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A Farm of My Own:  Clotheslines?  |
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walkinwalkoutcattle
True Blue Farmgirl
1675 Posts
Megan
Paint Lick
KY
USA
1675 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 09 2011 : 09:21:50 AM
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I'd love to see pictures of peoples clotheslines. I'm going to put mine up soon, and I'd love to have some tips/examples! I think I'm going to use high tinsel, as we've got tons of it from fencing, and I think I'm going to nail a basket with holes in the bottom for the pins to one of the posts...
Farmgirl #2879 :)
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com
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StrawHouseRanch
True Blue Farmgirl
1044 Posts
Paula
Holt
Missouri
USA
1044 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2011 : 11:27:03 AM
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I would love to put up a clothesline, but I'm afraid with all of the birds and beehives out at our place, the sheets would be less clean after hanging out than they were before I washed them. Although my mother has never had a dryer, and we always hung the laundry between the trees in the backyard without too many incidents of droppings..so maybe I'll have to rethink the clothesline idea....hey another project to add to the list! 
Paula
Farmgirl Sister #3090
A Beehive is the ultimate Home Sweet Home
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Mariebelle
True Blue Farmgirl
54 Posts
Marie
Clarkston
WA
USA
54 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2011 : 11:54:28 AM
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When we lived in NC i had a clothes line and loved it. Here its in the bylaws of my neighborhood that we can't have one!! I have two lines hanging in my laundry room above the washer and dryer so i can still hang the clothes i don't want to dry, but i don't get that fresh air smell- miss that. At the farm in my dreams i have a clothes line outside :)
Born in the wrong era...
Marie |
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tammyknit
True Blue Farmgirl
135 Posts
Tammy
Reedsburg
WI
USA
135 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2011 : 1:25:21 PM
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My clothesline is a little strange. We ran 2 pieces of clothesline rope between my daughter's playhouse and the "fort section of her wooden swingset. The clothes are pretty high up (close to 7 feet), so don't have to worry about them touching the ground, but when I have a really full line I am standing on block edging around the playhouse and climbing the steps into the fort to get everything to fit! You know what though, I love it for sheets, because I don't have to worry about them touching the ground, the clothesline gets lots of sun, what more can you ask for!
Tammy |
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missusprim
True Blue Farmgirl
400 Posts
Karen
Fostoria
Ohio
USA
400 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2011 : 3:20:10 PM
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Here is my clothesline. We've been here a year and we have yet to have bird poo on the clothes - and there's trees directly above! The rope is specifically for clothesline usage and has heavy load capacity. I think it cost about 7 dollars. Not had a problem with it even though DH has it wrapped around the trees for added security and it has very little stretch so you don't get too much sag in the middle. But I do hang the heavy stuff like jeans near the trees just in case.
Hope this helps and I wish you well with your clothesline. My Mom and her Mom always hung out laundry all year round and I got the 'bug' early on and found out how relaxing and therapeutic it is to be hang out my laundry while listening to the birds, the wind in the trees, etc.
Cute and clever idea of nailing a bucket to the posts for clothespins. And speaking of clothespins - I was raised with the non clip kind but since I flew the coop I've always used the spring ones. Keep us posted!
Farmgirl Sister #2984
"Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms." George Eliot
http://farmchicatheart.blogspot.com/
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nabrown42
True Blue Farmgirl
409 Posts
Nancy
Caneyville
KY
USA
409 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2011 : 4:36:23 PM
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We aren't "allowed" to use clothesines in our subdivision but we'll be moving later this year to our home in KY and since it's in the middle of 39 acres, no one can tell me what I can or can't do on my property. I can't wait. Around here, gardens are considered eyesores so they can't be seen from the street and clothes outside polluting the neighbors' sensitive senses, God forbid! Enjoy your clothesline and I grew up hanging up all our wash and never had one bird poop incident.
"I've wept in the night for the shortness of sight that to someone's needs I've been blind; but I've yet to feel a twinge of regret for being a little too kind." |
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Mariebelle
True Blue Farmgirl
54 Posts
Marie
Clarkston
WA
USA
54 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2011 : 7:07:49 PM
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My family went on a mission trip to Belize about 3yrs ago, the house we stayed in had limited ammentities, we did hang our clothes on a line there, that was fun- the only time my daughter experienced that chore and i was glad to share that with her. It was quite funny as she would try to hold the shirt on the line with one hand while trying to reach down for a clothes pin. I got a laugh when i turned around to see such an acrobatic stance! Glad to find out later that my husband caught the move on the camera!
That made me miss mine from NC even more
Born in the wrong era...
Marie |
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LightGreenThumb
True Blue Farmgirl
170 Posts
Elizabeth
Spokane
WA
USA
170 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2011 : 7:19:53 PM
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My mom didn't use a clothesline. She just used the dryer. Her mother on the other hand hardley ever used her dryer and she used a wringer washer and hung her laundry out or in the basement in the winter until she was elderly and sold her house. We had to give her lessons on using an electric washer when she was in her late 80s. She was quite a woman and I loved all the times I spent at her house helping her with chores. She was born in 1900 and would be 111 this year. Miss her much! I hope I can be that kind of person in the lives of the young. I won't be a grandma for a while as my oldest is just 15. To many of the domestic arts are getting lost in technology. Keep passing on the traditions! Blessings
Elizabeth <><
Farmgirl #3091
Simplicity is Beautiful. |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2011 : 7:19:55 PM
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I can't wait to get back out to the farm and put up my new clothes line. I've never had a problem with bird poo either. Maybe the flapping clothes scare them away?
About the bees. I have learned the hard way that the first warm days of early spring are not the days to hang out wash. The bees will take a cleansing flight those days. They apparently excrete very little in the cold months saving it up for warmer weather. Little tiny flecks of dark stuff that bleeds yellow on wet clothes. It does wash out.
I don't notice it the rest of the year.
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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Kimarie91
True Blue Farmgirl
114 Posts
Kim
Tx
USA
114 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2011 : 7:29:17 PM
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Does anyone use the umbrella style? Our "rules" state we can have a line as long as not visable from the street. We have to either move the sandbox, garden boxes, or fort to put up a line. So I wondered about how well the umbrella style works out.
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FarmDream
True Blue Farmgirl
1085 Posts
Julie
TX
USA
1085 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2011 : 7:53:37 PM
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Here's a pic of me after I completed the installation of my laundry umbrella. I LOVE it! And it will work if you have rules about not having a clothesline. The laundry umbrella has a plastic tube that you set in the cement and the umbrella pole slides into that. So the umbrella is a semi-permanent feature and can be taken down once the clothes are dry. I'm able to dry more than 2 loads and can also dry king size comfortors and sheets on it. I've had one bird poo accident on one piece of clothing.
To argue in favor of clotheslines/umbrellas, did you know there are NO energy star dryers. Drying 8 loads of laundry per week will use up the same amount of energy as running your fridge 24/7. So it's a good argument if you're trying to go green and save energy.
~FarmDream is Farmgirl Sister #3069
Live Today, Cherish Yesterday, Dream Tomorrow
http://naturaljulie.etsy.com
http://julie-rants.blogspot.com |
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BalancingAct
True Blue Farmgirl
297 Posts
Jackie
Hoosierville
USA
297 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2011 : 8:57:23 PM
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Nancy, I'm a rebel. I would say to "heck" with those subdivision bylaws and have one or two of those fold-up clothes racks out in the sun with my clothes drying!
quote:
Originally posted by nabrown42
We aren't "allowed" to use clothesines in our subdivision but we'll be moving later this year to our home in KY and since it's in the middle of 39 acres, no one can tell me what I can or can't do on my property. I can't wait. Around here, gardens are considered eyesores so they can't be seen from the street and clothes outside polluting the neighbors' sensitive senses, God forbid! Enjoy your clothesline and I grew up hanging up all our wash and never had one bird poop incident.
"I've wept in the night for the shortness of sight that to someone's needs I've been blind; but I've yet to feel a twinge of regret for being a little too kind."
Farmgirl Sister #2851 -"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
http://www.fiberandherbscottage.blogspot.com/ |
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homsteddinmom
True Blue Farmgirl
441 Posts
Brandee
bullard
tx
USA
441 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2011 : 05:50:25 AM
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mine is a pully system. I love it! i dont know how to post pics or i would.
Homesteading Mom in East Texas. Raising chickens, Rabbits and goats here on my farm! |
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ranchmama
True Blue Farmgirl
360 Posts
Elise
Rosebud
MT
USA
360 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2011 : 06:13:30 AM
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I just got mine in! I've been after my hubby for 4 years! lol He welded 2 pieces of metal the bottom pole is 8ft with 3 ft in the ground. The cross piece is maybe 5 ft across, with 4 holes. We used 14 gauge high tensile wire, he has used regular smooth wire from fencing before, but I don'tlike that, it's too thick. The drove 2 short t-post in the ground and stretched wire from the top of the pole to the t-post to keep the poles from sagging together. They stick up above the ground just a few inches, but I am going to plant a bush or something there so the kids don't trip over the wire. I painted the poles bright red to match the barns and corral. I hung jeans on it the other day, but it hasn't been to warm and sunny to use it much. We put them about 25 ft apart, I think that will give me enough room for sheets and blankets. I'll try to get a pic up.
Elise
Every Child Deserves Our Love &
A Bear of Their Own
http://ATeddyForKeeps.org
http://ranchmama.blogspot.com/ |
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nabrown42
True Blue Farmgirl
409 Posts
Nancy
Caneyville
KY
USA
409 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2011 : 07:46:08 AM
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Jackie, I'd do just that but our property backs onto a golf course and we'd be dragged into court, yes, court, if we violated our restrictive codes. I'm not going to face any of those busy-bodies in a court of law - I need to prevent me from telling them all just exactly what they can do with their covenants. We've battled them for the past 8 years and all that will be over in late August when the moving van pulls up and takes our belongings and our beliefs to rural Kentucky. Our little 2 bedroom ranch has a deck on 3 sides and the back of the kitchen part is elevated about 15 feet off the sloping back yard where there'll soon be an old fashion pully and cotton clothesline between the posts and a huge oak tree about 50 feet out where my undies will be a flapping in the breeze for the deer and squirrels to see. I even had the neighbor around the corner from us (we live on a corner and her house is on the adjacent property, across a small creek {actually a glorified drainage ditch}) accost my yard man because she didn't like how he cared for our lawn! She said the shrubs were too tall. How I hate this place!!!!
"I've wept in the night for the shortness of sight that to someone's needs I've been blind; but I've yet to feel a twinge of regret for being a little too kind." |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2011 : 08:00:14 AM
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There is a historic overlay on my Nashville house neighborhood. There are things I can't do because of it. But at least I don't have to pay dues so I can be told what I can't do! LOL
I respect the effort to maintain the historic aesthetic of the area but I would love to put in more energy efficient windows to decrease my carbon foot print. Not allowed unless they look just like the original windows. That means all custom. I'd never regain the cost (in energy savings) in my life time. Even with the tax credit. I've done the back, it's not visible from the street so that was OK.
One corner of my clothes line is visible from the street but it was there before the overlay so it could stay. If it ever falls it has to go. Where do they think folks dried their clothes 100 years ago?
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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Mariebelle
True Blue Farmgirl
54 Posts
Marie
Clarkston
WA
USA
54 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2011 : 09:18:48 AM
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I had a friend that used the umbrella type and she liked it. I wonder if i could get away with that in my neighborhood? I forgot all about that type. I will have to check out my yard to see if i can "hide" it somehow.
Born in the wrong era...
Marie |
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Bonnie Ellis
True Blue Farmgirl
2474 Posts
Bonnie
Minneapolis
Minnesota
USA
2474 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2011 : 5:27:51 PM
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Sorry I don't have a picture, but I have a 5 line retractable clothesline that is mounted on the side of the house. When not in use, you can't see the lines. When I want to use it, I pull out the lines and hook it on the pole on the other side of the yard. That works for me or I would have to walk under it all the time. Good luck, clotheslines and part of the "farm" life I love even tough I live in the city now. Good luck.
grandmother and orphan farmgirl |
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Tammyb
True Blue Farmgirl
511 Posts
Tammy
Bluffton
Ohio
USA
511 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2011 : 7:28:03 PM
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I love my clothes lines. I have an umbrella and a 4 line one. Use them all the time ( spring - summer - fall) but not in the winter. In the winter I use my fold-outs and the dryer.
Tammyb
Live to leave a legacy
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Kimarie91
True Blue Farmgirl
114 Posts
Kim
Tx
USA
114 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2011 : 7:30:37 PM
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| I'm going to try the umbrella style. The retractable sounds great too...hmmmm..decisions, decisions :) |
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StrawHouseRanch
True Blue Farmgirl
1044 Posts
Paula
Holt
Missouri
USA
1044 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2011 : 07:52:38 AM
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Julie, Do you mind if I ask where you purchased your umbrella clothesline? Maybe it is these warm summer days, but the clothesline idea is really on my mind now!! Last weekend I washed our comforter and propped it up outside between four patio chairs, because it was just too heavy to hang on anything while it was wet. It smelled wonderful when I brought it inside. It almost made the whole bedroom smell outdoor fresh!!
Paula
Farmgirl Sister #3090
A Beehive is the ultimate Home Sweet Home
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missusprim
True Blue Farmgirl
400 Posts
Karen
Fostoria
Ohio
USA
400 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2011 : 10:37:02 AM
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I think most umbrella type dryers are just set into the ground and can be removed and/or taken with you when you move. I researched them awhile ago and found that they differ greatly in price, quality and load capacity so do some shopping around.
Geesh, if I could hide it from nosey nabes and the hoyty toyty crowd I would. I don't see what their beef would be as long as it was in the back yard and from view from the street.
Farmgirl Sister #2984
"Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms." George Eliot
http://farmchicatheart.blogspot.com/
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karla
True Blue Farmgirl
1308 Posts
karla
Pella
Iowa
USA
1308 Posts |
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FarmDream
True Blue Farmgirl
1085 Posts
Julie
TX
USA
1085 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2011 : 2:18:36 PM
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Paula, I bought mine at an Ace hardware store. You can get them to order one in for you if they don't keep them in stock usually. I paid $40 for mine. When I stand on a chair I am able to drape our king size bedding over it. On hot days it's dry in an hour. It's easy to install. Dig a 20 inch hole and fill with some quikcrete cement mix and the pole holder tube. It'll be ready to use 24 hours after that. Each line on each row is an individual line so if one ended up breaking I could replace it easily.
I think the "problem" with clotheslines is in the past some houses were zoned the same as the garbage dump if they had a clothesline. The government housing here has clotheslines all over. Many people think it's a sign of being poor. There's a learning curve to get past "consumerist" thinking. If you use a clothesline your body will thank you for the exercise and your wallet will thank you when the electric bill comes in.
This is just my opinion and not meant to offend anyone.
~FarmDream is Farmgirl Sister #3069
Live Today, Cherish Yesterday, Dream Tomorrow
http://naturaljulie.etsy.com
http://julie-rants.blogspot.com |
Edited by - FarmDream on Jun 11 2011 2:24:12 PM |
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MagnoliaWhisper
True Blue Farmgirl
2817 Posts
Heather
Haysville
Kansas
USA
2817 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2011 : 8:10:58 PM
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I know the last place we lived in didn't allow them either. And I think yeah, God forbid people have clean clothes, what in the world would people think? lol haha Like it's a mystery that people need to clean and dry clothes. lol hahaha WEIRD! hahaha
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
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ChickieMama
True Blue Farmgirl
303 Posts
Angela
Banks
Oregon
USA
303 Posts |
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A Farm of My Own: Clotheslines? |
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Clotheslines?
