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Do you ever get that strange urge to tie on an apron and wash your clothes in an old metal tub with a washboard? Maybe it’s the secret farm girl that lives in my heart or all those episodes of “Little House on the Prairie” that I watched as a girl. Whatever it is, I get it bad in the springtime.
But, alas, I don’t even own a washboard or a tub and I don’t know if I would know what to do with them if I did. Fortunately, I’ve found some lovely ways to quell that prairie laundry urge, save a lot of energy, and spend some quiet moments in the yard with a few modern conveniences.
First off, when my old washing machine died this winter, we invested in a large capacity ultra efficient front-loading washing machine. The fine GE Energy Star rated model we selected uses 50 percent less water and 60 percent less energy than similar capacity top loading models. You can compare models at the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy’s website at www.aceee.org or scan the Energy Star tags for details.
Not only does the front-loading washer hold more of my husband’s dirty Carharts than I ever could have imagined, but its quiet hum is almost soothing, and both the cat and I have been caught staring at the mesmerizing swirl of soapy clothes through the observation bubble more than a few times.
Next in my list of laundry secrets was my accidental discovery of unscented, eco-friendly laundry detergent (free from chemicals, phosphates and other oddities). I really prefer a light scent in my laundry detergent, so I was a little disheartened one day at the grocery store to have only one choice of “eco-friendly” detergent that was unscented.
Fortunately, I had a little stash of essential oils for my green cleaning recipes and added a few drops of lavender for my towels, then a few drops of pine for the next load of Carharts and work clothes. The result was a light scent suited to different uses and very clean clothes. Now I always look for the unscented version and add my own scents to suit my mood.
But, here is my favorite part of doing laundry — hanging up the clothes to dry. It has become one of my favorite early morning and weekend rituals and somehow soothes my soul in this modern world. But it took some time to get the hang of it.
I’ll admit that at first it was a little strange for me to hang my laundry, clean as it was, up for all my neighbors and passersby to see. It was like letting them into the inner sanctum of my closet and my life. Now, though, after years of hanging clothes to dry and chatting with my neighbor as he did the same, I’ve overcome that insecurity.
The next trick was getting the rhythm and efficiencies of the clothesline down. It sounds easy, but as I watched my husband’s great Aunt Shirley, a petite but powerful woman, hang a full basket of clothes on a line in less time than it would have taken me to get the clothes out of the washer, I realized that there was an art to hanging.
With amazing grace, Aunt Shirley would pick up a shirt with one hand, reach in her well designed apron pocket to pick up two clothes pins, give the shirt a gentle shake, drape it on the line, and pin it down in one smooth motion.
I’m still not as graceful or efficient as Aunty Shirley, but I am getting better. I have found a few vintage aprons at thrift stores with pockets big enough for holding my clothes pins, and I’ve found the pattern that works on my line. I truly enjoy the rhythmic exercise that comes with hanging clothes to dry.
I’ve also learned not to let the impending afternoon rain or snow showers worry me as I hang my clothes. After a few good soakings, I realized that my clothes actually smell better and seem softer after a little rain falls on them.
There is some magic that happens with the sun and wind and even rain when the elements soak into your clothes. Plus, my favorite well worn T-shirts seem to last longer when they are hung to dry.
But using clotheslines to dry your clothes isn’t just a good way to connect to your prairie ancestors, it’s a serious way to save energy. Bill McKibben writes that, “If we all used clotheslines, we could save 30 million tons of coal a year, or shut down 15 nuclear power plants.”
And the best thing is that you don’t have to get a second mortgage or carefully consider payback periods to start using the solar energy in your back yard today. You can buy some clothesline, a few bags of clothes pins and start harvesting the sun’s energy this afternoon!
<i>Eartha Steward is written by Carly Wier, Holly Loff, and Beth Orstad, consultants on all things eco and chic at the High Country Conservation Center, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to waste reduction and resource conservation in our mountain community. Eartha believes that you can walk gently on our planet, even if you’re wearing stylie shoes.</i>
<i>Submit questions to Eartha at eartha@highcountryconservation.org with Ask Eartha as the subject or to High Country Conservation Center, PO Box 4506, Frisco, CO 80443.</i>
But, alas, I don’t even own a washboard or a tub and I don’t know if I would know what to do with them if I did. Fortunately, I’ve found some lovely ways to quell that prairie laundry urge, save a lot of energy, and spend some quiet moments in the yard with a few modern conveniences.
First off, when my old washing machine died this winter, we invested in a large capacity ultra efficient front-loading washing machine. The fine GE Energy Star rated model we selected uses 50 percent less water and 60 percent less energy than similar capacity top loading models. You can compare models at the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy’s website at www.aceee.org or scan the Energy Star tags for details.
Not only does the front-loading washer hold more of my husband’s dirty Carharts than I ever could have imagined, but its quiet hum is almost soothing, and both the cat and I have been caught staring at the mesmerizing swirl of soapy clothes through the observation bubble more than a few times.
Next in my list of laundry secrets was my accidental discovery of unscented, eco-friendly laundry detergent (free from chemicals, phosphates and other oddities). I really prefer a light scent in my laundry detergent, so I was a little disheartened one day at the grocery store to have only one choice of “eco-friendly” detergent that was unscented.
Fortunately, I had a little stash of essential oils for my green cleaning recipes and added a few drops of lavender for my towels, then a few drops of pine for the next load of Carharts and work clothes. The result was a light scent suited to different uses and very clean clothes. Now I always look for the unscented version and add my own scents to suit my mood.
But, here is my favorite part of doing laundry — hanging up the clothes to dry. It has become one of my favorite early morning and weekend rituals and somehow soothes my soul in this modern world. But it took some time to get the hang of it.
I’ll admit that at first it was a little strange for me to hang my laundry, clean as it was, up for all my neighbors and passersby to see. It was like letting them into the inner sanctum of my closet and my life. Now, though, after years of hanging clothes to dry and chatting with my neighbor as he did the same, I’ve overcome that insecurity.
The next trick was getting the rhythm and efficiencies of the clothesline down. It sounds easy, but as I watched my husband’s great Aunt Shirley, a petite but powerful woman, hang a full basket of clothes on a line in less time than it would have taken me to get the clothes out of the washer, I realized that there was an art to hanging.
With amazing grace, Aunt Shirley would pick up a shirt with one hand, reach in her well designed apron pocket to pick up two clothes pins, give the shirt a gentle shake, drape it on the line, and pin it down in one smooth motion.
I’m still not as graceful or efficient as Aunty Shirley, but I am getting better. I have found a few vintage aprons at thrift stores with pockets big enough for holding my clothes pins, and I’ve found the pattern that works on my line. I truly enjoy the rhythmic exercise that comes with hanging clothes to dry.
I’ve also learned not to let the impending afternoon rain or snow showers worry me as I hang my clothes. After a few good soakings, I realized that my clothes actually smell better and seem softer after a little rain falls on them.
There is some magic that happens with the sun and wind and even rain when the elements soak into your clothes. Plus, my favorite well worn T-shirts seem to last longer when they are hung to dry.
But using clotheslines to dry your clothes isn’t just a good way to connect to your prairie ancestors, it’s a serious way to save energy. Bill McKibben writes that, “If we all used clotheslines, we could save 30 million tons of coal a year, or shut down 15 nuclear power plants.”
And the best thing is that you don’t have to get a second mortgage or carefully consider payback periods to start using the solar energy in your back yard today. You can buy some clothesline, a few bags of clothes pins and start harvesting the sun’s energy this afternoon!
<i>Eartha Steward is written by Carly Wier, Holly Loff, and Beth Orstad, consultants on all things eco and chic at the High Country Conservation Center, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to waste reduction and resource conservation in our mountain community. Eartha believes that you can walk gently on our planet, even if you’re wearing stylie shoes.</i>
<i>Submit questions to Eartha at eartha@highcountryconservation.org with Ask Eartha as the subject or to High Country Conservation Center, PO Box 4506, Frisco, CO 80443.</i>
