Laundry – something we all do and some of us have a love and some of us have a hate relationship with it. Whatever it is, I’m here to help make it even simpler and save you some money.

Besides the obvious point about energy consumption and doing laundry in the off-peak time (typically evenings and weekends) you can also get clothes hangers/racks or lines. Drying cloth diapers and other clothes outside on the line exposes them to ultraviolet light reducing and sometimes even removing stains too. Many will say you can’t use a clothesline come winter or once the freezing temperatures hit – not true. You can absolutely continue using your clothesline in the cold temperatures it just depends what your dry clothes goals are.

Heat, humidity and time are the factors you have to take into consideration. In the summer you have heat which means you don’t need a lot of time for your items to dry. Where I live humidity also becomes an issue in the summer so on very humid days the clothing will stay damp longer – low humidity is ideal.

If soft clothes is what you are looking for then skip the fabric softener (skip it regardless because it really isn’t good for you or your clothes) and hang your clothes, sheets, towels and linens on a summer day with a breeze. The breeze will stretch the fabric fibers and soften them. No breeze/agitation = stiff fabrics.If you are still getting stiff items then you may have residue in your clothes from your laundry detergent so you will need to rinse longer in warmer water. No breeze but still need the softness? No problem – put your stuff in the dryer for a quick tumble.

Cold and humid out? It’s going to take a long while if they dry at all. Unfortunately there is no where for the moisture to go in a case like this so bring out your indoor drying rack and use the heat in your home to dry your clothes. Keep in mind your window UV filters when drying clothes indoors – you may not get the bleaching effect from the sun. Winter is also a dry season and drying your laundry indoors can bring some moisture back into the air.

Cold and dry out? This is what some of you may have seen in the winter months when you’ve seen people using their clothesline. Cold and dry is the second most common issue I encounter in the winter. This results in freeze dried clothes – what you think is frozen may actually be dry. If ice appears on your clothes then simply turn them around and rehang them facing that side to the sun. You may need to finish drying the clothes inside if they froze before they got to dry.

I live in the windiest town in Ontario so windy and cold is the single most common weather issue I face. We get power outtages from how cold and windy it gets – no joke! In the case of drying clothes in the cold, the wind helps soften the clothes and the fabric fibers as well as helps with the evaporation of the water. A dry breeze on a cold day is your ideal winter clothesline drying weather.

I’m going to be honest with you and say I used my clothesline religiously. Midnight would hit on a Spring, Summer or Fall night and I’d be out there because I got Brandon to install a solar LED light pointing at the clothes line and garden because by the time I got the newborn to bed and could finally carry on with my day it was pitch dark. Today, on a Winter day or night you won’t catch me out there. Next Winter I’ll get a nice warm pair of gloves of something – no excuses.

Izabela