Wednesday, March 16, 2011

It's Always Something

Pantaloon Moon
Courtesy of the Photographer 

The heating element in my dryer went out on Monday.  Of course, just two weeks after the warranty ran out!  I loaded up all the laundry and took it to my momma's.  We had a nice visit while I used her laundry facilities. 

Her washer and dryer are located in the basement.  Her home was built in the 1930s and the basement is huge!  It has lots of storage, an ironing area, and a  double basin utility sink.  A quadruple clothesline is strung up in the back across the width of the room.  I remember roller skating down there on rainy days when I was small, zig zagging between the clothes hanging on the line.

Which got me to thinking - why can't I hang a clothes line in my basement?  My basement is only one quarter the size of momma's.  But when I went downstairs and actually looked around, there is plenty of room for a line.  

And canned food storage.  But that's another post.

My "to do" list now includes a thorough cleaning of the basement and stringing a clothes line.  Pierce has promised to help in any way needed.  While I'm at it, I'm going to get an outside clothesline as well.  Once done, I plan to use only the clotheslines for one month to determine just how much energy  (and money) we spend by using the dryer.

3 comments:

Lisa said...

Now that will be very interesting to know how much you spend on running the dryer. I confess I don't use the line much - the clothes seem stiff afterward. I wonder if I should make another effort with it when winter's over.
Hmm.

Dondi said...

Yes, I can't remember where I saw it exactly. I think it was a tv show and this lady as discussing how much money she saved just by unplugging items such as the toaster when they were not in use and by using a clothesline. Interestingly, my mother in law tells me that she has heard that stiffness is not a problem if you put the clothes in the dryer for 5 minutes before hanging them on the line. I may try it both ways to see the difference for myself.

Anonymous said...

I love the idea of a clothes line....I've yet to put it into practise....trying to figure where I could put one with out the dog getting at the clothes.