| Author |
Across the Fence:  "Basic Rules for Clotheslines"  |
|
|
ceejay48
Farmgirl Legend/Schoolmarm/Sharpshooter
13668 Posts
CeeJay (CJ)
Dolores
Colorado
USA
13668 Posts |
 Posted - May 30 2010 : 05:50:01 AM
|
My oldest brother sent this to me . . . thought you farmgirls might enjoy it!!! Has been lots of talk about clotheslines. . . and I can TOTALLY relate!!
ENJOY!
CJ
Remember?
You have to be a certain age to appreciate this. I can hear my mother now ...
THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES: (if you don't know what clotheslines are, better skip this)
1. You had to wash the clothes line before hanging any clothes - walk the entire lengths of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.
2. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang "whites" with "whites," and hang them first.
3. You never hung a shirt by the shoulders - always by the tail!. What would the neighbors think?
4.. Wash day on a Monday! . .. . Never hang clothes on the weekend, or Sunday, for Heaven's sake!
5. Hang the sheets and towels on the outside lines so you could hide your "unmentionables" in the middle (perverts & busybodies, y'know!)
6. It didn't matter if it was sub zero weather ... clothes would "freeze-dry."
7. Always gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes! Pins left on the lines were "tacky!"
8. If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item did not need two clothes pins, but shared one of the clothes pins with the next washed item.
9. Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes basket, and ready to be ironed.
10. IRONED?! Well, that's a whole other subject!
A POEM
A clothesline was a news forecast
To neighbors passing by,
There were no secrets you could keep
When clothes were hung to dry.
It also was a friendly link
For neighbors always knew
If company had stopped on by
To spend a night or two.
For then you'd see the "fancy sheets"
And towels upon the line;
You'd see the "company table cloths"
With intricate designs.
The line announced a baby's birth
From folks who lived inside -
As brand new infant clothes were hung,
So carefully with pride!
The ages of the children could
So readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed,
You'd know how much they'd grown!
It also told when illness struck,
As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,
Haphazardly were strung.
It also said, "Gone on vacation now"
When lines hung limp and bare.
It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged
With not an inch to spare!
New folks in town were scorned upon
If wash was dingy and gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their brows,
And looked the other way .. .
But clotheslines now are of the past,
For dryers make work much less.
Now what goes on inside a home
Is anybody's guess!
I really miss that way of life.
It was a friendly sign
When neighbors knew each other best
By what hung on the line.
..from the barefoot farmgirl in SW Colorado...sister chick #665
From my Heart - www.fromacelticheart.blogspot.com
From my Hands - www.cjscreations-ceejay.blogspot.com
From my Hubby - www.aspenforge.blogspot.com |
|
|
Diane B Carter
True Blue Farmgirl
1270 Posts
Diane
Blasdell
N.Y.
USA
1270 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2010 : 05:58:19 AM
|
My neighbor still does all the rules for the clothline, I will have to have her come over to read this she will enjoy it as much as I did. Thanks for sharing that.
Hope all your days are Sunnydays.
dianebcarterhotmailcom.blogspot.com |
 |
|
|
kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2010 : 06:54:10 AM
|
That's a good list of rules. I do most everything but I do leave some clothes pins on the line. Lazy farm girl here!
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
|
|
|
kpaints
True Blue Farmgirl
1564 Posts
karen
cheney
wa
1564 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2010 : 07:39:56 AM
|
Love the list, it is so true, I never really thought about those 'rules' they were just ingrained in me, even though my mother didn't use a clothes line for a long time. I had some work being done in the back yard some years ago and while I was away from the house the men came early and found the laundry on the line. They needed them removed so they could do their work...one man said to me he 'was not about to move those' (my unmentionables) and I was so relieved as I was sure his hands were not too clean. lol I thought it was so funny but I loved that my laundry drew RESPECT!! His mama taught him well.
Did you write that poem, CJ? It is wonderful!
A person will be just about as happy as they make up their mind to be. Abe Lincoln Find your joy and live it. http://cheneybaglady.blogspot.com/http://www.kpaints.etsy.com http://www.thevintagebaglady.etsy.com FG #377 |
|
|
|
clothedinscarlet
True Blue Farmgirl
1333 Posts
Siobhan
Battle Creek
MI
USA
1333 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2010 : 07:43:00 AM
|
Ironed....you've gotta be kidding me. No way. I have a hard enough time ironing the things that need to be ironed like my husband's shirts. LOL...
I never considered hanging shirts from the tail. I've always done it wrong :) And I only have one line, so I can't hid our unmentionables. Hopefully when we get more settled someday I will make a better laundry line system and have several lines to hang more stuff. As it is right now, I hang what I can fit and everything else goes in the dryer if I have more than one load (which is often) to do per day. I try not to use the dryer too much, but with limited line space and all these boys in my house, it's near impossible not to use it.
Farmgirl Sister #1110
Siobhan - AKA Liza-Jane (my farmgirl name), wife to my best friend, Trent, and mommy to Camden (11/28/05) and Bennett (7/11/07). and Truman (7/28/09) |
|
|
|
nut4fabric
True Blue Farmgirl
885 Posts
Kathy
Morgan Hill
CA
USA
885 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2010 : 08:33:58 AM
|
I follow all the rules, though I didn't know that they were rules just the way I was taught by my mom. Love hanging clothes out on the clothes line!!!
Kathy |
|
|
|
Karrieann
True Blue Farmgirl
1900 Posts
Karrieann
Northeast
Georgia
USA
1900 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2010 : 09:14:59 AM
|
..that gave me a smile.... but my and hubby's unmentionables do not get hung on the line. That I do in the dryer!  heeheeeheee
Karrieann ~ Farmgirl Sister #766 (29 Sept 2009)
My Blog: ...following my heart, dreams and Jesus
...http://karrieann-followingmyheartandjesus.blogspot.com/
|
Edited by - Karrieann on May 30 2010 09:15:37 AM |
|
|
|
reereebee
True Blue Farmgirl
142 Posts
Marie
Clark
WY
USA
142 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2010 : 09:48:47 AM
|
CJ - I have to pass this post along to my mom. She will love the rules...as she followed every one to a T!
The poem is wonderful. If you don't mind, I'm going to print it out and pin it to my "inspiration board" by my desk.
It reminds me of my childhood....GOOD MEMORIES!
Thanks so much ~ Reereebee |
|
|
|
ceejay48
Farmgirl Legend/Schoolmarm/Sharpshooter
13668 Posts
CeeJay (CJ)
Dolores
Colorado
USA
13668 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2010 : 09:52:49 AM
|
No I didn't write the poem . . .
And for me, these were just the way we did things. Hanging out clothes in the winter was just crazy I thought . . our hands would freeze and we always had to bring them in and hang them in the house so that they would thaw and dry. Never understood that one!!!
I do hang unmentionables out but no one really sees them and, in this dry climate, they dry in no time.
Thought it would be fun!!!
CJ
..from the barefoot farmgirl in SW Colorado...sister chick #665
From my Heart - www.fromacelticheart.blogspot.com
From my Hands - www.cjscreations-ceejay.blogspot.com
From my Hubby - www.aspenforge.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
Faransgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
895 Posts
Beth
Houston
Texas
USA
895 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2010 : 1:12:42 PM
|
Yup those are the rules my Grandma taught me. I have one of those four sided spinning ones so the unmentionables are easily hidden on the inside but no one can see it anyway because it is against the HOA rules. We did hand things out in the cold and they do dry but it makes your hands hurt. I remember once when I was little we discovered that our dog had her puppies because my sister and I had been sent out to bring in the clothes and we heard the puppies in the dog house.
Farmgirl Sister 572
When manure happens just say "WOO HOO Fertilizer". |
|
|
|
JudyT
True Blue Farmgirl
196 Posts
Judy
Southwest
Wisconsin
USA
196 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2010 : 1:28:20 PM
|
Thanks for sharing this, I really enjoyed reading it.
Judy~Farmgirl Sister #599
I was born a city girl, but I'm a "farmgirl" at heart, sharing my life at...http://dailyyarnsnmore.com
|
|
|
|
Room To Grow
True Blue Farmgirl
974 Posts
Deborah
Kingston
Georgia
USA
974 Posts |
Posted - May 31 2010 : 06:36:04 AM
|
Thanks for sharing. I remember when my mother hung cloths...And when I did when I first moved to Maine. Now we are in Ga. I wish I had a cloths line...
Deborah
we have moved to our farm...and love it |
|
|
|
katmom
True Blue Farmgirl
17161 Posts
Grace
WACAL Gal
WashCalif.
USA
17161 Posts |
Posted - May 31 2010 : 2:34:43 PM
|
haha! very cute & good advice...
I always do #5 ,,,,my DH hates it when I show the world his scivvies! lol!
and I rememebr, when living in New Britin, CONN... mother hanging the laundry, in Winter only to have the clothes freeze stiff...lol! hmm, maybe that was her way of getting out of ironing! lol!
>^..^<
Happiness is being a katmom.
"Is it time for my Dirt Manicure yet!"
www.katmom4.blogspot.com & http://www.graciesvictorianrose.blogspot.com
|
|
|
|
herblady55
True Blue Farmgirl
3470 Posts
Judy
Louisville
Ohio(Stark Co)
USA
3470 Posts |
Posted - May 31 2010 : 3:56:25 PM
|
Awwww, I really enjoyed that. Thanks Cindy. I have a short clothesline in the basement where I hang my drawers 'n such. But DH gets his dried in the dryer. Sometimes when he does his own laundry he'll hang them up on the downstairs line. Since we live in town, we don't really want neighbors seeing our drawers. lol My sister laughs at us because they live in the Mts in N.C. and don't have many neighbors, so it all goes out on the line. We tease her back because when her last two kids were home, and she had lots more laundry, she'd even hang them on the grape arbor. We thought that was funny. It's funny how laundry brings folks together. We surprised them with a visit one time. We got there and they weren't home, but pulled in right after. They had been to the laundrymat. So we all hung her laundry together and laughed, talked about out trip, took pics and just had a ball. Those are the Good-Times! ;-) Oh, and I do wash the birdie-doo-doo off the line before I start hahaha My Mom told me just the other day that I wasn't suppose to bend the edges of the fabric OVER the line...just pin it TO the line. Now I remember why I didn't like to hang clothes at home as a kid....too many weird rules. I told her I HAD to bend the edges over the line. With the winds we have around here, my clothes would be all over the neighborhood!!! hahaha Well it's true. ;-)
Sister-chick# 905(Oct.7th2009)
Judy
Hugs&Squeezles!
I am not contained between my hat and my boots! -Walt Whitman- |
|
|
|
natesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1735 Posts
angela
martinsville
indiana
USA
1735 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2010 : 05:01:10 AM
|
I just learned a few of these rules over the weekend. I usually have my clothes in before parties, but my DH had a motorcycle wreck the morning of my DDs b-day party and the wash from that morning was still on the line when everyone showed up. I got a few lessons on hangin.
About the drawers thing. My oldest DD was mortified that I was gonna be hangin them out, and our lines are right by the road! Then she began to panic about the squirrels around here. What if they messed with the clothes? What if they chewed on them? Or pulled them down?
So I told her they prefer cotton anyhow over her silky things, so it would be here dads drawers they'd be runnin around the yard with. Aparently she found that visual hilarious as she laughed about it every time she looked at the clothes line for nearly a week and I didn't hear another complaint from her.
Farmgirl Sister #1438
God - Gardening - Family - Is anything else important? |
|
|
|
Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2010 : 11:44:11 AM
|
I love that...and I tend to follow those rules (didn't even know they were rules..haha) all but leaving clothepins on the line..that is a bad habit I have.
Jenny in Utah
Proud Farmgirl sister #24
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
|
|
|
herblady55
True Blue Farmgirl
3470 Posts
Judy
Louisville
Ohio(Stark Co)
USA
3470 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2010 : 3:08:41 PM
|
Oh Angela....that's cute! Hug your DD for me.....she's a "Dear."
Sister-chick# 905(Oct.7th2009)
Judy
Hugs&Squeezles!
I am not contained between my hat and my boots! -Walt Whitman- |
Edited by - herblady55 on Jun 01 2010 3:09:49 PM |
|
|
|
Violets November
True Blue Farmgirl
342 Posts
Violet
Exeter
California
USA
342 Posts |
Posted - Sep 01 2010 : 3:20:16 PM
|
I just found this for the first time and thought I would bump it for us newer farm gals!
And yes, I remember all this. These really were the rules and I still go by them today when I hang clothes!
~Violet~
Farmgirl Sister #1669
My blog, http://hiddenacre.blogspot.com/
Our Organic Jewelry, http://www.etsy.com/shop/GaelicForge |
|
|
|
Leilaht
True Blue Farmgirl
155 Posts
Elizabeth
Highland
MI
USA
155 Posts |
Posted - Sep 01 2010 : 6:12:02 PM
|
I have never cleaned my clothesline and I don't remember my mom doing it either. Never gave it any thought. We hung clothes out in the winter, and I hated it, but it was fun standing the frozen jeans up next to the wood stove to finish drying. I just scolded my hubby for leaving the pins on the line the other day! He asked me why not, and I couldn't think of a reason besides cuz you're not supposed to. I guess I am just OCD enough to not like it.
Liz
Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
Proverbs 31:25 |
|
|
|
Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl
13055 Posts
Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts |
Posted - Sep 01 2010 : 6:18:37 PM
|
CJ:
That number one was what always got me in trouble when I was growing up. I can still hear my Mom screaming, "you forgot to clean the lines!" LOL. Thanks for the memories.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
|
|
|
Lida
True Blue Farmgirl
157 Posts
Lida
Rochester
NY
USA
157 Posts |
Posted - Sep 01 2010 : 6:42:38 PM
|
What a fun post! Thank you for bumpin it up!
Hanging the laundry on the line bonds me with my mother and all of the legion of women who have enjoyed the solar dryers.
I had to laugh about the "unmentionables." I have a small set of clothes bars that I dry them on. One of my DDs can;t stand the idea of "unentionalbes" on the line so she does her own laundry.
Lida |
|
|
|
Homekeepn
Farmgirl in Training
42 Posts
Cathy
West Gardiner
Maine
USA
42 Posts |
Posted - Sep 01 2010 : 7:13:30 PM
|
I just showed my 16 DD the list of rules and said "see it is not just the way I do it, it is the way it is done!"
I just don't wash the lines all the time just once in a while. And all the unmentionables and socks go on my drying rack that I place on the deck near the clothes line. Don't need the "granny panties" flappin on the line like a new state flag. Hehehehe
I loved the poem too. Thanks for posting it.
---Cathy--- |
|
|
|
katrina
True Blue Farmgirl
63 Posts
Katrina
The Dalles
Oregon
USA
63 Posts |
|
|
MerryHeartSister
True Blue Farmgirl
158 Posts
Christy
Tuscaloosa
Alabama
USA
158 Posts |
|
| |
Across the Fence: "Basic Rules for Clotheslines" |
|
"Basic Rules for Clotheslines"
