On the first Monday of every month, we take on a ‘mission’ – a shift or habit or inspiration – to work on together. There’s strength (and support) in numbers! On the last Thursday of the month, we reconvene to see how far we’ve come.
Harley guards the yard from vicious ladybugs. He is fearsome, can you tell?
For this month’s mission we sought to save energy by air-drying our laundry. And by ‘we’, I pretty much mean ‘me’, because you all promptly informed me that you’re way ahead of me here. Haha, whoops! But you guys had great suggestions and I’ve had fun customizing my method. We’ve also gained a lot of readers this month (hi guys!), so maybe they’ll benefit from the project. Here’s what I decided on:
Firstly, the outside line. I got a simple retractable 15 footer, gently used, on Craigslist. It even came with wooden clothes pins! Strung between a deck post and the plum tree, it’s perfect for our long skinny yard. The dogs are getting used to it.
But of course, this is Portland and we have weather here. If I’m really going to nix the dryer, I’ll need an indoor option. I thought about getting a couple of wooden racks, but man! – those take up a lot of precious floor space. A little scheming, a little dreaming, and Damian and I hit upon the perfect solution. Hanging racks!
In the ‘nook’ next to the washing machine, suspended above the big dog bed.
This was super simple, and really really cheap. We just used 4 rods, attached to the wall with eyehooks and wire. We kept them neutral in appearance, although admittedly, aesthetic wasn’t the driving force here. I think you could actually make them look really neat – like découpage-ing colorful magazine cutouts all over them. Who knows? Get creative, have fun with it!
This is my favorite part! I rigged two hangers with some leftover curtain clips I had laying around. Works great for socks and skivvies!
So cute!
What about you guys? What are your creative drying solutions for this monthly mission?
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Oi there! Happy Friday! Once again, here is your space for comments, critiques, thoughts, support, and suggestions. Let ‘er rip! As our community continues to expand (we’ve had quite an influx recently!), and I’d love to know what you all are thinking. So, what do you think? Which section would you like to see expanded? [...]
