In the Aug/Sept issue of MaryJanesFarm, “The Experiment” (on newsstands July 14), we led you here to my daily journal for a chance to win a free sampling of “the perfect clothespin,” featured in our “Home Safe Home” section.
You probably know that we love clothespins here at MaryJanesFarm. You might have seen the article, “The Humble Clothespin,” in our “Celebrating 15 Years” Feb/Mar 2015 issue. And recently, we discovered another small company that makes old-fashioned wooden clothespins by hand. Albert Crooks and his 15-year-old son, Al, craft beautiful, sturdy clothespins from ash (the perfect hardwood for clothespins) and heavy-duty, stainless-steel springs manufactured in the U.S. “No more using four or five cheap clothespins to hang a wet towel to line dry. Our clothespins are tumble sanded and are finished with tung oil, which will not leach out and stain your laundry.” For beautiful clothespins that will last a lifetime, visit AllAmericanClothespins.com.
For a chance to win a sampling of “the perfect clothespin,” tell me how hanging laundry on the line makes you feel in the comments below. We’ll toss your name in a hat and draw one lucky winner in mid-September, when the Aug/Sept issue expires on newsstands. Stay tuned for more magazine-related giveaways!
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Hanging wash on the line makes me feel accomplished. getting that great outdoor country smell, saving electricity, and when it’s breezy having soft, fresh laundry!
I LOVE hanging laundry out on my clothesline!!! It, first of all, makes me feel relaxed and unhurried. I like all the bending and stretching of hanging my laundry. I also feel good about the fact that I’m not using my dryer and saving on electricity. And I love the smell of clotheslines dried clothes, towels and bedding!
There is nothing like the smell of fresh sheets off the clothesline. To this day I remember my Mom doing laundry this way.
So many things combine to make hanging out the laundry something I want to do. A chore I don’t mind! Who knew that Sunshine has a fragrance all it’s own? Linens and things gently blowing in the breeze and a fresh aroma (not to mention whites seem whiter) makes for an excellent reason to be outdoors! Added bonus: saving energy by not using the dryer!
It brings back memories of simpler days. The perfect way to end a day is to smell the clothesline dry sheet upon your bed. Sweet dreams!
Hanging laundry on the clothesline makes me feel “connected ” …
I often think of my grandmothers, who hung laundry not by choice, as I do, but of necessity. My maternal grandmother had 5 little girls, the last 2 were a set of twins…can you IMAGINE all the laundry that lady hung to dry?!?? My paternal grandmother had 4 boys, and lived at times on a reservation, in a tent, and relocated every few weeks…oh my!! I have it SOOO easy! 🙂
Hanging items out on a line to dry makes me feel connected to the Earth — the breezes through my hair, the ground beneath my feet, the warmth of the sunshine on my skin, and the dampness of the water which has cleansed. All come together to bring my consciousness to remember that I am part of this Earth.
Reminds me of my childhood. I love the way the clothes smell. I also know it lets Mother Earth do what she does best, take care of me.
Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago….my mom refused to buy an automatic washing machine so she used her ringer washing machine until she was well into her 80’s! She would do wash once/week. It was a whole morning chore. The backyard was loaded with lines…one from the house to the garage; one from the garage to the pole; one from the house to the pole etc. I think 6 total. We were called back to hang things correctly…”no dog ears”. 🙂 Since we were the ONLY ones who hung clothes out (remember this was in the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s), mom would tell us stories about how one knew the neighbors babies were born….diapers and baby clothes on the line, or when a whole family was sick….sheets and more sheets on the line. My favorite memory was when it started raining…she would yell and all of us would run to grab the clothes off the line. Now I am no longer in Chicago but in Texas. I hang out in the shade so things don’t fade from the sun. (Another of mom’s lessons). My family lovingly calls me “Mrs. Tiggy Winkle” the laundress from Beatrice Potter’s books.
I LOVE these beautiful clothespins! and when I get some I do use them to hang laundry and sleep on wonderfully smelling sheets! But, I always save a few to make gifts with essential oil, like Sweet Grass and Lavender. Put in a jar with oil covering the bottom and set clothespins upright so they can soak up the oil. Tie with some fabric strips or toule and you have a lovely gift to hang in closet or put in drawers.
Hanging my clothes on the line makes me feel closer to nature and a kinship to my ancestors. There is no better feeling than crawling into a bed with crisp, sun-dried sheets! That feeling begins though, before you even pull back the covers, because the smell of sunshine feels the room!!
‘fills’
There is nothing like fresh laundry taken off of a clothes line. Especially sheets.
Hanging laundry-I am back in my childhood yard, listening to the swallows scold me, they nest in the clothesline poles. The sun is warm on my face, the damp laundry’s weight and moisture draw my focus. In a few hours the sunlight’s fresh fragrance will be captured in the material. I shall sleep tonight wrapped in freshness. mmmm
Fresh…clean…summery…breezy…accomplished…
I tried commenting through Facebook with no luck. So I’ll try here! I love line drying because the fresh smell of linens reminds me of summers spent on my grandfather’s farm hanging out clothes with my Mom.
I love the way the clothes smell after hanging out in the sun and fresh air. It saves on electricity and I feel like it’s a small thing I can do for my family. I love driving through the country and seeing other people’s laundry hanging as well. I actually feel lazy when I don’t hang my laundry outside!! Brenda
I hang laundry all summer and I feel good to be out in the sunshine and fresh air. I love the smell of laundry that has hung dry. Saves on electricity too!!
Hanging laundry on the line always reminds me of summers spent as a child on my grandparent’s farm in Southern England. My grandparents own a 40 year old dryer for emergencies but rarely ever turn it on. I can still smell exactly how the fresh air mixed in with my grandmothers detergent while snuggling into fresh sheets off the line. For me, a clothesline smells nostalgic and makes me reminisce on childhood and great memories with my grandparents.
I hang clothes on the clothesline every time I do laundry….even in the winter if there is sunshine~, If it is raining, I do not do laundry. The way the clothes feel and smell cannot be matched! It is hard to find a clothespin that does not break or wimp out when hanging jeans and towels. Would love to win some “real clothespins”. I also have a clothesline in my special education classroom for great papers and thoughts. The students love to see that their work is “hanging out”! 🙂
“Clothespins” take me back to my childhood when I helped my mom hang clothes on the line. I loved walking between the two lines we had and inhaling that sweet fragrance of sunshine dried laundry.
I like line drying. I save time, handling things less, drying faster (usually), fold from the line into the basket and put away all at once. When I use the dryer, I have to do one load at a time 🙂 and usually leave the clothes in the dryer for a couple of days.
I have never owned a clothes dryer, so hanging clothes outside in the fresh air is all I know. It’s like bringing fresh air in the house, but the best feeling is making the bed with sheets that have dried on the line.
Hanging clothes on my line makes me happy. I can watch the birds and the chickens as I hang clothes up and it is a nice time to day dream. I can have all of the laundry hung out easily by 10am. It makes me happy not using electricity drying our laundry. There is nothing like the smell of line dried clothes; you can smell the sunshine!
“Hanging laundry on the line”…I feel like I’m part of a great country song.
I always tell my husband that hanging out laundry is a very peaceful excercise for me. I love the prudence of it, the slow pace, being surrounded by the sounds of nature, and even the beauty of watching the clothing swaying gently in the breeze. I enjoy it so much that my dear husband even made me a removeable indoor clothesline for when we have inclement weather, although nothing beats the smell of the clothing that has been line-dried outdoors! 🙂
On a beautiful day, I hang up a load of clothes, then “forget” to go back inside. I may wander into the windbreak to find an elusive bird I’m hearing, fill the birdbaths, maybe just enjoy the sights, smells and sounds of a peaceful country day. And the warm, sweet-smelling laundry isn’t all that bad to fold, either!
I have just a small space to hang clothes because where we live the wind is very strong, I have to use 3-4 clothes pins to keep my towels on the line, but I love the fresh clean smell.
It’s all about the clean smell and the “scratchy” towels for me!
Just the fresh clean smell of laundry that has been out on the line is a huge reason to use your clothes line as much as possible. For me I start hanging items out in early spring as soon as the Ohio weather will let me and then continue on in to at least October. I actually love seeing my clothes swaying in the breeze. In the winter I hang clothes inside !
Hanging clothes on the line takes me back to my childhood home… listening to my mom is singing Polish songs as I hand her the clothes pins…it brings me peace.
My parent’s live at the top of a hill, and hanging out the laundry was my favorite chore. It was always breezy, the view was beautiful and soothing, and the laundry looked so clean with the sun shining through it. When I was first married, I hung a clothesline outside of our apartment (I wasn’t the only one, either) and got a letter threatening eviction if I didn’t take it down! Until then I would have put “clothesline” pretty near the top of the list of “Most Inoffensive Things Ever.” Apparently some people don’t like them. Don’t understand. At our current house, there is no place sunny enough to dry clothes (they get mildewy), but hoping to move soon!
Oh my! How I love to hang my laundry. If I’m having a frazzled day, I have been known to ask for some laundry hanging time. It’s quiet and methodical, and very soothing I find.
i love the way the clothing smells when hung on the line and the way it flaps in a slow breeze.
I remember my mom and my grandma using a wringer washer and hanging laundry out to dry. Just thinking about it makes me feel like a kid again. I just hung my 1st clothesline and love hanging sheets, towels and rugs, feeling the warm sunshine , listening to the birds singing. I enjoy just taking the time to do this and save on my electric/gas bill.
There is absolutely nothing like bringing in laundry from the clothesline outside. The smell of the warm sunshine has attached itself to every thread. I love crawling in my bed at the end of a summer day to the cozy smell of clean sheets. Nothing compares to going to bed on “clean sheet night”.
Hanging laundry out on a line makes me feel virtuous. It’s good for me and it’s good for the environment.
The humble clothespin reminds me of yesteryear days; doing laundry with my grandma using her double tubs (and bluing water for whiter whites!) and ringer washer, the fresh scent of our farm, and simpler days. When I hang out my laundry now, the fresh smell tugs at my heartstrings and brings back all the memories of people and times I loved so dearly.
There are clothes, towels and washcloths out on the line right now! It makes me feel good to be doing something for the environment and I like the smell!
it reminds of when i was small and would help grandma with the laundry! it was always hung out to dry during the summer..and when everything was hung my sisters and i would chase each other thru the rows!!
I have always felt wonderful hanging out laundry and look for any opportunity to do so! The smell, the sight of the clothes flapping in the breeze, the feel of it, is all wonderfully exciting!
Slows down my day and connects me to mamas through the ages…
Hanging clothes on a clothes line brings back so many memories of my Mother. She had a method of hanging order that she never veered from – all shirts were hung together, all pants, all towels, etc. ( you follow me?). If you did not follow this order, you were in bad trouble! I love to see sheets especially, blowing in the wind. I also use clothes pins to hang my skirts on hangers in my closet. I really would like to win some “good” ones. Mine seem to come apart quite easily.
Hanging clothes on the line slows me down. It reminds me that life is a gift to be enjoyed, not a list to be checked off. My clothesline sits right next to my garden. This is my favorite place to be.
I missed not being able to hang out the laundry to dry when I lost my clothesline end supports. We tore down the old shed and the new chicken pen took wall space used by the other end. Now the new barn stands in the place of the old shed and I can have a good long line again. There’s nothing like time on the line and sunshine to give barn clothes a fresh air sanitizing that detergents just can’t match.
Hanging Laundry on the line…makes me feel like I’m being green! I love hanging my laundry out – the sunshine is my bleach, the air gives it a smell that no bounce or fabric softener can, and lastly, I’m not using electricity but simple effort on my end to hang it up – which is oh so enjoyable. Who doesn’t love to see their laundry line full of clothes drying 🙂
Hanging my laundry out in the fresh air makes me feel good inside and out. Even though my children don’t follow my example, my grandchildren always help me when they are staying over. It thrills my heart to have my 4 year old granddaughter, trying to copy my every move as I hang out the wash. She constantly asks me questions about why I do what I do. It is definitely not a chore when you have the help of your grandchild.
Hanging clothes on the clothes line takes me back to my childhood. All clothes went on the line – and chasing the neighbor’s goats when they stole them. LOL
I feel thrifty! Saving on the electricity it takes to operate my clothes dryer is saving energy and $$! The big bonus, though, is getting to use a fresh air dried towel after a shower, and then crawling into bed between sheets that have flapped in our sweet smelling coastal breeze and settling down for a good nights’ sleep.
I am tired of the new flimsy clothespins that are on the market today. I love to hang outside; the clothes smell so fresh. I only have a few old sturdy clothespins left in my bag and I save those for heavier items.
I just got married last September and started hanging laundry for the first time. It makes me feel happy to save on electric bill