Good morning to you all!
Gorgeous morning here in the Bay Area and the perfect day to hang your washing on the line…
Yes, today I am on a bit of a mission to get all you people who haven’t experienced the pleasures of line dried washing…to give it a bit of a go…
And just to sweeten it up a bit, I am going to offer the chance to win the very First Green Plum Design Giveaway
And…I have figured out how to send this lovely prize to anywhere in the world…so, read on…
Now I have to admit that when I moved here to sunny-with-a-light-breeze-Berkeley, it was a pretty rare sight to see washing hanging out on the line. What with all this totally free sunshine and all…and things haven’t changed too much in the eleven years I have lived here.
So I am here today to set about encouraging those who have never thought about hanging their washing out, to give it a try…
First off, think how smug you will feel?
And…you will score major points with the planet.
And on top of that, think of the money you will save on your bill – let me tell you, it will be a lot of money…by my logic that means trips to Anthropologie are now completely justified…
And of course, your nose will thank you.
Just nothing beats the heaven smell of your sheets when they have been hanging out in the sun and the breeze all day.
Ok, there maybe some things that beat that…but I’m telling you, it’s up there…
And I have my own personal extra reason for pegging my washing out… the windowless room that houses our washing machine is in the deepest and darkest part of our basement and frankly, it’s pig ugly.
I just want to get out of there. I can’t even show you a picture, it really is that bad. Hence, for me another good reason to come up to the air, get everything on the line and stay out of the dungeon.
And I’m also bit of a sucker for all the little accessories that go along with doing the washing – since I do it pretty much every day, I have tried to add a little aesthetic pleasure to this ritual.
Inspired by an idea featured on the Beach Cottage, I decanted all my washing powder into a big glass jar that I had found at a yard sale…
I even bought an old tea cup that had lost it’s saucer from the Alameda Fair this last Sunday to act as my scooper…
And I have slowly gathered a stack of baskets over the years because I just love to see all my folded washing stacked up in them…
Am I convincing you yet?
SO, on to the GIVEAWAY…
YES, you can win this lovely and super handy wooden clothes drying rack!
It folds up and down so easily and you can fit a whole lot of washing on it…
How to win it?
All you have to do is leave a comment telling me why you want to hang your washing out. How easy is that! I will being pulling a name randomly out of the hat next Wednesday, so get your comment in before the end of the day Tuesday May 10th.
Remember, this is open to everyone, I can send this baby worldwide!
That’s it for me today.
I will be back next week to announce the winner…get those comments in!
See you soon,
Ros
I would love to win the clothes airer as I have a horrid metal one and yours looks way more tasteful but I am already a total convert to hanging out my washing, I actually enjoy the process of pegging it out on a sunny day and no one else in my family seems to be able to do it to my satisfaction (clever eh?).As you say the full joy is in the smell of sunshine dried bed linen. One other point you missed is that far less ironing is required (not that I iron anything) but I have this from the lips of someone who irons her pants!
Oh yes, the ironing – you are right – you can just fold and smooth out as you go along and the wind whips the rest into shape. Surely no one irons their undies?
I find it relaxing to hang our clothes instead of using a dryer. I love that it is free and causes no harm to the planet. Plus, it does not make any noise. I’d much rather listen to the birds singing as I hang clothes than the dryer droning on. Plus, it is much easier on the fibers making clothing last much longer without fading as much. As a society, we could seriously reduce our demand for energy by just not using our dryers nearly as much. So, kudos to Ros for giving away the drying rack!
That’s another thing I didn’t think of – no noise – you are so right and as for the lasting longer, that is so true too. And you are the second person now to say how enjoyable and relaxing it is to hang out your clothes. I now need to make a longer list for all the good reasons to hang out your washing!
I have even treated myself to a bag of new pegs for the new Springtime ‘hang it on the line’ season. One of life‘s simple pleasures!
Good on yer! I am loving the fact that everyone is referring to the pleasure of it.
i love wooden clothes pegs. i am a 3 not 2 man. there is always a danger of shirt-loss if you use 2. i have never met a 4 pegger. any out there?
Ros, there is nothing like hanging your washing on the line…I do miss that back in Australia. Here in England we use the drying cabinet most of the year, and whilst the weather is reasonable I have a similar clothes horse that I put on the front lawn. However it’s not quite the same as the joy of pegging up washing and watching it flap in the breeze and spin around on the hoist! I also like to jazz up my laundry at home…my hubby doesn’t get that at all…but lets face it…we spend enough time in it and it helps to have pretty things around! I love the little cup in your soap powder…and you have the prettiest washing I’ve ever seen! Robx
Dear Ros
Can’t believe you moved away 11 years ago. We still miss you. I inherited my mother’s love of hanging out washing and watching it blow in the wind. She died 5 years ago and without consulting one another each of my 5 sisters hung out a line of washing on her anniversary to remind us of her love of fresh air and making the most of life. Lots of love to all the family, Rose.
Nothing beats the smell of sun dried sheets, agreed! Great that you found a big jar for your washing powder 🙂 Thanks for stopping by Beach Cottage Good Life Wednesdays.
I cannot tell you how much I like using that jar for my washing powder, it has given that daily job and serious pleasure boost! Thanks to you!
Hi Rose, that is such a lovely story about you and your sisters. I bet your mum hung out more nappies than anything else! Missing you tooxxx
I am so with you that if you have to do something dull every day it seriously helps to have aesthetically pleasing things around. Do you know what I mean by a Sheila maid – I had one of those in England, hoisted up in the kitchen?
You are the first man that I have met who calls himself a 3 peg man – good on yer matey!
Plant lavender under the clothesline so that when the sheets and such whip back and forth they will take up a a hint of the delicate lavender scent.
I felt the sun through your photos!
(no entry )
Hugs
Renata
whoops, I just “shared” a comment on my wall, but I forgot to mention why I want to win your giveaway, so I’ll try again. First of all, loved your post, and love to hang out laundry too, especially lovely linens like yours. We took our clothesline down to put in a pool, and I’ve been missing it ever since. The fresh smell is one thing with sun-dried sheets, but the feel is another, something so great about the crispness..you just can’t get that with the dryer. Thanks Ros for the chance…I’d like to know where you found your clothes drying rack…just in case I don’t win!
Ros, I grew up at 580 ElDorado Avenue, Oakland, CA. I lived in a house with family from my great grandmother on down – all under the same roof. When I was a little girl, I loved it when my grandmama let me help hang out the clothes. I am still reminded of 580 every time I smell line dried laundry! Aaahhhhh, there’s nothing like it. I just found your blog and love it! Thanks for the giveaway.
Annie
Thanks Annie – I know exactly where you mean and I wonder where you live now? There is nothing like having done certain things with your grandmama – I learnt to bake bread with mine.
Yes, the crispiness! You are right, that is another thing I didn’t mention. I got the clothes drying rack from our local Ace Hardware – I don’t even know if that is a nation wide shop but it is just our local and fabulous hardware store that seems to sell everything.
I forgot that you had done that at Mar Vista – it is THE best idea ever. No wonder I always sleep well when I come up to you!
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