Dry Your Clothes on a Clothesline

Drying your clothes on a clothesline is a pretty simple thing, but you still have a few choices to make at the start. You have to decide where you are putting your clothesline. You have to decide which type of clothesline. You even have to pick which kinds of clothespins you will use, although the solution here will likely be "whichever I find at the nearest Target or Walmart."

Retractable Clothesline
A retractable clothesline, obviously, has the advantage that you can put it out of the way when you're done. It's nice to have if you don't like the look of a clothesline when it's not in use.

Umbrella Clothesline
This type of clothesline rather resembles its namesake. It takes up more of a square of your yard, rather than stretching across it.

Post Clothesline
As it sounds, the clothesline is stretched from one post to the other.

Indoor Clothesline/Drying Rack
These are great for when the weather prevents you from drying clothes outside or you just don't have an outdoor space for drying clothes.

If there's one thing people hate about line drying clothes, it's how crunchy towels and jeans end up after. But it doesn't have to be that way, and if you have a dryer the solution is pretty simple:

Don't let them finish drying on the clothesline.

You can still save a lot of energy if you let your towels and jeans dry just most of the way on the line, then throw them in the dryer for that last little bit. They can be pretty close to dry and still come out nice and soft from finishing the drying process in the dryer.

If they get too dry, you can dampen one towel just a little, and throw them into the dryer. It's the steam that helps break up the crunchies.

While line drying clothes is much gentler on them than the dryer as a general rule, you can damage your clothing if you aren't careful.

Rule #1: Don't stretch your clothes.
This is particularly true for cotton and other materials that might hold the stretch.

Rule #2: The sun may cause colors to fade.
You can limit this by drying your clothes inside out. That way most of the fade will be on the side that people don't see anyhow.

On the plus side, it's really good for white clothes!

Rule #3: Think about how you clip your clothes.
If you pin your clothes up the wrong way the impression from the clothespin may show after they are dried.

Most shirts are best hung upside down, especially if you're going to be tucking the shirt in when you wear it. Alternatively, put them on hangers and hang the hangers on the clothesline. Makes the shirts easier to put away too! You'll need to pin the hanger in place.

Rule #4: Hang pants by the legs.
Not much more to say here.

Rule #5: If it says dry flat, DRY FLAT!
Odds are that anything that says dry flat will stretch out if you dry it on the clothesline. You also shouldn't line dry most sweaters, as they stretch fairly easily.

Rule #6: Use vinegar if you want softer clothes.
If you want your clothes to come out softer, use vinegar in the final rinse in your washing machine. The smell will be gone when the clothes are clean, and you will have used something that is much more environmentally friendly than the usual fabric softeners.

A good snap as you hang them also helps.

While there are some negatives to line drying laundry, there are also a lot of positives.

First of all, line dried laundry smells great. That's because the sun kills germs, which takes care of the usual odors.

Second, it saves a lot of energy, saving you money.

Third, it's a nice little bit of exercise for you. Not much, but all the reaching up and down is good for your arms.

Fourth, it's better for your clothes. Dryers can shrink clothing. They can come out full of static electricity.

Plus being on the clothesline takes care of most of the wrinkles, as gravity and the weight of the damp clothing pulls the wrinkles out. You'll still have a few, especially if you don't put your laundry away right away, so keep moving when you bring it in.

Sometimes you have to dry your laundry indoors. It might be the weather. It might be that you live in an apartment. It might be that your Homeowner's Association is being a pain about clotheslines.

If you're determined to not use a dryer this presents a bit of a challenge. But it doesn't have to be a big one.

Get enough clothes racks for your needs and figure out where you can put them. You want a space with good air flow, and hopefully fairly warm and dry. The warmer and drier the air, the faster the clothes will dry, and the less chance you will have that they will turn out musty.

Garages are very popular for this when available. Another good place is near a heater or heater vent so that the laundry can take advantage of the warmth.

One of the areas people feel awkward about line drying clothes is how to keep the whole neighborhood from seeing your underwear. It's just not something most people want to share or see.

Pretty easy to hide, however, even if you are drying the laundry outdoors.

All you have to do is make sure that you have at least 3 lines of laundry drying, if your laundry line is straight, or a full circle if you have an umbrella style. The outer two can be whatever you like for straight lines, or the outer rim of the umbrella style clothesline can be whatever clothes.

Hang the clothes you don't want the whole world to see on the inner lines.

Voila! They're hidden but you still get to dry them outdoors.