh breeze, right? Hmmm. Well, I *had* determined to try this. Actually, I did this for 5 years while we lived in Geneva, Switzerland. But there, I did it out of necessity, not out of any "green" ambitions. We lived in a small apartment in the city, and shared 1 clothes dryer with all the other residents. When I did laundry, the apartment ended up draped in wet towels and underwear. It was ok then, since it was just the two of us. My towels usually ended up a bit crunchy, but I wasn't (and still am not) into ironing, so we just used 'em crunchy. My mother-in-law, bless her Swiss heart, almost never uses their itty-bitty Swiss dryer, but hangs everything out to dry either outside or inside on or near a heating stove. She, however, is a wiz at ironing. I think she actually ironed our underwear ... I know it was folded more neatly than it ever would be again (implying I actually even try to fold underwear...but I digress.)
Now, however, my laundry load has multiplied, seemingly by 10.
I love my clothes dryer! There, I said it. It is fast and leaves our clothes, sheets and towels soft and huggable. I can't imagine life now without it. I love being able to zip through five stacks of dirty laundry in a day, which wouldn't be possible in my life right now the "old fashioned way". Still, for the sake of saving energy and money, I decided I should go back to the clothes line. My compromise was that I would use the line for large, bulky items such as sheets, comforters and perhaps towels.
THEN I read about allergies and clothes drying outside -- pollen and mold can collect on items drying outside! YUCK! We don't need that, especially around my 18 month old son who we suspect may have either asthma or allergies, and still receives daily medication via nebulizer.
So, what to do? I've decided to wait until Summer to take this on. I still think it's a grand idea for the Earth and our budget, but I have to be honest about my own limitations and our health needs.
I'll blog about it then, and deal with our frequent thuderstorms later!
1 comment(s) so far...
Re: Hung out to dry?
I read this blog and I really wanted to add a utopic paragraph about how much I enjoy the process of hanging clothes out to dry on our line; how I love the way they look swinging in the wind and the smell when I take them off the line. All of this is true, of course, however, I only really do it a few times a week, mostly on weekends or weekdays where I have a little more energy than usual.
I can only hope that every little bit counts, and try to do it more. I do remember my mother rushing home from things in summers in Florida to find the clothes soaked on the line, so there is something to be said for dryers.
By Sara.Loschiavo on
4/20/2009 10:26 AM
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