I'm LOVING my clothes line

So a few weeks ago I'd been reading about using a clothes line (a few blog posts) and I decided that we should get one.

Now I'm no newbie to clothes lines. My parents have had one in all the houses we've lived in. They'd use them mostly for towels, sheets, big blankets, comforters and rugs. Occasionally clothes just depending on what it was and how things were outside. Of course this happened in warm weather.

I didn't like it growing up. I didn't like my towels or sheets smelling like outside and I didn't want rough towels. So I wasn't a big fan. David and I haven't lived anywhere for longer than 2 years (until this house going on 5!) so it never crossed my mind. I'd thought about one after Trey was born because people said if you could dry your cloth diapers on a line they freshened up really well and it worked great on stains. But I didn't have one.

I also had started feeling the need for one so I could air out my dry clean only down comforter and other things I couldn't get in the washer. When I wanted to wash out rugs I had to hang them over the fence.

Like I said above one of my concerns was the rough towels. After talking to my Mom she said they aren't always rough just when there isn't much wind. And the blog post mentioned that if that's a concern for you then just toss them in the dryer on a air fluff cycle for a few and that will go away.

My other concern was the smell. They suggested throwing them in the dryer on a fluff cycle and using a dryer sheet to help them smell better. So with my 2 concerns taken care of I was ready to do it.

We have about 12 feet on one side of our back yard from the house to the fence that runs the depth of our house. We thought that would be the perfect spot to set up because it isn't used for anything. David attached hardware to the brick and then to the wood fence posts and then we ran coated line between them. We ended up doing 4 lines.

I have LOVED hanging almost everything outside on the line. Everything dries so fast and I actually like the smell now! It smells so fresh and clean! My towels were becoming a problem, because if I used fabric softener they wouldn't absorb water and if I didn't they started to smell. Now they smell great and they absorb! And it's been windy enough lately that no rough clothes either.

I've also been hanging out our clothes. Although I've heard that you have to be careful with colored items because the sun will fade the colors, which is why it's so great for whites!
There is something so comforting about hanging clothes on a clothes line, very domestic too! I've really enjoyed doing it! And well there is the fact that it's cheaper than fabric softener and the sun does so great at whitening whites. And I haven't run my dryer but a couple of time in the last few weeks, I'm hoping that shows on our electric bill.

I've just been using my homemade laundry soap and nothing else, so simple! Love it!

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