A Cozy Guide to Line Drying Laundry
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More years continue to pass where I spend my time learning various old-fashioned lifestyle habits, and they are generally those that fall under the category of domestic living. Some things that I have tried don’t stick for long or completely fail, and our modern conveniences are the far better option. Others, like line drying my laundry, become my preferred way of caring for my home and belongings.
In this guide, I will be sharing what I have learned over almost a decade of air drying clothing and linens outdoors (and indoors!). For the most part, the art of line drying is pretty simple, but there are a few little things that I have picked up over many weeks of wandering outside with my basket full of wet laundry. These tips for line drying laundry are not only useful, but they will help you to learn that this old-fashioned chore is something that can help you to embrace romanticizing your cozy little life!
romanticizing line drying laundry:
I started air drying clothes outside when I moved to rural Iowa, which was nine years ago. Growing up, we didn’t have a clothesline in the backyard, but my mom had one while she was a kid. At our first Iowa home before we moved to the farm, there was a cute little clothesline in the yard. I quickly fell in love with it. It felt like a connection to a past life, and every time I hung up my clothes or linens, I felt like I had transported through space and time to my own little fairytale.
Personally, I have no interest in LARPing like I live in the 1800s. I very much enjoy modern life for several reasons (women’s and LGBTQIA+ rights and flushing toilets come to mind…), but I do find it fascinating to see where we came from as humans when it comes to domestic tasks. Is how we are washing and drying our clothing now better or worse? Is it really more difficult to line dry my clothes, or could I try to make this work for my life every day? The answer to those questions lies, truly, in what you want and what is realistic for you! For me, I don’t line dry all of my laundry. I still use a clothes dryer, just not as often. I would say that I have a healthy balance of both options.
Why should you romanticize doing the laundry? For starters, I think you should love and enjoy doing whatever you want to do! For me, adding a little bit of magic and imagination to my tasks helps me to finish them. Otherwise, my ADHD will buckle down with a book or a movie and forget about the laundry altogether for a few days! To me, romanticizing my life involves the art of noticing things around me like how nature is unfolding around me on the farm, how I dressed for the day, or even the look and feel of the clothes and clothespins in my hands. I love watching the clothes float gently on the breeze and how they smell after they’ve come off of the line. There’s truly nothing better than the scent of air dried bed linens!
While there aren’t many studies available that say line drying specifically improves mental health, there are studies that say being outdoors and in the sun can alleviate depression, improve your immunity, and increase social relationships and this includes taking in the scents of the outdoors, which is one of the main benefits of line drying. There was a study conducted by researchers at Florida State University that found doing laundry, in general, had a significant impact on reducing anxiety symptoms. The art of folding and completing the task resulted in lower levels of cortisol in those that were part of the study. I believe that these are wonderful reasons to use a clothesline.
tips for line drying from the past:
Automatic clothes dryers have only been around for about 130 years. Before that, clothes were air dried and laundry was a social task. In small communities there were several people that performed the various tasks of laundering linens: someone to handle stains, someone to wash and ring out the water, someone to dry, and someone to mend. I love this video from Townsends that shares more about the role of a washerwoman in the 18th century, which was one of the ways that women were able to make an income to support their families.
In my research on ways to dry clothes from history, one of my favorite tidbits was learning that women would often lay their clothing or bed linens on fragrant flowering bushes so that the clothes would pick up the scent of the flowers. They would also simply lay their clothing out on the grass and flip it over as needed. Another fun tip was to pin small items like socks or woolen items to a towel and then pin the towel to the line!
building a clothesline:
You do not need much to build a clothesline outdoors to hang your laundry on. You can make it as beautiful or as plain as you wish! One thing I will say is that you will definitely want to purchase cord that is specifically made for drying clothes to prevent damage to your linens. Here are some supplies you might want to consider looking into before building your clothesline:
Steel Cable PVS Coated Clothesline. This is what I have always used as a clothesline, and it holds up excellently. While you could easily go with a cotton clothesline to save some money, the strength and longevity of a steel cable clothesline is much better in my opinion. The PVC coating is easy to clean, though it will eventually begin to crack and age from being outdoors and eventually replaced.
Cotton Clothesline. This is another great option. You will want to make sure that the rope you use is meant for drying clothes, otherwise you may run into unwanted rubbing of fibers or staining on your clothes from any old rope.
Wood Indoor Clothes Drying Rack. If an outdoor clothesline is not an option for you right now, you can still get the same benefits from using an indoor clothes drying rack. I love mine, and I probably need one or two more for how much laundry we go through! Drying clothes indoors is wonderful for helping to add humidity to your home during the winter.
supplies for line drying laundry:
Before you set out to tie your clothesline between two tree, you may want to gather some extra supplies! These few tools can be really helpful to you as you haul out your basket of wet clothes and set to air drying them.
Clothespins. There are so many different styles of clothespins! I have tried them all, and I still absolutely love the old-fashioned wooden round clothespins the best. They do leave pinches and creases in your clothes, but they hold them onto the line tightly. I live in an extremely windy climate (if you can’t already tell by these photos), so the wooden spring clothespins tend to not be strong enough to hold the linens on the line when the wind picks up.
Clothespins Holder. There are so many cute and playful options for holding your clothespins outdoors! You can either make your own from a pattern or purchase one already made. I love to find cute options on Etsy.
Laundry Basket. If you really want to romanticize your life, I suggest getting a wicker laundry basket.
why line drying is better for your clothes and the environment:
An automatic clothes drying machine, on average, uses about 5,000 watts of power per run. Yearly, the average person spends about $528 on their electric bill just by washing and drying their clothes. Hang drying laundry is an old-fashioned custom that is making a comeback due to its simplicity - it literally costs you nothing with the exception of your time!
With that said, I do not believe that issues of that the status of our climate should fall on the shoulders of an individual. I am not a purist when it comes to being sustainable, but I do enjoy trying new things. To know that line drying my laundry is better for the environment is an added benefit to the many other great things that it can do!
One thing that I do know for certain is that line drying your clothing and linens is better for the fabric in the long run. Many of our modern clothes are made with weak fibers and are sewn in bulk factories, meaning they wear out much more quickly. By tumble drying, the fibers are even more at risk of tearing and eventually creating holes in your clothes. Drying clothes on the line is much gentler on the fibers and stitches!
how to hang your clothes:
After nearly a decade of drying my clothes outdoors, I have learned some helpful tips for line drying clothes. The process is really quite simple, but there are a few things that I did not know in the first year of line drying that would have been nice. Here are my tips for line drying clothes and linens!
Hang drying laundry has natural disinfecting and whitening properties. UV rays help to sanitize water and damp laundry by interfering with the reproduction cycle of bacteria. This is a natural alternative to bleach. The downside to this is that it can bleach your clothes overtime and fade the colors.
Choose a good spot for your clothesline, if it's going to be outside. A sunny spot is good if you are wanting to bleach whites. A shady spot is better for preserving color. Under a tree is probably not your best option (bird poop). Beside your house, where a shadow is cast, is better! Our clothesline is in a sunny spot in our yard.
Hang loose. To avoid pinches in the fabric from your clothespins, make sure to pin in more discreet locations. Don't pin at the edges of your shirts. This will cause them to stretch at the bottom in the places that you pinned. Air drying helps to get out the wrinkles! I learned the hard way by stretching the bottoms of my shirts as far as they could, and they stayed that way. Now I leave some room when pinning.
Hang shirts, skirts, and underwear by their hemline.
Hang nicer pants by their cuffs, folded, for crease lines and jeans by their waistband. Turn out the pockets to dry more quickly!
Hang dresses by the shoulder seam.
Hang socks by the toes.
Hang linens and towels draped 1/3 over the line.
Look at the type of fiber you are hanging. Wool sweaters and other wool items should never be hung on a line. This can cause the item to stretch. These pieces should always be lain flat to dry and flipped. This way you can reshape the garment to the original shape from when you bought it. Terry cloth can also dry funny on a line, but this is not always true. Make sure you check your labels to see the recommended way of drying! A safe way of keeping your towels soft is to toss them in the dryer for a few minutes after hanging.
Shake & Smooth. One of the best tips I've learned is to shake and smooth your clothes while hanging! Shaking helps to remove lint and wrinkles. Once your clothes are hung, make sure to smooth out the wrinkles and pull at the fabric a little. This will definitely help ensure that you don't have to pull out your iron, and if it's a little breezy, that helps, too! And don't forget a shake or two once dried just in case of critters!
can you line dry in inclement weather?
Of course you can, but you probably shouldn’t dry your clothes in the rain! Living in a rural community, most of the people in our town line dry their clothes and I have learned a lot from chatting with neighbors and watching from afar. For most people, rainy days are obviously not a great choice for line drying day. However, if there are only light showers predicted, you can always leave your clothes to dry a little longer if they do happen to get wet.
When it comes to snow, there are several people who still line dry in the winter! There is less heat to help dry the clothes so it takes a bit longer. However, they still will dry even when the weather is frigid. If there is a breeze, the process is sped up even more. Even if your clothes freeze, they are still surprisingly dry!
final thoughts:
Whether you are new or old to line drying clothes, I hope that this guide brought you some cozy new ideas! Bringing a little bit of fantasy and romance into your daily chores is never a bad idea in my book. On this day, I was definitely imagining that I was in my own fairytale, probably the maiden before she discovers she’s a princess! It’s quite fun to learn how to hang dry clothes and more about economical laundry tips. Now get out there and enjoy the breeze and bird song!
xoxo Kayla
shop my look:
No. 35 Maxi Length Linen Dress - Pyne & Smith Clothiers (gifted)
Delight Corset - Natalisa Designs (gifted)
