Laundry

As I mentioned in my last entry, the laundry does not take the summer off. However, I approach laundry a little differently in the summer. A while back, I was reading Guideposts magazine, as I do each month. There was an article, written by a doctor who saw how pollution in the environment was affecting the health of people with asthma that he saw in the ER. He suggests many things people can do to cut down on the pollution they are responsible for. The one that stuck with me was hanging the laundry out to dry. Now, I live in an area where outdoor space is at a premium, so I didn't think I had the room to hang clotheslines. But, I do have some hooks outside that I started putting hangers on to air dry a few things. Then, I thought that if I strung some clothesline between some of the hooks, then I could hang some more things out. Well, in my little yard, I now have enough clothesline to put out a whole load of laundry to dry. I sometimes have to be creative, but it works. Now, it does take more effort on my part to lug wet laundry outside and hang it up. But, and this is just me, I could use the exercise. The nice thing is that I can hang things outside and bring them in and fold them when I am ready. No more reponding to a buzzing dryer or dealing with a cold wrinkly load the next day. On a really hot day, it can dry about as quickly as a dryer. On warm day, it will take longer. I have line dryed just about every load I do at one time or another, but I found that towels come off the clothesline very hard and rough. So, I always use the dryer for towels, no matter the season.

Another thing to think about with laundry is what you are using to wash your clothes. A lot of detergents have strong smells and leave residues which can irritate allergies, especially at night. I use safe, non-toxic products that work really well. Check them out here.

Here are some pictures of my clotheslines.

Enjoy your laundry!