Line drying your clothes: Could you go dryer free?

Before our time electric clothes dryers were not commonplace in the average middle class home. Our forebears had to master the art of drying their clothes in all types of weather.

At the beginning of winter I embarked on a challenge to forego the electric clothes dryer in lieu of line drying all my laundry, not as an overt environmental statement, although that is a valid reason, but to understand the impact on our family of letting go of a modern convenience. Some of you may line dry your clothes all year 'round but for a laundry-hater like me this was a real challenge.

In the US around 60 million people are unable to hang their laundry on outside lines due to Homeowner Association rules prohibiting this practice. The notion is that on-view laundry affects property values and many view the requirement to line dry as a mark of poverty. This has spawned a “Right to Dry” movement with homeowners flouting the rules to hang their washing.

Here in Australia few homeowners face these restrictions. We also live in a mostly laundry-friendly climate with plenty of sunshine and few places experiencing extremes of cold, and yet we love our tumble-dryers.

mmm...there won't be a Vogue Living shoot at my house anytime soon...

Tumble dryers are a convenience designed to make life easier but does line-drying make my life harder? Until this challenge I would've described myself as a wet-weather user of the dryer and I would often throw socks and underwear in the dryer because they're fiddly to hang.

It would be easy to start this challenge in high summer but to get the real feel of the lives of our forebears I started this challenge on the first day of winter. To further test my resolve it rained on consistently for first two weeks.

Hanging the sheets indoors was a challenge to my senses and my creativity.

For the two weeks of rain and for most of the winter I hung all my washing indoors on clothes racks over heating vents, on hangers from an un-used curtain rod in the dining room and sheets were draped on a portable hanging robe that I use when we have guests to stay. I have never been more aware of the weather in my life, or the amount of laundry my family goes through a week.

However, at the end of the challenge I would have to say that, despite the weather, it was not difficult. Sure the house took on the appearance of a Laundromat and sure my daughter couldn’t have her favourite jeans RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE, but I found that I started to take notice of how we wore our clothes, to question what was really dirty and what could be sponged down. I did not find it acceptable for the kids to wear pyjamas once only. And I found that damp clothes make for an excellent humidifier in the home (I got good at looking at the positives).

"Doing the laundry is still a hated chore, but no more so than when I used the dryer more often"

We make the mistake, I think, of assuming that the dryer is a quicker option for busy couples and families however I felt it was quicker to hang the washing than to line it up, load by load, for the dryer.

Line-drying did, however, increase the total laundry cycle time. I couldn’t expect my laundry to be washed, dried, folded and put away within the day. But then I couldn’t find a compelling reason why my washing had to be completed within 24 hours. Once I accepted that the laundry cycle could be 3 days, not 1, I relaxed and it made no difference.

Line-drying is so much easier to support when the sun is out!

Now that Spring is here I am hanging my washing outside again. I just love the smell of sun-dried clothes.

What about all you busy people? My question is – does hanging your clothes really take longer than queueing them for the dryer? I found not. But if laundry drying on racks in wet weather is not your idea of a hot design statement you may struggle with the concept on that basis alone.

I have been mostly dryer-free now for four months. In that time I have used the dryer only a few times. I'm no saint, I'm tempted to dry off the sheets on cool days, but I've changed my previous habits and I feel better for it. The laundry is still a hated chore but no more so than when I used the dryer more often.

Have you tried to go dryer free? Do you never use the dryer? Do you have nifty techniques to get your clothes dry in unpleasant weather?

Tell me your stories at beforeourtime [at] bigpond [dot] com. I'll publish the best advice in a future post.