Well folks, we are just entering week 4 here at the new place and still no signs of a washer or dryer… and ironically, it has been such a gift! I hung a clothesline today and found myself overjoyed in the process. The sun shone brightly as the spring winds drifted through the yard and I found myself smiling ear to ear. Who knew getting outside to hang some laundry on a perfect spring day could bring so much joy?

Beauty

It’s such a simple thing, an age old task, to hang laundry to dry outside. But one I’m unfamiliar with. Having grown up with the traditional washer dryer setup, I never experienced the magic of clean garments fluttering in the spring winds. And magical it is. I mean… truly. Magical. Beautiful. The beauty of it just makes me want to go outside and hang more clothes to dry!

Function

In some ways I can see that hang drying clothing may not be the most functional, i.e. during rainy weather or in the ridiculously hot days of summer. However, long term, using this clothesline is going to be better for our clothes and our budget. So while it could be tedious and less time efficient to hang dry clothes, it will be the most practical for the longevity of our clothes and it’s in line with our values of reducing our electricity usage and utility costs. It also brings me joy to know that this is a better option for the Earth as well!

Frugality

Running the AC, running the water heater, using the lights are all ways we drive up our utility bill and these are all things we try to reduce around here. While we have no comparison at the moment, it seems like hang drying our clothes on the clothesline will be a more cost effective and energy efficient solution, especially in the warmer months

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Want to hang your own clothesline? Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 lag threaded screw eye hooks (I bought a 6 pack of assorted eye screws at Home Depot, couldn’t find them on line)

• 2 pullies 30lb 3/8” pullies ($2.36 each at Home Depot)

• 2 carabiners ($0.98 each at Home Depot)

• A 50 foot piece of paracord ($0.07 a foot at Home Depot)

• And a candle (to burn the paracord)

How to hang a clothesline:

Measure out the space

If you have 10 feet of hanging space, double that, and then add a few feet to that for excess to hang the pullies. The distance between our trees is about 20 feet, so I bought 100ft of paracord (enough for two clotheslines, eventually).

Pre-drill

Using a power drill and a bit smaller than the eye hooks, predrill into your surface. Be sure your bit is appropriate for the surface. For example, if you’ll be drilling into wood, a traditional bit will suffice. If you’re drilling into concrete or metal, you’ll need special drill bits. Once you’ve pre-drilled, thread in your screw eye hooks. To get additional leverage, you can use an old lag bolt as a lever (see video)

Measure the Paracord

First, measure out the space between your eye hooks. I did this by attaching it to the eye hooks and gathering the ends in my hand. Then I added about a foot of excess rope to that measurement to ensure I had enough to tie the line together. To my fellow pyros, this is the fun part- BURN the cord! The best way to cut paracord is to burn it, this ensures the ends will not fray.

Next, “cut” with the flame two 10 inch pieces of paracord. Use each piece of paracord to attach your pullies to thire carabiners. Last, run the longest piece of paracord, the one you first measured, through the pullies.

Then, attach the carabiners to the eye hooks and tie your clothesline together. I went for a doubly bunny ear knot in case I need to change the length of the line later!

To see this process in action:

Thanks for being here! Have you hung a clothesline before? Do you like this system? Let me know down below!

Natalie