Thursday, June 19, 2014

A surprise find


I borrowed a box of “stuff” from Beth, for a project I am working on.  Inside I found




Clothes pins!

I know the box has been in storage on the top floor of her restaurant for at least two years. Under utilized, as it were. Out of sight, out of mind, and definitely out of use.

Falling straight down hill, as it does, my yard does not lend itself to a clothes line. The front yard would work, but that’s a little tacky, I think. Until I had clothes pins, though, an umbrella clothes lines never crossed my mind. 

To be sure they would not be offended, I ran the idea by the other grownups in the house. “What do you think of an umbrella clothes line in the corner of the deck?" They seem amused.

It took Amazon two tries to get it cross country. The first one was “delivered” to its point of origin in California. One snippy email later, the second one was shipped two day air, or something.  

Tom set about installing it without putting seven inches of concrete pipe into the ground, which took two days of fussing.




Tomorrow I’ll make a clothes pin bag and we’re good to go. I promise no pictures of laundry on the line.


Master of the octopus!

24 comments:

  1. Hey, I LOVE pictures of shirts, towels and pants drying in a good breeze. I've sold several paintings with such as the subject. People from other countries wonder why we've done away with clothes lines. I wonder the same thing except in the months when everything freezes solid.

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  2. Nothing better than sheets dried on the line. In fact I had a big conversation with someone just yesterday on the subject and we both agreed that they still retain that smell even after a week in the linen closet.
    Congratulations!

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  3. I hang clothes indoors because I have no space outside. I am in envy of the clothesline.

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  4. A picture of clothes blowing gently in the breeze can be quite artsy.

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  5. I do love the smell of line-dried laundry. The only thing which beats it, is clothing dried on lavender bushes in the sun. Which I experienced once, and still think was heaven.

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  6. Living "in the woods" we use the clothes line regularly. I am sure you will be very pleased with yours. Last summer I bought one of these things with 2 wheels that stop the bottom line from sinking too low - I do not know what they are called but I am sure you know what I mean. I showed it to friends in their 30s and had them guess what it was. Not one of them had a clue! I knew them as a child (as I am sure you did) since my mother would send me hang the clothes.

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    Replies
    1. A clothes prop! Our just had a notch cut in the top. Talk about the way back machine!

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    2. They sell them (if you don't make your own) at Lehman's

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  7. It's amazing we get a small gift and we come up with ideas that we haven't considered before.
    Merle..............

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  8. Hari Om
    From little pegs, big lines grow... YAM xx

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  9. Hey! Those are my Basket Weaving Holders, not ordinary clothes pins!

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    Replies
    1. That's why there weren't enough to hang a decent wash. Linda gave me a box full. Nicely weathered and everything.

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  10. I like the smell of clothes after they are hung outside to dry. And you are using the sun rather than the dryer!

    betty

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  11. Just think how much hydro you'll save each year by not using the tumble dryer so much!
    Jane x

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  12. Looks like Tom got er done! Did he make it so you can easily detach it? Winter time?

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  13. That's great! Just think of the electricity you'll be saving. The dryer makes a big difference in our energy use cost.

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  14. I like hanging out the washing; it's quiet & I enjoy the garden & view.

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  15. I hung clothes out to dry on the line until we started RVing nearly 14 years ago. A lot of RV parks don't allow you to hang clothes out. And the condo across from us in Costa Rica didn't allow clothes hung out. Guess they sully the sight of the pool or something..... kinda makes me wonder what we're coming to....

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  16. Woo-hoo! We have them all over Australia, every home has a clothes line of one kind or another.
    You're going to save SO MUCH on your power bill by not using an electric dryer.
    I love the fresh smell of sun dried clothes.

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  17. I have a clothe's line in my backyard, it runs from my deck out to a tree. I always picture dollar bills hanging from it.

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  18. Line dried laundry is the best, we have one of those pull out jobs that is neatly tucked under the eve of the house. And we have enough wooden clothespins to supply several homes.

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  19. Dear Joanne,
    that was fun to find clothpegs and then have the idea of using them - there are many ways to egineering! Nice to have fresh wind to dry laundry. We use the tumble dryer, in the city - on the balcony there even are hooks (the house was built in 1902), but I think the neighnours would wonder...

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  20. I do love the way clothes dried on the line smell, but the only time I had a clothes line and used it the towells came out so stiff and rough and I didn't care for that. maybe I'll get one of those umbrella types. plenty of wind here so maybe that will help with the stiffness.

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