I fill and run the washer at bedtime, only full loads and cold water. In the morning I hang the clothes on an old fashioned clothesline. This only takes a few minutes and I enjoy being outside in the early morning. By late afternoon, everything is dry and I fold as I take things down. I take down like items together, i.e. all towels, all socks, etc to facilitate putting things away. No hot water use, no dryer use, running the washer at off-peak times. Conserves energy and that's a good thing!
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Great ideas. I love lessening our footprints here on Mother Earth.
I don't have enough room for a real clothesline, so I willl be investing in a large "rack" to use on the patio in summer and the garage in winter. Great for hot days or big blankets!
here in australia,i think about 80% of all families,etc, use our clotheslines outside,so good on you,its great you are cutting costs,g'day from a aussie,glenda
I grew up with my mom using a clothesline---I loved it, everything smelled so fresh!!
Sadly, my husband and I moved to a housing addition---and one of the rules was NO Clotheslines! I was bummed, but I lay out somethings on our patio furniture or pin them to our patio umbrella!! I even use cloth diapers and those take time to dry in the dryer!!
when our washer died 2 months ago we bought a front loading washer. It only uses 15 gallons of water versus 40 gallons for most top loading washing machines (saving 25 gallons PER LOAD). Besides that, without the agitator in the way, I can fit more in the drum - using even less water and less detergent. It is also energy star rated along with the matching dryer. It was a bit more $700 for the set brand new, but it will pay off big time in the end. :o)
I am not suggesting everyone go out and buy new washers and dryers but when yours dies it is worth thinking about. My water/electric bill went down 47% since we did about 35+ loads a week and now do maybe 20-25.
A great idea about the laundry but be careful leaving wet clothes overnight in hot weather. It gets very hot here [110+] and I can't leave clothes in the washer for more than an hour or they turn sour and smell horrible.
I like that idea of filling the washer in the evening to get a head start on the morning. I would fill it and leave it to soak overnight instead of letting the cycle run through, to avoid the mustyness and to get the cleaning benefit of soaking.
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