My first blog - the clothesline as inspiration

Today it's sunny and 85 degrees with low humidity and a light breeze.

What.
You don't need a San Diego weather update? Actually, the reason I chose to write my first blog is because I wanted to share the moment of inspiration that hit me when I was hanging my clothes out to dry this morning.

As I stood there surrounded by fresh morning air and birds chirping, I wondered: Why would anyone choose to use an automatic clothes dryer on a day like this one?

To me, there is no option. Actually, I must be nuts because I plan my laundry days around the sun. Well... the "planning" goes more like this: I wake up in the morning and if the sun is out I know I should throw a load in the washer (which is solar-powered too). It's too easy. Sometimes I do it at night if I know the next day will be busy for me. I just hang my clothes out overnight and collect them the next day.

The rewards of line-drying are many:

• First, it gets me outside even more.
• It's great for my wallet (or purse, rather).
• I get to listen to birds singing instead of a machine working.
• The smell, the SMELL! Sleeping under a blanket that's been line-dried is an experience in-and-of itself. It has a wonderful, earthy smell that's hard to describe and impossible to replicate with dryer sheets.
• No more mysteriously shrinking clothes and a lot less wear & tear.
• And most importantly - it makes me feel good.

The only drawback that I have noticed with line-drying is that it takes some time to set the clothes out. Maybe an extra 3 minutes or so. The luxury of throwing the clothes into the machine is gone. But, really, I feel like I am surrounded by luxuries every day (like this handy computer, for instance). It's nice to go back to the basics and to do things a la grandma.

So my first blog ends like this: I felt like I had a moment of inspiration with the clothes and the birds and figured I should start typing these moments up so that my kids can make fun of me about it one day.

Hey - if you have any questions about setting up a clothesline, I am more than happy to help. I like the retractable ones, because they're out of sight when you're not using them. They are available at your standard big-box home improvement centers. I got mine online, but that's because they weren't available in the stores until about a year ago. I guess this is one of the items they decide to stock during a recession.