I’ve encountered another $100.00!
I’ve known for ages that the older ways were kinder on clothing, on the environment, and on the utilities bill, but I just recently found the exact dollar amount.
They say, if I dry my laundry the old-fashioned way, I save about $100.00 every year. I’ve been doing this for many, many years. It’s more like $4,300, really. And it takes only a few moments per day, really hardly any longer than just loading the dryer.
But that’s not all.
No, if we dry our clothes on a line or rack, we extend the life of the clothing about 50%. Of course, we may not make good use of the savings if we are enslaved to the changing of the styles, but for many of us, that represents another huge saving.
But that’s not all.
Clothing dried on a rack come “out of the dryer” pre-folded! How cool is that? I literally take towels and wash cloths off the rack and put them away, as is. T-shirts require only one more fold. Everything is already smoothed, stacks better, and just is twice as easy to put away.
But that’s not all.
How would you like to add to last Wednesday’s health tricks? Drying laundry indoors humidifies the air in the winter, causing the body to fight off upper respiratory problems more efficiently. The result is fewer colds. That’s what they say, and I think I can tell that is happening for us. We’re “weller” without the cost or the mess of a humidifier.
But that’s not all.
Quality of life seems to skyrocket. Towels are more absorbent when they are not gummed up with fabric softener. A rack-dried towel, fresh from the closet, gives a marvelous back-scratching. Cotton t-shirts feel more honestly real when you put them on, and smell better, too, especially if they’ve been line-dried outdoors. We never encounter static cling.
But that’s not all.
If you have never gone to bed between freshly laundered, line-dried sheets, you just come on over to my house, dear, and let me introduce you to some real sleep. Sheets that you can feel, that stay tucked in, and that smell like angel wings — you won’t know what hit you ’til mornin’ honey!
And that’s probably still not all.
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Home's Cool! 
I never use a dryer. For clothes that tend to crease badly, I always fold them as soon as they come out of the washer, leave them half an hour, and then hang them to dry. Reduces creases amazingly.
Wow, Tilly, what a great tip! I cannot wait to try it out! Thanks so much for stopping by and for this comment! 🙂
As I hung clothes to dry all around the house today I was thinking that I need to purchase an indoor rack.
Thanks for this comment, Erika, and WELCOME to Home’s Cool! 🙂
A clothes rack sure makes a huge thing like laundry look smaller! And you can place it near a heat source, to further speed you along. They also make retractable lines for indoor use . . .
Do you have any recommendations for an indoor rack?
My favorite is wooden and huge, but I also have used a small rubber-coated wire rack with great success, and sometimes, BOTH, on extra busy days.
One thing to look for: how far away from the floor can you hang things? A small one will not do a man’s long sleeved shirt well because of the sleeves dragging the floor. It will also not do bedsheets and many of the larger towels. So look at it set up in the store, or read the label to see how tall it is.
Also, if the wooden bars are coated with some sort of plastic sleeve, that would be good. Eventually the wooden ones develop mold on the horizontal rods, which will stain light-colored fabric. I cover mine with tape to prevent that. Box-making tape is almost the perfect width.
I’d also look for one that is made of slightly thicker parts, because those just are stronger. A heavier, thicker wooden one is less liable to break.
Hope this helps!
It does!!! Thanks. Glad I asked.
Well, I’m glad you asked, too! 🙂 However, I meant to add: ANY indoor rack will do the job. Also, sometimes I hang men’s shirts on plastic clothes hangers, on fern plant hangers that exist in a couple of the rooms in my house.
I think I will make another post about just how I do the laundry hanging on a wooden rack. But for now, I’m signing off, as my eyelids are not cooperating much! 😉
I hate it when towels have been “softened”… I like them properly dry.
I know what you mean. Thanks for taking time to show agreement! 🙂 I think my favorite is stepping onto a rack-dried towel with wet feet. Mmm!
I have begging the hubs for a clothesline for years. I need to go get an indoor rack though…asap.
Hey, Tiff!
Those indoor racks are the greatest! They work in any weather, at any time of day or night, and can be unloaded by even the tiniest of helpers . . . 🙂
have to get an indoor rack! i have been hanging things on hangers and then lining the hangers up on my shower rod….
Hey. That works, too. The trick is to save that hundred bucks! 😉
One of my favorite things in my laundry room my drying rack mounted on the wall. It’s great for delicates and has two racks that hang down that allows for hangers. I can’t deny that I use the dryer, but I am in favor of air drying whenever possible! Enjoyed the post! 🙂
Hello, Jodi!
Thanks so much for this comment, and WELCOME to Home’s Cool! 🙂
I have seen drying racks mounted on the wall before, and have seen advertised those specially made to hang, but they always looked smallish to me, and I could never figure how to hang my own. I would love it, though!
I do use the dryer if I am sick or if I must hurry for some reason. I also use it for jeans, a few minutes, to beat out some of the wrinkles before hanging,
And some days I’m just lazy and . . .
Hope you return soon!