Subject: THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES:

>

>>

>>THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES: (if you don't know what

>>clotheslines are, better skip this)

>>

>>

>>1. You had to wash the clothes line before hanging any clothes- walk

>>the

>>entire lengths of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.

>>

>>2. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang

>>"whites" with "whites," and hang them first.

>>

>>

>>3 You never hung a shirt by the shoulders - always by the tail! What

>>would the neighbors think?

>>

>>4. Wash day on a Monday! . . . Never hang clothes on the weekend, or

>>Sunday, for Heaven's sake!

>>

>>

>>5. Hang the sheets and towels on the outside lines so you could hide

>>your "unmentionables" in the middle (perverts & busybodies, y'know!)

>>

>>6. It didn't matter if it was sub zero weather . . ... Clothes would

>>

>>"freeze-dry."

>>

>>7. Always gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes! Pins

>>left on the lines were "tacky!"

>>

>>8. If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each

>>item

>>

>>did not need two clothes p

>>ins, but shared one of the clothes pins with

>>the next washed item.

>>

>>9. Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the

>>clothes

>>basket, and ready to be ironed.

>>

>>

>>10. IRONED?! Well, that's a whole other subject!

>>

>>A POEM

>>

>>A clothesline was a news forecast

>>To neighbors passing by.

>>There were no secrets you could keep

>>When clothes were hung to dry.

>>

>>

>>It also was a friendly link

>>For neighbors always knew

>>If company had stopped on by

>>To spend a night or two.

>>

>>For then you'd see the "fancy sheets"

>>And towels upon the line;

>>You'd see the "company table cloths"

>>

>>With intricate designs.

>>

>>The line announced a baby's birth

>>>From folks who lived inside -

>>As brand new infant clothes were hung,

>>So carefully with pride!

>>

>>The ages of the children could

>>So readily be known

>>

>>By watching how the sizes changed,

>>You'd know how much they'd grown!

>>

>>It also told when illness struck,

>>As extra sheets were hung;

>>Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,

>>Haphazardly were strung.

>>

>>

>>It also said, "Gone on vacation now"

>>When lines hung limp and bare.

>>It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged

>>With not an inch to spare!

>>

>>New folks in town were scorned upon

>>

>>If wash was dingy and gray,

>>As neighbors carefully raised their brows,

>>And looked the other way . . .

>>

>>But clotheslines now are of the past,

>>

>>

>>For dryers make work much less.

>>Now what goes on inside a home

>>

>>Is anybody's guess!

>>

>>I really miss that way of life.

>>It was a friendly sign

>>When neighbors knew each other best

>>By what hung on the line!

>

>

>

the greenest of the green!--no footprint at all!

Except for sharing the clothes pins we never followed or knew about any of those rules. I had never heard those before. Needless to say I knew what everybody's underwear looked (like I really cared). If it gets really windy or there's torrential rain or some dog, pig or goat on the loose I guess you had better get those clothes down. Maybe I'm a hillbilly or something but I had never heard of all that before.

I do seem to recall that from my youth,

As for hanging cloths, I did that all last summer, what a pain in the ass. I was so glad to get my dryer out of the shed and hooked up.

I was using my landladies and it was electric, it finally died. Mine is gas and I had to run gas lines to get it working.

All in all, Gas beats the Electric all to hell, as for hanging the cloths out, they were not the good old days.

River

about 10 years ago I hung my clothes on the clothesline that was left up by a previous tenant just for fun once, and becaue it was a hot summer day and I didn't want to run the dryer and make the basement hotter.

I was amazed... TOTALLY amazed at how my clothes smelled and felt (I lived in the country then, not close to any farms... just trees and grassland around us, mostly).

I continued to hang my clothes whenever I could.

This post may just make me get a clothesline again.

I read somewhere that 25% of household energy use is for drying cloths. When dear wife is not around, I use the method I have seen elsewhere in the world. After washing, lay clothes out of ornamental shrubs, etc. Maybe it is our water, but what really does help is cycle them for 5 or 10 in the drying with a Downy sheet. Otherwise they are a bit stiff. Wash with liquid detergent so you can wash in cold water (powder may not dissolve completely in cold water.

I love the clothesline. Saves on dryer use, and the clothes are so much nicer afterward.

Just make sure your clothesline is up high enough so that you can walk under it with the mower!

You have missed one rule out,

Never on Good Friday.

My Nan had a dolly tub and wash house, in the coutry when I was young she used to make me turn the mangle and use the dolly. It would take all day monday to wash, like this keep filling and emptying the copper( a stoned lined boiler) heated by twigs etc.

She just wouldnt have a washing maschine, she wouldnt have electric either. My mother persued her to have it put in, in 1975, but her compromise was downstairs only.

I wont mention the outside lavatory or the inside guzzunder

StefanIsMe (imported) wrote: Sun Jul 19, 2009 9:14 pm about 10 years ago I hung my clothes on the clothesline that was left up by a previous tenant just for fun once, and becaue it was a hot summer day and I didn't want to run the dryer and make the basement hotter.

I was amazed... TOTALLY amazed at how my clothes smelled and felt (I lived in the country then, not close to any farms... just trees and grassland around us, mostly).

I continued to hang my clothes whenever I could.

This post may just make me get a clothesline again.

Clothes Dryers? How disgustingly decadent and how ungreen!

Only yesterday morning at 7am I was hanging out clothes on the washline in a temperature of 32F (0C) and my fingers were so numb I kept dropping the clothes pegs. I simply put the items on the line as they came out of the basket. The hell with being shy about panties under the circumstances.

At 10am the clothes were bone dry and I took them in. Apart from some minor discomfort, probably good for the soul, it didn't cost one cent.

Who needs a clothes dryer, gas or electric?

I was raised proper, I've always hung clothes out to dry. The dryer is a 1966 GE and has hardly been used. My only complaints are when wasps or bees get tangled up in the clothes or when birds decide to decorate them.

I took it one step further a couple years ago and picked up an old wringer washer at a sale. Now this is only for warmer weather...but I'd walk down to the stream and scoop out 2 buckets of water. one for wash, one for rinse.

The drain water just went on the ground and watered the yard.

Oh, and these old things don't have timers!!! Don't get sidetracked and let 'em run for 2 hours!!! You'll have tattered rags!