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Does this scenario sound familiar to you? You find a great shirt at the store – fits well, looks sharp; you wear it once (maybe twice) and it’s time to wash it. So, you wash it and toss it in the dryer. You go to put it on and all of a sudden, your favorite new shirt looks like a short little box laying awkwardly on you.
Sometimes the dryer can be a little hard on our clothes. Line-drying your clothes is gentler on the fabrics and reduces the chances that your favorite sweater turns into a crop top.
Switching to a clothesline can also save you more than $200 per year and reduces your carbon footprint by 2,400 pounds a year, according to The Spruce.
If you want to extend the life of your clothes, save money and impact the environment, read on to learn how to set up your own clothesline.
How to Get Started
How to Set Up a Clothesline
To install a clothesline at home, all you need are two sturdy upright posts and a rope. You can even use two trees in your backyard to make your line. If you don’t have trees to help you out, use something strong like poles or wooden 4x4s.
Clotheslines come in varying heights, but ideally, the posts should be around six feet tall above the ground; however, you’ll have three to four feet of your post buried underground. So keep that in mind when buying posts for your clothesline.
You’ll need to dig a hole three to four feet deep for your posts. Use 10-foot posts to make sure you’ll be able to bury enough of each pole in the ground while still having enough height above ground.
After you get your line set up, pick up a bag of clothespins and a few extra hangers. Then you’re good to go!
How to Hang Up Your Laundry
To make sure your clothes dry properly, here are a few things to consider when hanging your clothes:
- Wipe down the lines before you hang clothes on them
- Use a thick, wooden clothes hanger on nicer shirts so they keep their shape
- Hang jeans from the bottom of the legs and flip the pockets out to dry faster
- Pair socks together when you hang them up
- Hang colored clothes in the shade to prevent fading
- Hang white clothes in the sun so they’ll dry faster
What Do You Do in the Winter?
This is a logical question, especially if you live in a colder climate. You’re probably not going to hang wet clothes outside – they’ll freeze! But what do you do if you’ve kicked your dryer to the curb? Use an indoor drying rack!
You may want to invest in a few drying racks, depending on the amount of laundry you do, but an indoor drying rack will function just as well as your outdoor clothesline and can fold up when it’s not in use.
Clothesline Options
Do you want to ditch the dryer but setting up your own clothesline sounds a little outside of your wheelhouse? Try one of these options instead.
Brabantia Lift-O-Matic Rotary Clothes Line Dryer
This umbrella-style clothesline is sturdy and can be adjusted to whatever height you’d prefer. When you’re not using it, the Lift-O-Matic folds into a smaller size for storage. To impact the environment even more, Brabantia will plant a tree for every rotary dryer purchase.
Stainless Steel Collapsible Double-Bar Garment Rack
This rack is a multi-use tool! You can use it as a wardrobe to store your seasonal pieces, use it to air equipment or use it as a drying rack. It comes assembled (win!) and folds together for storage.
Do you use a clothesline or drying rack? Got any tips? Share in the comments!
The post Clotheslines: Saving the Environment and Some Money One Garment at a Time appeared first on ZING Blog by Quicken Loans.
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