When I was a kid we moved out to the country to a home on 40 beautiful wooded acres. I spent so many hours walking through our woods, paddle boating on the pond, riding my bike, and playing with our dogs. It made for a lovely childhood.
Shortly after moving there my dad put up a clothesline. It was my first experience using one. Soon I found I loved the chore of hanging the clothes on the line. It was relaxing and the clothes smelled amazing when you brought them back in. Plus it was an easy chore that could be done outside, my favorite place to be.
When I got married I moved back into town. I dreamt of having a clothesline again but we never got around to putting one in. That all changed when we bought our new house. The home was built in the early 1960’s and still had the t-posts for a clothesline. Before we even closed on the house I was dreaming of hanging clothes on the line again.
Having a clothesline again has been great. There are so many benefits to line drying clothing. It’s really sad that it’s something so few do anymore, at least in the U.S. Don’t get me wrong I still love that I have an electric dryer but there are just so many benefits to line drying clothes that I’d rather rarely use it.
10 Benefits of Line Drying
1. It saves money.
In the U.S., it costs approximately $0.45 to dry a load of laundry in an electric dryer. I do about 8 loads of laundry a week, during some seasonal cleaning even more. That’s more than $180 a year. I can think of many ways I’d rather spend that money than on drying my clothes.
2. It whitens your whites.
The sun is one of the best ways to naturally bleach your whites. This will help save you even more money and helps keep more harsh chemicals off of your clothes. I like to dry my whites on really sunny days and around noon when the sun is directly over my line. If you are worried about colored clothes fading, put them out on overcast days or when the sun is less bright. For me that’s the morning because the sun is blocked some by my house.
3. It’s good exercise.
Putting your clothes in the dryer from the washer takes little effort. However, carrying a basket of clothes out to your line and putting them on the line can help get you moving and the arms up and down movement can help get your heart working a bit more. If you use a FitBit, it will thank you for this new habit!
4. Say goodbye to static cling and dryer sheets.
Drying your clothes on a line gets rid of the need for dryer sheets helping reduce even more harsh chemicals on your clothes and saving you even more money. Dryer sheets are full of harsh chemicals and build up on your clothes, especially towels. When you ditch the dryer sheets you may find your towels are fluffier and dry a lot better. That’s because that build up is making your towels less effective.
5. Great smelling clothes without the harsh chemicals.
When I get a “new” vintage clothing item it always spends at least a day outside. The fresh air really does wonders for reducing any odors it may have. The same is true for all of your clothing. I really like this for my cleaning rags, no matter what I’ve been cleaning they always end up smelling fresh again.
6. Your clothes will last longer.
Line drying is far more gentle on your clothes. It also will prevent your clothes from shrinking. This is yet another benefit that will save you money.
7. Less Wrinkles.
I’m not a big fan of ironing or steaming and since I wear a lot of cotton skirts and dresses I can end up doing a lot of both. Line drying reduces wrinkles naturally. I still have to do some ironing/steaming but a lot less.
8. It’s better for the environment.
With all the ways it helps you reduce harsh chemical use and the energy saves it can really help reduce your environmental impact. It’s just another example of how being environmentally friendly also saves you money.
9. It gets you outside.
More time outside has been shown to provide all kinds of health benefits from weight loss, to increased vitamin d levels (which helps keep you from getting sick as often and is important for bone health), improved brain function, less depression, better vision and so much more!
10. Better mental health.
Many people report that line drying clothes is relaxing. I know this is true for me. I haven’t found any studies on what about this activity makes it relaxing, it’s likely a combination of things. Whatever it is, more and more of us are dealing with chronic stress and the many health problems that can come with that so any stress relief is a good thing.
Still not convinced? Check out The Problems With Line Drying and How to Fix Them.
Deanna
I miss my clothesline SO much! I just added the t-posts to my Amazon cart and am hoping to get your dad to install them for me soon. I love the smell of line-dried sheets.
Lisa Sharp
Tell dad I’m sorry ha.
Shann
We had a clothesline at our old house, but haven’t gotten around to putting one up here yet. This is a great reminder why we need to do it. So many benefits! We do soooooo much laundry.
Lisa Sharp
It’s never ending, isn’t it?
Brittany Putman
I miss having a clothesline! I am determined to have one again someday and I can’t wait!
Lisa Sharp
I missed it as well, so glad to have one again. Hope you can soon as well.
Jess
Oh I do love a clothesline! Some people roll their eyes at me when I rave on about my excitement when the weather is nice. They know exactly what I’m get in at haha. Great post though, I’d kinda forgotten about the great exercise (plus weightlifting!) you get.
Thanks for sharing!
Lisa Sharp
haha People roll their eyes at a lot of things I do, it’s okay. 😉
Rachel
I have a drying rack that I’ll put a lot of my clothes on. It results in wrinklier clothes, but the quality does hold out better!
Lisa Sharp
True! I need a good drying rack for things I’d rather the neighbors not see ha!
Cherie
I’ve been air drying my clothes for years. I use hangers for most of my clothes (I dry jeans by hanging them by the loops) and the rest on a folding rack I put in the bathtub. Last year I installed lines under my back deck so they’re out of sight – and my husband doesn’t have to mow around posts. 🙂
I think you pretty much covered the great benefits of line drying. The only thing I don’t like is the way line dried towels get so stiff. I’ve read that I should partially line dry then finish them in the dryer but I never remember to get to them in time.
Lisa Sharp
That sounds great! Our poles were already there so my husband would be mowing around them anyway ha. During the summer things dry so fast here that I have stiff towels sometimes.
Lauren Bellows
I want a clothesline at this new house SO badly. I’m really hoping that we get one up this summer because air drying is one of my favorite things.
Lisa Sharp
Isn’t it great? It’s my favorite chore.
All Things Big and Small Blog
Line drying is so good! I always line dry all of our cloth diapers! We aren’t allowed to have clothes line outside in our neighborhood which kind of bums me out, but I just move our little line dryer in and off of the porch every night!
Lisa Sharp
That’s no fun! I’m glad no one cares about clothes lines here.
Micaela @MindfulMomma
Uh oh – you’re making me feel guilty Lisa! I don’t have an outside line – but I do air dry a lot of things inside the house. In fact I just wrote a blog post about that myself!
http://mindfulmomma.com/2016/06/sustainable-tips-for-laundry-room-efficiency.html
Betsy (Eco-novice)
I have not been good about line drying for a while, but it is a great way to spend time outside. I have a friend who finds it very relaxing and meditative. These are all great reasons to line dry!
Kathiepalin
Been to Florida many times never seen washing lines. I live in the country and can’t imagine life without them it’s rare I use a drier. My 23 year old son however!! Dries everything in a drier.
Ali
I am reading this in the UK and I have a dryer that is 28 yes old, its rarely used, here in the UK everything goes on a clothesline, I have two, onbe straight and high for sheets/quilts etc and a ‘whirlie’ umbrella style for normal washing, anything that needs to be ironed I roll, and put in a basket if it can’t be done as it comes off the line, by rolling, the item creases less
Aly
This is an old post…but higher resale potential and value! By not baking in stains or shrinking things, my kids’ clothes stay nicer, so they are much easier to save for another child or sell at consignment vs just being donated. If I can’t dry on the clothesline, I dry a lot of our clothes on a metal folding rack or using hangers on an Ikea octopus hanger on the shower bar. I can fit a lot of toddler clothes on one that way.
Lisa Sharp
That’s a great reason as well!