A truly forgotten old gem; hang drying clothes has been pushed aside and replaced by the modern convenience of in-home drying machines. But for those of us who like to be a bit more frugal, we can embrace the art of hang drying so we can start saving more money.
Air drying clothes have been pushed aside and replaced with the modern convenience of in-home dryer machines. Did you know that hang drying clothes is one of the many sweet, simple things in life? Even Laura Ingalls Wilder understood how sweet hang drying clothes was…
“… there is something very refreshing about sheets and pillow slips just fresh from the line, after being washed and dried in the sun and air. Just try them that way and see if your sleep is not sweeter. â€
Now let’s get real…
As parents, we find ourselves doing many, and should I mention… MANY, loads of laundry each day. From washing towels and linens, to washing each child’s pile of dirty clothes… it never stops! And just when you reach the bottom of that laundry basket, sit down for a glass of iced tea and kick your feet up, your child brings you the pile of pajamas and socks that were hiding under their bed.
Laundry is never-ending. Can I get an amen?!
One thing we don’t think about as we’re putting load after load in the washing machine and then into the dryer is that our electricity is being used. Which means, your bill is racking up. Which means your paying more money to that electric company every month as you spend those countless hours washing and then drying your clothes.
But do not fret my dear friend because there is an easy solution!
There is a way that YOU can start saving money on your electric bill, with just a few items that you have around your home.
Let’s talk about the beautiful, old fashioned art of- HANG DRYING – or line drying, air drying, or whatever term you want to use.
What is hang drying?
Well it’s very simple really, wait for it… wait for it… you just HANG your CLOTHES to DRY.
Say whaaaat? Do people really still do this??
Oh yes! The hang drying method isn’t just for those who live in the country or have acres and acres of land. It doesn’t even necessarily need to be done outside. You can line dry, hang dry, or air dry your clothes wherever you are.
Apartment, condo, small house, large house, a house with no backyard, Airbnb… yup it can be done anywhere!
Hey, I even did some hang drying while we were at our Airbnb vacation house in Palm Springs.
Freshly washed towels, dried in the warm sun.
But can’t line drying or hang drying only be done in spring and summer when it’s hot?
Definitely not my friend. Back in the day, even in the snow they still hang dried their laundry. So in Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer, you can hang dry your laundry outside, as long as the weather permits. No hang drying in the rain… I mean, duh!
What if I don’t have the space for a clothes line?
Perfect, you can use anything you’d like. Like for us, since we haven’t put up our drying line outside yet, I’ve been hang drying laundry on my deck railing.
I love hanging my couch covers to dry outside.
Hang drying does NOT have to be done only outside!
You can hang dry, or air dry, right inside your own home. I love using the tops of the door trim to hang clothes from, backs of chairs, etc. It doesn’t have to be fancy, it just has to get the job done.
I will say though, that it helps to have velvet hangers, like these. Nothing is worse than constantly picking up a shirt because it keeps sliding off the hanger.
You can do this! You can start saving money even this very month, by implementing the art of hang drying your laundry.
Now enough jibber jabber. Here are some creative ways you, as a modern mama, can line dry or hang dry your clothes, period.
7 Creative Ways to Hang Your Clothes
1. A traditional clothes line made for under 10$ –
Jennifer at MorningChores.com knows how to be frugal. She spent just right under $7 to make their families homemade clothesline. Read the full tutorial post here. When you consider a full load of laundry, you realize you are going to need a decent sized drying line to fit all the laundry, or you will need to hang dry your clothes in batches. Either way works! Do what works for you, your family size and your yard size.
2. Wall mounted clothes drying rack made from an old baby gate –
I’m seriously the queen of repurposing (practically everything) and being frugal. So much so, that Mr. Hubs has to tell me NO way too much. Like:
“ No, you’re NOT keeping that pallet to make “X †project “
or
” No, you’re not going to make copies of that homeschool workbook in order to save it for another child to use later on â€
or
“ No, you’re not going to save those half broken pieces of wood to make “ X†for the animals “
Yeah, it gets pretty exciting around here when I start getting inspired to create something. Mr. Hubs likes to tell me that there’s a fine line between repurposing, being frugal and being straight up ghetto. Okay, like I get it… BUT, yeah you’re probably right.
Okay, back to the clothes drying rack made from an old baby gate.
This idea is super brilliant and how many of us have old baby gates laying around? Check out the full post on how to make a clothes drying rack from an old baby gate.
3. Indoor (or outdoor) clothes drying rack made from an old crib spring –
Okay, the repurpose queen in me is at it again! Seriously you guys, I LOVE this idea. What a fun and frugal way to use up that old crib spring once your kiddos are done with it. Even better, paint it like Courtney did and make it match your color scheme. I could picture having this crib spring drying rack in my laundry room, or even in an unused room in your house. Check out how to make a clothes drying rack from a crib spring here.
4. A simple clothes line using hooks and rope –
It cant get much simpler than this to hang dry your clothes. If you have any place you can hang two hooks on, throw some rope or drying line between, your golden. I could see this being done even on a deck, between the house and fence on a side yard, or along your fence line if you have a small backyard.
Have just a small back patio?
I could totally see this working for a small space such as that as well. Check out how to make this easy clothes drying system.
5. Indoor drying racks –
Indoor drying racks can be made from anything, but they are also sold in stores and online like:
Metal Drying Rack- Metal drying racks can be used to dry your laundry, and then folded up and stored away out of sight.
Larger Metal Drying Rack – We have this one and I love using it. On nice days I just set it out on my deck and let my clothes hang dry in the warm breeze.
6. Retractable clothes line –
Out of sight, out of mind. A retractable clothesline is nice because you can stretch it out when in use, and when you’re done you just retract it back and there ya go!
7. Finally… just use what you have!
I personally love using the backs of chairs or patio furniture…
Door trim to hang hangers of drying laundry….
And my deck railings to hang dry on. You can lay a clean sheet over the deck railing to ensure your freshly washed laundry stays clean too.
Hey, no one said it has to look pretty or organized. It just needs to get the job done. Remember, our main focus is to hang dry our laundry so we can start saving more money each month!
