...sometimes even a single feather is enough to fly. (Robert Maclean)

10.04.2015

laundry on the line


There's something about laundry on the line that I just love.

I love the colors.
I love watching everything move in the breeze. 
I love seeing the fabrics that we use in our day-to-day lives 
in a different context.

Laundry has an intimacy to it.

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Sometimes I look at the line and think
it looks like
a temporary art installation
of wacky prayer flags.

And sometimes if you look at just the right angle (see above!)
the spring-style clothespins look like
 a bunch of birds with very big beaks,
perching on top of the line.
:)

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When I was a girl, one of my favorite things to do 
was run between the sheets on sheet day.

Sometimes I would stand inside the sheets
and wait for a breeze to ruffle through.
Or I would dance inside the sheets,
flapping my arms 
and moving the sheets like big wings
all the while with that wonderful smell of fresh air and sunlight
wafting all around me.


The laundry line we've been using for a bunch of years
is right off of our back deck --
next to the woods, which isn't ideal,
but it's convenient, with easy access. 
It gets decent sunlight, and it won't bother any of the neighbors.

(Still, the more I think about it,
I really have a hankering to run between sheets again...!
Once we move on from our latest chicken coop project,
we might just have to rig up another laundry line...)

It'd be great to have one somewhere that it's easier to run barefoot
without getting all scratched up by the comfrey patch.

A girl can dream, right?

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Until we install another line,
sometimes we just drape wet laundry 
especially heavier things like big towels
on the deck or picnic table or chairs.

It's a different configuration each time.
No laundry day is ever exactly the same...

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A good basket is really worth it,
and lasts for decades.

I got these handmade baskets for my sweetie 
as a thank-you for all of the laundry she does
(which is like 99% of it.)

You can find them on Etsy at Baskets By Emily.
(though her shop is currently closed until the New Year...)

This one was stained with a dye the weaver made from pecan shells.
The basket is so sturdy, yet flexes really nicely,
and the handles are built-in.

We keep our clothespins in a little bag.
They're easy to grab.

Currently the 3 Laundry Muses are watching over them,
assuring that our laundry dries nicely and smells divine.

If the laundry is too stiff, it helps to toss it in the dryer
for just a couple of minutes and that softens it right up.


You can put a laundry line just about anywhere.  
It hardly costs anything.

It's good for the environment 
because machine dryers use electricity and/or gas.
Plus the fresh smell...
I know I keep going on about the smell, 
but there's just nothing like it.

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When I started doing a little research online,
I discovered that you actually can't put a laundry line just anywhere.
There are states that have BANNED laundry lines.
That is so messed up!!!

Here are some links you can check out if you're interested in learning more
about the right-to-dry movement
and about how great it is to dry on the line
(and how bad it is to use dryers all the time!)


Have fun drying!
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