Line Drying: Things to Think About

I have been spending much of my time over the last two months working on the art of line drying my laundry. Check out my previous posts, The Lost Art of Line Drying and What if it is raining?


The chore of laundry has taken on entirely new requirements than I ever thought about before. When you don't have a clothes dryer, there are a few things you have to take into consideration.

Weather
As you might have guessed, when you dry your clothing outside you really have to watch the weather and plan your laundry days accordingly (unless you live in a warm climate, with minimal rain). Especially during the winter, I try to get at least one load out anytime the sun makes an appearance. Just a few hours of direct sunlight, even in colder temperatures, will dry clothes faster than all day on a warmer but cloudy day.

Take this morning for example, the sun was out so I ran two loads before I left the house, hanging them on my way out the door. By the time I returned two and a half hours later, they were almost completely dry even though it was only 9°C (48°F).

Smaller washing machines / smaller loads
Our washing machine is smaller here and we are forced to run smaller loads of laundry, although they are front loaders so you can pack them and still get everything clean. We also have limited space to hang clothing and could not really fit much more than one or two small loads (especially inside).

More frequent loads
I find that I need to run laundry more frequently than I use to. In the past I would have one big laundry day about one a week. Now my drying is mostly dependent on daylight, forcing me to run laundry more frequently; the smaller washing machine and limited drying space also play into this change.

First thing in the morning
I use to run laundry all afternoon and evening; this was probably influenced by the fact that we did not have a washer and dryer in our apartment. I had to go down the building basement to run laundry, briefly leaving the kids in our apartment. This was easiest (and safest) to do while they were down for their afternoon nap or after daddy got home in the evening.

Laundry is now one of the first chores of the day. This has been a huge struggle for me since we moved here. But in order to take advantage of the limited sunlight at this time of year, I have to get a load started before breakfast, so it is ready to hang as soon as the sun is up.

Soap usage and soft water
The stiff laundry was hard to get use to when I first started to hang my clothes. I have quickly learned that my biggest problem was using too much soap. It is so easy to be sloppy about measuring soap, and without double rinse cycles (takes too much time), my clothes had some soap residue that made them extremely crunchy after air drying.

I also did not consider our water when determining how much soap to use. We have slightly soft water here, making it harder to rinse our soap. I should have been using even less soap based on soft water (or more if we had hard water). Who knew it could be so complicated!

Fabric softener
Growing up, my mother always used dryer sheets to get that soft, static-free feel to our clothing. With line drying, that is no longer an option. Welcome to the world of liquid fabric softeners. Again, I have had to play with the correct amount to use to get the softness without adding too much that the clothes get crunchy with residue.

Stains
When it comes to dealing with stains, I love line drying. If I don't get the stain out the first time and, without realizing it, dry the clothing. I can still go back and treat the stain again - no hot dryer to 'set' the stain. Also, direct sunlight can do wonders for removing stains, especially on cottons. And it makes whites so much brighter. Incredible!



These are just a few things that I have learned to take into consideration as I learn to dry my clothing without a dryer. I am still learning the best way to actually hang the clothes. That is for another post.

Have you tried line drying your clothes? Any tips?
Or are you thinking about trying it? What's holding you back?

What if it is raining?

I have been functioning without a clothes dryer for almost a month now. This is a hard time of year to learn how to line dry clothing, with autumn rains arriving and winter cold on its way. So how do I dry my clothes when it is raining and cold?

As you might have guessed ... dry them inside.

We have these great racks that fit one small load of laundry. The clothes can take up to 24 hours to dry. But sometimes I can hang them outside in the wind for a few hours and cut down the drying time.

The racks have to be placed in a warm, ventilated room. This rules out the bathroom, or any convenient place to "hide" the laundry. Our prime drying spot is the living room - the one room that is kept fairly warm throughout the evenings. I also set the racks right next to the heat source.

So most days of the week, our home is strewn with laundry and looks something like this...


Our flat, along with most in Scotland, is heated by radiators.
There are these great racks that fit directly onto radiators, made for drying clothing on rainy days.


I try to reserve this prime drying space for the harder-to-dry items, like jeans and thick pajamas.

After an hour or two, I flip the pants over to dry the other side.


Another fancy trick I discovered for larger items, like bed sheets, is the dining room chairs. I was pleasantly surprised that this sheet was dry in only a few hours (and it was a fun "hiding place" for the kids while it dried).

There are other great racks and drying units that people use. One that I have heard about, and want to find for myself, is something like this "spinner" sock dryer.

I have also seem much more "open" drying racks that allow clothes to "breath" more than my racks do. These would probably shorten the drying time significantly, but they also require more room around the radiators than we have in our flat.

If you are thinking about line drying your clothing, I would like to encourage you to explore all the possibilities. There are such great benefits to line drying - extend the life of your clothes, save energy and money, good excuse to get outside, and many more.

And there are great options these days - temporary lines in the shower, drying racks, etc. You also don't have to do everything at once, "cold turkey", like I did. You can always start slowly, drying a few items that are especially prone to "dryer" wear, like socks and underclothing. Or maybe just line dry one load a month.

Stay tuned for tips and more information about my journey into the realm of line drying.

The Lost Art of Line Drying

Since moving to Scotland a month ago, I have begun to explore the lost art of line drying our laundry.

This change was not by choice, but is not entirely unwelcome; it's just that dryers are rare here, especially in rental property. Line drying is really our only choice.

I admit some trepidation about this new chore, but so far it has been fun for us.

The kids love hearing the washing machine in the morning because it means we are heading out to the garden after breakfast.

But now fall have come in full force and the rains have moved in. How do you dry your laundry when it is raining out?

As we learn the answer to this question and many others, I'll write some follow up posts. In the mean time, check out this great introduction to the lost art of line drying.

"Green Toys"

I just discovered a new toy manufacturer - Green Toys Inc - and it was love at first purchase. I bought a great Tea Set on sale, and now I'm hunting for other products by this great company.

• American-made - lower transportation costs and green-house gases
• Eco-friendly - made from recycled milk containers
• No BPA, phthalates or lead paint - the products pass a plethora of tests
• Great, quality toys - my kids love them

I have been looking at tea sets for weeks now, but couldn't find anything I liked. The little plastic sets felt too cheap and made me think of the landfill it would eventually occupy. The tin ones were cute, but all I could see was the possible rust (and lead-based paint) if my kids decided to use water in it. And the ceramic ones seemed a little to breakable for my youngsters. I had almost given up hope.

After picking up this set at Target on sale, I did a little more research before handing it over to the kids for play. This is an impressive company that makes a great product. Check it out.

Have you purchased from Green Toys? What do you think about them? Or about recycled toys in general?

BPA in everything???

I have recently started paying more attention to all the toxins "they" say are in everything I use in my house. Okay, so maybe I am exaggerating, but I do find it frustrating that so many items I use on a daily basis are now being found toxic, especially for kids.

In her article on BPA-free sippy cups, Keeper of the Home provides great links for more information about BPA. She also gives the results of her in-home testing of several sippy cups.

I'm not sure if I am ready to fear all plastic in my home, but I did purchase BPA-free sippy cups this weekend. My kids were in need of new cups anyway, and I decided it wouldn't hurt to buy the "safer"ones. I purchased the less-expensive Avent Magic Cups with the handles for my daughter, and a new cup from Playtex, the Baby Lil' Gripper Twist 'n Click (which was not reviewed in the article) for my son.

What do you think about BPA? Have you done anything to limit or remove it from your home?

Going Paperless

A few days ago, I posted some of our Green Goals for 2009. In our effort to go paperless, I am working on a new system for dealing with all our digital documentation. Here are a few ideas that have helped me.


~DIGITAL STATEMENTS~

Download bank statements, bills, credit card statements, etc. and keep them on your computer. At the end of the year (or after you finish your taxes), burn the files onto a data CD and store them with your paper files. If you are limited on digital storage space, just keep a few months at time.

Don't be too concerned if you lose something, or didn't save it locally. Most places have access to past files on their web sites. If they don't have what you need, you can always call them requesting a paper copy be sent to you (I had to do this last year for an old cell phone statement). Some places also have year-end statements that can replace all the monthly files.


~ORGANIZATION~
(How long to keep files)

You can burn files onto different CD's based on how long they need to be kept (so eventually you can destroy the old CD's). For example, digital copies of taxes should to be kept forever (I keep these on my computer even after I burn a CD, for easy access). But most bank statements and bills only need to be kept for one to three years.

For more information about how long to keep things, check out the IRS document Record Keeping for the Individual.


~ONLINE CONFIRMATIONS ~
(Making your own digital files)

Whenever you complete financial transactions online, they often have a confirmation page they suggest you print for your records. There are two ways to do this without creating more paper.

1. Copy and paste the info into an email and send it to yourself.
2. Create a PDF containing the information.

If it is something that you need short-term (until it shows up on your credit card statement, or until a product arrives, etc) the email method is great - you can delete it when you no longer need it. If it is something you need long-term, create a PDF and file with everything else important.

MAC's create PDF's easily, but on a PC you need specific software. I use PDF995 to create all my PDF's. They have a free version that does a great job. It works like a printer -- you just select PDF995 as your printer and it will pop up a window asking where to save the file (then you have to look at their ad for 30 seconds - the price of "free").


What strategies do you use to organize your digital files? Please share your questions and ideas!

Green Goals for 2009

I thought I'd share a few of my Green Goals for this year. They are mostly simple things that our family can change relatively easily, in addition to maintaining our recycling habits and reusable shopping bags.

1. Paper Products - We are working to completely eliminate our use of paper napkins and paper towels. We also buy recycled toilet paper (we like Trader Joe's brand). We also just switched all our bank statements and bills to paperless delivery.
   


2. Cleaning Products - Going natural with my cleaning products. All-natural products can be a little more expensive, though; to save money, I really like this book Clean House, Clean Planet. It contains instructions for homemade cleaning products that save money and are easy on the environment.
   


3. Borrow or Buy Used - Our family rediscovered the library this year and I started using PaperBackSwap.com. I try to buy gently used clothing and toys for the kids. It is great that our community has a clothing exchange twice a year.
   


4. Lowering Waste - I recently encountered this blog Zero Waste. Check out their article on What Is Zero Waste? I don't think I am ready to go this far, but it did get me thinking about how much I throw away. Here are some simple things I am working on: no individually packaged snacks, buy bulk, reuse clean produce bags, lower the number of sandwich bags we use. Basically, I am trying to be more aware when shopping - less disposable, more reusable.

What are you doing to be more "Green" in 2009? What has worked for you and your family?

PaperBack Swap

I was recently introduced to this great site: PaperBackSwap.com -- Your source for swapping books online. Read ... Swap ... Save!

It is an online book club that offers FREE books when you trade, swap or exchange used books. It is currently a free service, though eventually I expect it to have a membership fee.

Here's how it works: You list the books you would like to offer to other members. You earn credits every time you send a book to someone. Every credit is a free book for you. You search through the offered books and choose the one you would like sent to you.

I opened my account last week and have about 20 books currently listed. It was easy to ship the books that others requested and my first two books should be arriving any day now.

You have to check it out.

Note: they also have separate CD and DVD exchange sites.

Nature's Air Freshener

As a continuation to my post on "Greener Cleaners", my first post is about the earth's natural air cleaner -- PLANTS!

In the 1960's, NASA started research into the environment's ability to clean itself. The research was inspired by the observation that some swamp plants were cleaning their environment of chemicals leaked into the waterway near a biological warfare testing facility.

In addition to cleaning these chemical spills, they were also working to provide engineers with the information to design a sustainable living environment for long-term habitation in space. Check out NASA's article Plants Clean Air and Water for Indoor Environments.

What does this mean for my family? When we return from our Christmas visit with family, we will be adding some plants to our home: a few spider plants and a few Pothos and possibly a Cast Iron plant. These plants are well know to be effective in cleaning toxins from the air. Too bad I can't take plants on the airplane -- my mom has both spider plants and Pothos to spare.

For a great list of other air-filtering plants, visit Wikipedia's entry on this topic.

The University of Connecticut's College of Agriculture has a great list of safe and poisonous house plants, for those of you with kids and pets.

Find some great plants you can add to your home to help clean your indoor environment this winter!

Deodorizer and Cleaner

This is an additional post in my series on "Greener Cleaners".

I have been frustrated with my smelly diaper pail. I have tried all sorts of thing, but its in like the plastic has absorbed the smell over time. I use Lysol every time I change it, and that chemical smell hangs in the air for hours.

This week I tried something new that I read in this book, Clean House, Clean Planet.

Garbage-Can Deodorizer and Cleaner --
Ingredients: Baking Soda and an essential oil

Mix baking soda with a few drops of an essential oil. I used orange because I already had some on hand, but the book recommends peppermint oil. After cleaning the garbage can, sprinkle on some scented baking soda.

I was amazed at how effective this was at killing the odor entirely. And there is a fresh orange scent every time I dispose of a dirty diaper.

Greener Cleaners

As I have been re-baby-proofing this week, I have been thinking about my all the chemicals I use. Maybe I need to entirely reconsider what I allow in my home -- for the benefit of children, my family and my world. Our family is taking another important step toward being green.

First up, Air Fresheners.

I have been using Febreze air fresheners for years, especially since moving to this little apartment with two indoor cats and two kids in diapers. Here is their ingredients list:

"Odor eliminator, water, fragrance, non-flammable natural propellant, quality control ingredients. No CFC's and Contains NO Phosphates."

Well, at least they don't use CFC's (ozone-destroying) for propellant and it contains no phosphates, but do I really feel good about using something to freshen my air that has to include huge warnings about inhaling this product?

My research on commercial air fresheners turned up some interesting food for thought. Solid air fresheners contain extremely toxic chemicals like naphthalene, PDCBs and sodium bisulfate.

The sprays are normally an alcohol base with an assortment of chemicals and synthetic fragrances. They use propellants like butane and propane (although, Febreze states that their propellants are "non-flammable" and "natural"). In addition, aerosol cans are expensive to manufacture -- you pay big prices for a little bit of chemical dispensed in a cool way -- and environmentally inefficient -- a small amount of chemical for the size container that is disposed.

This has really opened my eyes to all the toxins and chemicals that my family is exposed to on a regular basis. Something needs to change...

Stay tuned to my next post. I'll be talking about the alternative air fresheners that our family is now using.

All Things Handmade

Etsy: Your place to buy and sell all things handmade.

This is a great web site to find (and sell) beautiful, handmade creations. I have not yet spent money here, but I love browsing. I am not very creative, and would probably never have anything to sell, but I have heard it is easy to set up your own store. Check it out!

from Baby Get Green

When Green isn't Black and White!

I have been thinking a lot about "going green" lately, and what small changes I can make in my family that will have less of a negative impact on the environment. However, I have found many times when green just isn't black and white.

Here are a two examples:

1. Energy vs. Disposal -- Styrofoam cups
Styrofoam is not recyclable (as far as I have found) so it has to be disposed of somewhere. On the other hand, plastic cups are most of the time recyclable, and paper cups are normally biodegradable; they are both much heavier than Styrofoam, however, and consume more gasoline to move them to their distribution center. So, if forced to choose, which one is really "greener"?

2. Water vs. Paper & Disposal -- cloth napkins
Paper napkins are disposable and biodegradable; they create waste, and they use our tree resources. Cloth Napkins, however, require regular washing, using valuable water, and creating waterborne waste. So which one is "greener"? What if you use paper napkins that are made from recycled paper?


I know these debates don't have black and white answers. Most of the time they answer is dependent on local conditions. In the U.S. we have great water treatment plants, and plenty of fresh water, so we don't tend to worry about using water. Either way, though, there is a negative impact on our environment.

What do you think? What are some areas where you have had to try to choose the "greener" of several options?

Clothing Exchange

My "problem area" for the week is all our clothing. It is time to pack up all the summer clothes and pull out the winter clothes. For the kids, this process includes pulling out everything that is too small and determining what we have (and need) for the coming season.

This comes just in time for our community's clothing exchange. Twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring, there is a big clothing exchange for everyone in the Seminary. People donate their wearable, used clothing and pick up 'new' clothes donated by others. I always find great children's clothes.

They start accepting donations today, so I will be spending this evening and tomorrow sorting, washing and clearing out clothes.