Line drying = more laundry done?

**YankeeMom** · 04-20-2006, 09:23 AM

Does anyone else find it easier to keep up with the laundry while line-drying?
In the winter, I average *maybe* 1 load of laundry per day, then I end up falling behind because I can't keep up. But in the warm weather when I can line dry, I can get 3-5 loads done per day. How is that?

For me, I think it's because line drying means one less trip down to the basement. Instead of going down to the basement to put a load in the washer, coming back upstairs. Going back down to put it in the dryer & start another load in the washer, coming back upstairs. Going back down to take it out of the dryer and put the newly washed in the dryer. Bah! That's a lot of stairs! Not to mention the clothes in the washer always have to wait for the dryer to get done because the dry cycle is longer than the wash cycle.

With line-drying, I go down to start a load & come back upstairs. Then I go downstairs to get the wet clothes & start another load of wash. I take the clothes upstairs and hang them out to dry. In 30 minutes I repeat. No more waiting 15-35 minutes after the wash cycle to put the clothes in the dryer. I really hate waiting for the dryer.

Not only that, but the clothes get folded sooner. I can't fold the clothes directly out of the dryer. My time in the basement is limited as I have a 4yo who gets into mischeif or tries to traverse the basement steps (which gives me a heart attack every time!) so I'm in & out as quick as possible. In the winter, the baskets of clothes pile up in the living room and get folded a little at a time and then all at once on Thursday nights. But I'm finding when I take the clothes off the line my 4yo is playing outside, the dogs are outside doing their business...I have time to fold each article of clothing before putting it in the basket. By the time I've gotten all the dry laundry off the line & folded, ds has gotten a good playtime and the dogs have had their time out too.

I wish I could line dry all year round! I'm much more efficient this way

**Jayne** · 04-20-2006, 10:03 AM

Yes I do find it easier to keep up!!!....My dryer never keeps up with the washer.....I can hang out three loads to dry as opposed to one load at a time in the dryer!!...I would also love to line dry all year too!!!

**frugalfarmwife** · 04-20-2006, 10:08 AM

Although my laundry line is conviently right on the first floor (right off our side porch but with a sliding door) I also find I keep up, in fact ahead of the laundry when line drying! LOL, this morning went looking for a load and not enough to wash!

I also keep up on getting it folded and put away because the laundry line is between the house and barn and I'm in and out all day so each trip by the line I stop and feel the clothes, anything dry gets grabbed, folded and put away right then and there.

Funny, I HATE laundry in the winter but actually enjoy it in the spring/summer/fall, I LOVE the smell of line dried clothes!

kj

**AmyBoz** · 04-20-2006, 10:28 AM

I have a line in the basement (working on getting one outside) and I get twice as much done because I wash bigger loads and don't have to worry about the dryer not drying them!

**suzysaver** · 04-20-2006, 10:39 AM

Your right, I have to hang mine in the spare bedroom...we live in an apartment and line drying outside is not allowed. Our spare room is upstairs and getts really hot in summer....a load will dry in 20 - 30 min, plus I can line dry all year long. I didn't start doing this till about 4 months ago, but I love it. It just seems easier and you can hang more on a line then what the dryer will hold.

**Valerie in WA** · 04-20-2006, 10:54 AM

I also find I stay caught up/ahead. For me it's because I enjoy going outside to hang the laundry, AND I know I need to make sure I get the wash done on dry days. I actually look forward to laundry and find that I wash sheets more frequently.

**halloweenfreak** · 04-20-2006, 11:46 AM

my line is in the garage, i dont know if i would even mess with line drying if it was any further away from the washing machine then it is! (yeah im lazy when it comes to laundry) but since i started line drying everything, i have noticed i do stay on top of it more. it use to just get thrown in the bedroom floor and you had to go find it if you wanted something. but now that its already on hangers, its just so much simpler to go hang it in the closet when its dry. i do put the towels in the dryer tho, just really dont want crisp towels. its funny, but when we first got married, we didn't have a dryer. we went to the laundry mat to do that. it only took one trip of doing that before i demanded my husband to go buy me a dryer. (its the only thing i have ever DEMANDED him to do) but now, if this dryer ever goes out, i dont know if i'll replace it. i might just have to get use to crisp towels, cuz i dont use my dryer enough now to justify the price of replacing it.

**canadian gardener** · 04-20-2006, 12:15 PM

yes. I find when I line dry that I take the clothes off the line in order of the rooms I put them away in, and also I'm able to line dry a couple of loads, both light and dark at the same time.

I think there are some efficiencies to line drying that result in a little more freed up time and energy.

**dmvezina** · 04-20-2006, 12:19 PM

Same here!!! In the winter I do about 1 load a day but in the nicer weather I can crank out a few loads at a time & then can skip a few days too!

I love the smell of them being outside too!! lol

**miss_thrifty** · 04-20-2006, 02:24 PM

when i had aline i loved it, always got up at 6 or 7 am even in the summer. An all the laundry was dry and put away before lunch. Now this place were renting they say thatwe all have to agree for clotheslines. well they better make up their mind, were on the end, not the middle and hubby said hes putting up one whether they like it or not. Itsupopose to be low income place. well im on low income and that means we need clothes lines.

**Missy** · 04-20-2006, 03:03 PM

I get more done too. my lines will hold 5 loads easily. so i can get that much done with out a problem. Even when the kids or dh bring me their secret stashes of dirty laundry...

or i have to do the bedding, i can get it done quick.

**YankeeMom** · 04-20-2006, 07:58 PM

Originally Posted by Missy

Even when the kids or dh bring me their secret stashes of dirty laundry...

Good to know I'm not the only one who's family has a "secret stash" of dirty clothes

**mom22grls** · 04-20-2006, 08:08 PM

I find the opposite for me.

My washer takes an hour for a load & I don't seem to get done washing it until after noon. If it's not outside by ten or so, it won't dry all the way....it's still quite chilly here.

SO, for me, I'm getting behind because I *want* to hang them out, but after 12 or so, I need to use the dryer.

AND Miss K throws a HUGE fit when it's time to come inside! Sometimes I just dont want to deal.

**NoDebtMom** · 04-21-2006, 10:09 AM

I TOTALLY get more laundry done, and keep up better when I can line dry. When I have to hang on the racks in the laundry room, I have about a day of drying time and only so much room.. The clothes on the line dry fast, esp if sunny and breezy-- so I can get much much more done. LOVE this time of year.

**schellie69** · 04-24-2006, 03:49 PM

I have one of those umbrella lines, I love it, during the winter I do okay my new washer and dryer get done about the same time so it is not that much differeance, I just like hanging them up for the money savings. Dh just got my lines back up and it rained to day and since I have been down with health problems and finally feeling better I have had to use the dryer to get caught up but from now on I am going to be hanging clothes up I am going to try and add vinergar to the rinse cycle for the towels and see if that helps with the stiffness or maybe just throw them in the dryer for a fluff, my whole family loves lined dryed sheets, in the winter I have no place to line dry, so dryer get used. maybe I can figure out how to hang some lines up stairs up in the basement not sure yet I am working on that one. can't wait to start hanging I love hanging clothes early in the morning when it is quite that is my time....