But seriously, sorting is oddly soothing to me. Maybe it's the #organizeratheart.
Casey from Pretty Organized, makes laundry look magical and even inspiring? Is that possible? She is here today to share her line drying tips, so enjoy!
It's almost summer in my neck of the woods, and that means I can line dry my clothes to save {and be!} a little green. I just started drying my laundry outdoors last summer, and I love it! Here are a few quick tips & tricks to make even the laziest launderers learn to love line drying. {Say that five times fast!}
Short on space?
If you hang items on hangers, you can double {maybe even triple!} the amount of clothing you can fit on one clothesline. Bonus: all of your shirts are already on hangers when you're ready to take them off the line!
A few mini binder clips will wind-proof your hangers in a snap. {A good breeze might knock clothespins off, but these little guys will hang tight!}
Need it dry faster?
Pin your clothes so that the openings face the wind, and leave the front side of the fabric unpinned. It will blow in the breeze & fill with air like a windsock, drying all of the surface areas at once instead of just drying from the outside in.
Too many wrinkles?
Shake it out when it's wet & you'll annihilate most of them right off the bat! You can also lightly pull the fabric after you clip it to the clothesline to smooth creases. {Maybe you already knew this, but I only learned this tip from my mother-in-law last summer, so I figured I'd share just in case. The shaking trick works for the dryer, too!}
Scared to show off your skivvies?
Avoid offending the neighbors & air dry delicates discreetly using magnetic or microsuction hooks on the side of your washing machine.
Clothespins causing chaos?
Use gentler pins to reduce creases & save fragile fabrics from damage. Two of the gentler clothespin brands I've seen include the Soft Clip Fleur & Softouch {pictured}.
STILL hate doing laundry?
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You could always try to convince everyone in your household to wear the new Wool & Prince shirts. They can go 100+ wears without washing, and they won't wrinkle or smell. {I still can't decide whether this is awesome or gross!}
What are your favorite laundry time-savers? Any tips you can share to help newbies like myself?
"My
name is Casey, and I live in a sweet, tiny little house in Delaware
with my hubby & our two adorable rescue dogs. As a longtime fan of
Jen's phenomenal organizing skills, I am absolutely THRILLED to be a
contributor for IHeart Organizing! 
Casey - great post with great tips! And so much more energy efficient and eco-friendly.
ReplyDeleteAs an added plus, hanging clothes on hangers gets most of the creases out. My mum taught me this - and to not put them into a laundry basket after (where most creases get made) but to hang straight into a closet/cupboard or a clothes rail until you iron. Saves so much time ironing. I really like the use of binder clips - great idea. The wind sometimes plays havoc with our laundry.
Thank you,
Tia
Great tips! I use a clothes dryer, but for delicates or items I don't want to dry (like my running shorts and sports bras), I've found that hanging the wet clothes from extra shower curtain hooks on our existing shower curtain rod works great! That way I don't have to lug out a drying rack or rig up a clothes line (we don't have space in our tiny apartment for that anyway, :)).
ReplyDeleteOoh, great idea!! Thanks, Chaney!
DeleteHow do you keep the hangers from leaving dents in the shoulders of your shirts?
ReplyDeleteHey Jenn! I use thicker hangers because they are better about not leaving dents than the thin wire hangers. Mine are wooden & I bought them at Target a few years ago. For shirts that are made of thinner or more sensitive material, I usually fold them over the bar of the hanger, clip them from the bottom on the clothesline, or drape them around the neck of the hanger (it looks like the shirt is hugging the hanger). I hope that helps!
DeleteI've never actually done hang dry clothing but this was very useful. I do dry a lot of my clothing on hangers so they stay away from wrinkles. This is great thanks for the post.
ReplyDeletewww.holladaylove427.blogspot.com
Dude Wool and Prince shirts all the way. Haha.
ReplyDeleteHaha, nice!
Deletehmmm i think one should not dry clothes on wooden hangers as shown in the pictures - the wet cloth on wood will start to damage it and who wants to end up buying hangers oh-so-often?
ReplyDeleteHi Nisha!
DeleteI have been drying our clothing on wooden hangers for quite awhile now and there has never been damage to them.
xo!
Jen
I hang dry most of our clothes to prevent them from wearing out and to stop them from getting shorter. :) This is the BEST drying rack I have found anywhere. Doesn't look like much, but it holds a LOT of laundry and is very sturdy. It also folds flat to hide behind a door, couch, etc. And the price can't be beat! http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40244831/ I use it indoors almost every day.
ReplyDeleteAmy
Oooh, I have seen that one but I never really paid attention to how much it could actually hold -- that is AWESOME!!
DeleteUnless the shirts fit the hangers at the shoulders, they will stretch. I've found that the best way to hang shirts is upside down, with the entire bottom folded over. It keeps them evened out, with no stretching, and no hanger marks at the shoulders. Way back when, you also HAD to take the tshirt totally at the top and bottom and stretch longwise to get it back in shape. Otherwise it became short and fat. I have noticed improvement in tshirts now where you don't have to do that much anymore.
ReplyDeleteI also did a post on hanging clothes on the line. You can see it at I Create Purty Thangs
Thanks for the tip! Checking out your post now! :)
DeleteThat's a good point, Nisha. I haven't had any issues yet, but it is definitely worth keeping in mind. Maybe it depends on whether the wood is finished or not? Or whether the clothing is damp vs. sopping wet? Thanks for the head's up!
ReplyDeleteI reallllllllllllllly need to take my line drying outside. I slack and put the clothes on/over hangars and then line them up on my shower curtain rod or in the laundry room from the wire shelving. My husband probably wants to murder me for that =) haha - love the tips!
ReplyDeleteHaha that's too funny, Jenn!
DeleteGreat post! I'm loving all your green tips. I bought The Naturally Clean home after I read about it on your blog. I never even thought to save bottles from my old cleaners to use for my homemade concoctions. Such a good idea!
ReplyDeleteI hang all my t-shirts and jumpers over the line and then put pegs in the armpit area after giving them a good shake. Less wrinkles, no obvious peg marks and no stretched, out-of-shape shirts.
ReplyDeleteI have no outside and no dryer so I dry everything on a clothes rack inside.
ReplyDeleteShaking the clothes (or anything really) for you hang them is something I've learn from my mother from when I was very young.
But my newest tip is to hang pants upside down from the legs. This really reduces the amount of wrinkles. I hardly ever need to iron my jeans just because of this little trick.
Yes!! I think pants also dry faster when you hang them from the bottom because the thick material at the waist gets a chance to breathe instead of being pinned down!
DeleteI loooove to line dry my laundry! I do it to preserve the shape and size of my clothes more than to be green but I should definitely work on making my drying process more green.
ReplyDeleteUsing magnets to hang your unmentionables on the outside of your washer/dryer? Brilliant! Here in Oregon, we can only line-dry our clothes outside about 3 months out of the year, if that. Boo!
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how different things are here in Australia. The backyard clothes line is an Aussie icon! I have been complaining this week given the rain that I have had to use my dryer three times! I should be grateful for good weather :)
ReplyDeleteI live in the tropics in Australia and never ever use a dryer (all year round).. even when I lived in a cold climate I would hang on a airer inside the house.. but I use wooden hangers and have never had a problem with them.. I peg them on so then I dont have to worry about having extra clips or anything.. I spin dry on a slightly lower spin so I never need to iron as there are no creases, they drop out! So much better for your clothes.
ReplyDeleteLower spin cycle for fewer wrinkles? I am totally trying that! Thanks so much!
DeleteIt is perfectly normal in Europe to hang your clothes on the line outside, even in the north of Scotland. It saves so much money hanging them outside, no need to buy a dryer and no electricity costs. You should start a campaign to encourage people to use the washing line. Perhaps work it out how much electricity is saved. I just peg it all out on the line, underwear and all.
ReplyDeleteI read somewhere that hanging your clothes on the line instead of using the dryer can save up to $1.00 USD per load! I'm not sure how that works with energy efficient models, but our dryer is fairly new & energy efficient, and I definitely see a difference in my bill when I line dry!
DeleteGreat tips! I never line dry as we live in a townhouse community and don't really have the space, but I may have to try some of the indoor ideas. I'm all for saving {and being, as you say ;)} a little green and if I can cut down on ironing--BONUS!! Thanks so much for sharing, Casey and Jen! Have a wonderful weekend!
ReplyDelete~Abby =)
Nothing like the smell of sunshine on my freshly laundered bedlinen.
ReplyDeleteThe dryer is saved for persistently wet weather here in Sydney
I don't really use the dryer. I don't think they're made to the same standard as in the USA so I line (or rack) dry everything. What works for our little family of 3 in the wet, winter time is the load-every-2-days system (yep, I made the name up haha) wash, pop it on the rack (using hangers for shirts / skirts etc...) leave it for a whole day or two to dry then fold it off, wash another load, hang etc. etc... I find I don't then have the gazillion loads on the weekend :)
ReplyDeleteI have a 5 line retractable that I have hanging under the carport, so no matter rain or shine I can always do laundry, and they don't get wet or they don't get stiff and faded from the sun, then I have a 6 ft piece of plastic chain hanging between 2 posts that I can hang the hangers into the chains so they don't slide together.
ReplyDeleteSheets hung on the line on a cold day has such a better smell than on a warm day
ReplyDelete