FCIWYPSC

Hung out to dry May 5, 2012

Posted by mareserinitatis in family, personal.
Tags: carbon, chores, clothes, dryer, energy
6 comments

Some days I don’t feel like posting about science or engineering or anything like that.  This is one of those days, and I’m feeling more domestically inclined.  (Perhaps it was baking muffins that got me on this kick.)

Over a year ago, a relative of mine was featured in the local paper because of his attempts to minimize energy use and how this was connected to his ministry (he was a minister at a local church, at the time).  I actually didn’t know how far he’d gone in his attempts until reading the article, and I have to say I’ve been trying to think of ways to do things like this ever since.  The picture included with the article showed him in his basement with lines hung all around, drying his clothes.

A couple months ago, I decided that there was no reason not to try something similar.  When I was a kid, we had clotheslines in the back of most of the places we lived, but I never really liked those.  I don’t know how many times I brought in clothes that were covered in dust or seeds…or even bugs!  I also had no idea how I’d hang lines around my basement (or how to keep the kids from playing with them and turning them into a place to hang and launch toys.) Instead, I bought a couple of clothes-drying racks and set them up in my basement.  I figured it would cut down on use of our dryer (extending its longevity), cut down on energy use, and help keep some of our clothes from coming to an early demise.  (I think I read somewhere that heat destroys cotton over time, and I’ve seen it with a few of my own things.)

I tried to talk my husband into using them, but I don’t think he likes them a whole lot.  He is giving it a try…at least for now.  We’ve determined that several of our work clothes just simply can’t be dried on the rack because they get too wrinkled.  (I’m sorry, but I really don’t iron clothes unless absolutely necessary.)  Also, jeans take forever.  I keep trying to get myself onto a schedule (like I was a few years ago), where I did specific loads of laundry on specific days (Mondays was whites, Tuesdays was jeans, etc.).  I think it would work much better than just doing things on the weekend…and running out of space.  I am also trying to think harder about what kinds of clothes will dry well on the racks and try to avoid those really wrinkly things.  That’s difficult, however, as you can’t always tell how well they’ll work until you see what they look like wet.

The end result is that we’re drying about half of our laundry on the racks, while the other half is still going through the drier.  I still feel guilty that I’m not doing all of it this way, but I keep telling myself that every little bit is a step in the right direction.  (And, hey, if it cuts down on expenses, even better.)

(Thanks to Ukko.de for the picture!)