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Cleaning Up:  Using a clothesline  |
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cecelia
True Blue Farmgirl
497 Posts
cecelia
new york
USA
497 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 23 2004 : 7:34:21 PM
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Yes, I think nostalgia plays a big part in the kind of lifestyle many of us think of as simple and memorable. We never had a basement when I was little, but we did have an unfinished attic where we played in winter and hung the clothes; it was unheated and not insulated, but somehow the clothes always dried and we never felt cold when we played there.
We had our train sets (I still have my American Flyer), and I remember my Mom using a curtain stretcher. I don't know if I'd like to return to that same lifestyle, but much of it seems simpler and less "in the fast lane". Perhaps we're all just trying to slow down a bit, or feel that life is passing us by too quickly to "stop and smell the roses".
Cecelia
ce's farm |
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simpledreamer
Farmgirl in Training
26 Posts
Marybeth
Louisiana
USA
26 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2004 : 08:48:38 AM
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| Yeah...I think the draw for me is to...like you said...slow down and smell the roses...to get out of the fast lane. I am finding that doing the things that remind me of my childhood...canning, working in the garden and in the flower beds, cooking from scratch, hanging my clothes out on the line...those things bring me back to a different point in time. Those are things that I want to pass on to my daughter. I wouldn't want to eliminate everything common in today's society...my computer, my car...things like that...but I think just being conscious of how we live our lives...makes a difference in our earth, community, and in ourselves. Don't you think? |
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cecelia
True Blue Farmgirl
497 Posts
cecelia
new york
USA
497 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2004 : 10:31:42 AM
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Hi, Marybeth & other farmgirls...yes I don't want to give up everything modern, life is infinitely better and safer, healthier with indoor plumbing! But everything has gotten too commercialized, and not for the better. My jam and cookies are much better than anything I have ever bought in a store, but more than that, I want to make a difference also, starting with myself and my family. Not too many years ago Earth Day was started, and now it seems that everytime I go to the grocery, the products have more packaging material, less of it biodegradable or recyclable, more disposable products and no one seems to care. I ask for paper bags, and it's sometimes a problems. I tried using my own cloth grocery bag, and it was unacceptable. Now I buy a lot from a "health food store" which is friendlier and more "green". I sometimes feel no one else cares about our earth, etc. What do you think?
ce's farm |
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simpledreamer
Farmgirl in Training
26 Posts
Marybeth
Louisiana
USA
26 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2004 : 08:36:53 AM
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I totally agree with you. There are so aspects of life that has improved with time. I love indoor plumbing and hot water that stays hot. I love finding an answer to a question just by doing a google search. I love connecting with other like-minded people from all over the world with a click of a mouse. I love jumping in my bug and getting to where I need to be quickly.
But I also love my own homemade preserves. I love fixing meals from the garden. I would love to hang out my clothes on the line.
There are still things that I could do to simplify my life...like getting rid of A LOT of "things." Things clutter my life. That's where I am right now.
I try to buy things with less packaging. Not only do I read food nutrition labels...I read to see if the packaging is biodegradable. My daughter and I talked about "pre-cycling" this weekend. It's going to take some time...but this weekend, we started using cloth napkins...Abby says we're saving the dolphins...something she saw on television about trash going into the ocean and killing the dolphins. I know we have a long way to go but one of my ultimate goals is to learn to be more "green" and do my part to insure a safe and resourceful earth for my grand kids.
Dreaming of a simpler life,
Marybeth |
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cecelia
True Blue Farmgirl
497 Posts
cecelia
new york
USA
497 Posts |
Posted - Jun 29 2004 : 7:37:26 PM
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Yes, it's a "good thing" (sorry I couldn't resist that) to pre-cycle. One thing that especially irks me is laundry detergent, all those plastic jugs. They may be recyclable but it seems just a waste to me. I am going to experiment with homemade laundry soap. As
far as paper napkins, I try not to use them; I buy cloth napkins I find at antique stores, I've also used mens large cotton handkerchiefs (you can embroider them or crochet around the edges, or sew lace around them), or for picnics, use bandanas for napkins. Remember if you save a dolphin, eventually along the food chain, you're helping to save us too!
Cecelia
ce's farm |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Jun 29 2004 : 11:26:41 PM
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I am a cloth napkin user too. We have quite a large unmatched collection. I do have one set of 8 plaid napkins that match. I keep them in my china hutch and get them out for company. For everyday we use funny ones that never match anything. I made one any time I have extra cotton fabric from a sewing project, or if I find clearance priced ones I like. I don't like the polyesterish shiny ones. They don't absorb stuff. The one the kids fight over has big red and white checks with big old ants on it. I made a picnic cloth from the fabric once and two napkins. One bit the dust years ago..this one lives on.
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - Jun 30 2004 : 07:01:31 AM
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Hello all -
I, too, use cloth napkins! But I have to admit, I do not know where I would be without paper towels. I save them to wipe my hands during the day and re-use them until they need to be thrown, but I am too attached for the good of the environment, I know.
Each time I read through the posts in this topic, it brings back great memories - Cecelia, my mom used a curtain stretcher too! Can we say sharp tacks? Gosh, I had forgotten all about that. She also had a wringer washer, and a laundry sprinkler bottle that dampened the clothes until they could be ironed. It was a 7UP bottle with a little topper on it. She used the 7UP bottle again when she baked angel food cakes and put them upside down in the cake pan to cool. Then she would say "Do not run through the kitchen, the cake is finishing!" I never knew what catastrophe would happen to the cake....
I, too, have noticed the change in environmentally friendly habits. We are back to gas guzzling cars, using plastic trash bags, and overdoing the packaging on grocery shelves. My grocery store still asks if we want paper or plastic at the checkout. When I use plastic, I take the bags back to a recycling bin they have at the store. And all those water bottles! We filter our own water and re-use the water bottles so we are not constantly having to "buy" water and dispose of all those plastic bottles.
I think people do not remember how hard it was to legislate environmental laws and they do not remember the smog that hung over cities (yes, worse than now), or realize how much cleaner our water quality is now than it was 30 years ago. I read somewhere, too, that until the late 1940's, most farms were all organic. So our parents, if we are in our fifties, grew up on organic farms.
My husband never leaves our yard trash at the street, but composts it all at the back of our property. He spreads the lawn clippings on my garden. Less plastic bags to leave in the landfills.
Well, I have rambled on enough, but I love to see that others are still trying to help the planet, too, and still love the smell of line-hung clothes and the wonderful taste of tomatoes and corn fresh from the garden. Let's keep this going!!! And teach our children well. :)
JPbluesky (Jeannie) |
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ElizArtist
True Blue Farmgirl
113 Posts
Elizabeth
Newbury Park
California
USA
113 Posts |
Posted - Jun 30 2004 : 11:53:07 AM
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For me it's important to live life "intentionally" to really think about the effects of what I do, buy, and use. I am nostalgic, it's true, but I am political too and I don't think the coporations and politicians in this country will change unless we change on a personal level first. Maybe it seems like a lofty goal, but I think that if I take action to change in my little housewifey life then that change will ripple out and help make a difference. I read a statistic somewhere about how reducing the number of households running dryers could close X amount of nuclear power plants. I still use my dryer, it's running right now, but if I can hang out some of my laundry on warm days, and everyone in the country only hung out their laundry some of the time it could definitely have a good effect overall. Not to mention the fact that since the Enron swindle in California, I'm paying $175 a month in electricity, it never hurts keep a little bit money in my bank account instead of southern cal edison's.
I didn't mean to rant or anything...
joyously dancing through life |
Edited by - ElizArtist on Jun 30 2004 11:54:49 AM |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Jun 30 2004 : 10:13:53 PM
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my dryer died this week and I havn't missed it a bit. My husband has been frantically working on it when he has time in the garage. I have found joy in seeing it in all those pieces. I am hoping to just not replace it until at least fall...maybe never.
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
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rabbithorns
True Blue Farmgirl
544 Posts
Allison
Fort Scott
KS
USA
544 Posts |
Posted - Jul 01 2004 : 2:33:51 PM
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We moved to Tucson three years ago and two years ago bought a nice manufactured home in a really clean park. It looks like a regular stick-built house neighborhood and everyone agrees to keep things looking nice.
But the park rules include not hanging out your wash. I went to a homeowners' association meeting and I found out how many of those folks actually hung their laundry - they just do it behind their screened-in porches or behind some trellis at the end of their driveway. Apparently if no one can see you break the rule, no one cares!
And we live in Arizona! Where we probably have 320 perfect clothes-drying days a year!
I bought a retractable 5 line thing and my husband put it up on our porch. We only wash once a week and here in the southwest, it takes me longer to hang the clothes up than it actually takes them to dry!
I do miss having a line up all the time, but we also have two wooden racks which we were using in the house (the wind would knock them over outside). I just personally didn't want to pay the electric bill for drying clothes in the dryer when it was so completely unnecessary.
I'm totally into the frugal life and I'd say I save my family more than $14,000 a year (what I would make working outside the home) by staying home, taking care of the kids, and not going shopping very much. We believe in a simple life to make more room for spiritual pursuits which include daily meditation and community service. If a clothesline can help us work less (need less money for electric bills) and have more time to serve others (It takes longer to wait for three loads to go through one dryer than to have it all dry at once outside), then a clothesline has now become part of our spiritual practice!
We also don't buy any household paper products except toilet paper (and my daughter's pads - I use cloth). |
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cecelia
True Blue Farmgirl
497 Posts
cecelia
new york
USA
497 Posts |
Posted - Jul 01 2004 : 4:01:06 PM
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Wow! It's great to know so many of you have similar ideas. I have neighbors who wouldn't hang their laundry no matter how much it cost to run their dryers. I try to do my part whenever possible, and yes, do believe that there's a ripple effect, be it positive of negative, no matter what we do in this world. Let's strive for the positive ripples! 
Cecelia
ce's farm |
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sleepless reader
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
CA
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Jul 01 2004 : 7:18:15 PM
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Hello farmgirls! What a wonderful find...women who, like me, enjoy the freshness of line-dried laundry. I remember my mother hanging laundry and using poles to raise the lines up off the ground. I remember the lady nextdoor used those strecher things in her husband's jeans. It made them look frozen on the line. I think the best thing about hanging the laundry is folding it right as it comes off the line and saving it from getting all wrinkled.Life's simple pleasures are the best! Happy hanging :)
Sharon
PS Loved the photos of the prayerdannas and the clothespin bags! |
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cecelia
True Blue Farmgirl
497 Posts
cecelia
new york
USA
497 Posts |
Posted - Jul 02 2004 : 12:30:16 PM
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Hi Y'all, and happy 4th of July!
In regards to the laundry, clothesline etc. comments: does anyone know where I can buy (internet or catalog) the old fashioned laundry starch powder (Argo brand?). The grocery no longer carries liquid or powder starch, only the spray stuff. I checked ALL my catalogs and can't find it anywhere. Thanks!
Cecelia
ce's farm |
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sleepless reader
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
CA
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Jul 03 2004 : 08:35:19 AM
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I found this info :Laundry starch is corn starch. However, because it is not intended for human consumption, it is not necessarily cleaned as well. Any corn starch from a grocery store should work equally as well as laundry starch with either of the following sets of directions.
Boiled Starch Directions:
Heavy Starch: In large saucepot, mix 1/2 c. starch (laundry or corn) and 1 cup cold water. Gradually stir in 2 quarts water. Stirring constantly, bring to boil over medium heat and boil 1 minute. (Note: 1 minute of boiling, no more or less produces the best starch solution.) Use warm.
Medium Starch: Dilute Heavy starch solution with 2 quarts water.
Light starch: Dilute Heavy starch solution with 4 quarts water.
Easy Directions:
Heavy Starch: Mix 1/2 cup starch and 1 cup cold water. Gradually stir in 2 quarts of boiling water. Use warm. (Mixture should be translucent.)
Medium Starch: Dilute Heavy starch solution with 2 quarts cold water.
Light Starch: Dilute Heavy starch solution with 4 quarts cold water.
For best results:
Fabric should be clean, wet, and unfolded before dipping into starch solution.
Use starch solution while warm.
Iron fabric while damp.
http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-1407
The same site also mentioned that Niagra has bought out Argo, so you might try looking for Niagra instead.Good luck.
Sharon
PS While we're asking, does anybody know where I can get "Citrus" brand laundry soap? I know they are/were based in Utah because I once spoke to the company about buying the soap by the case since it had become hard to get at my market. But can I find that number now?!?! Thanks for any help.
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Sep 22 2004 : 1:27:10 PM
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I loved the clothes lines in our back yard when I was growing up. I remember running a damp rag along each line to get off the dust and dirt and playing quietly inside the rows of drying sheets and towels. I also remember that as kids when there was no laundry to be hung on the line we would gather all of the blankets available from our beds and the ceder chest and hang them on the line as a makeshift tent for our "KIDKAMPING" adventures in the backyard. Daddy would roll out a large old painting Tarp (He was a house painter) on the ground and we would roll out the old army sleeping bags inside our clotheline tent. We would sleep outside surrounded by ceder smelling blankets and lay looking up through the lines at the star studded sky.
Ahh Nostalgia!
Eileen
songbird |
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Kim
True Blue Farmgirl
146 Posts
Kim
Pflugerville
Texas
USA
146 Posts |
Posted - Sep 22 2004 : 4:38:43 PM
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I too love doing laundry! I lveo the feeling of all the clothes as I take them out of the dryer, warm and toasty. Unfortunately, it is so dusty around here with the farms, I'm afraid they'll get dirty hangin' them out to dry.
I have my gramothers old drying rack, a type that was attached to the wall. I will eventually put it in my laundry room.
My mother hung clothes on the line to dry when I was little, such great memories!
farmgirl@heart
Longaberger Lover and all things antique |
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Sandra
Farmgirl in Training
16 Posts
Sandra
Tazewell
VA
USA
16 Posts |
Posted - Nov 15 2004 : 05:27:10 AM
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Ah...the "correct" way to hang clothes...yes! It has always bugged me when people slam clothes any whichaway on the line. How do they expect them to stay, relatively, wrinkle free and get dry at the same time? There are *right* ways to do things because they are best, not because we who do them that way are anal <g>.
My clothes are hung out in all kinds of weather and will dry...eventually. That or freeze. I've photos of clothes frozen on the line when we first moved here. That's funny! I hang out clothes unless I'm in a rush to wear something in the wash and then will use the dryer. I use the wooden racks to not only dry clothes in the winter (what a wonderful way to add moisture to the dry air) but to display my woolens, yarn, etc.
Wringer washers...still have one and use it...for washing my fleeces.
Kathy - Tibetian Prayer Flag - I've a friend who brought one back from her travels to Tibet many decades ago. It's a beautiful thing.
Ironing - Clare, I enjoy ironing but rare take the time to do it anymore. That's one thing about a farm...there are always chores that are more immediate, more pressing (forgive the pun).
Oh yes, Paula - I've my Grandmothers' clothese pins and enjoy using them.
Okay, true confessions - I've been know to put clothes in the dryer for 5 minutes so I could put on warm clothes <g>...especially if I'm coming in the house from feeding livestock and it's below zero. Warm clothes and something hot to drink...drives away the pain of being cold. My internal temp has dropped once due to a vehicle breaking down and a mile walk in wind chills of minus 15 degrees below zero. That's dangerous and stupid of me. I've made that particular mistake only once in my life <g>.
Sandra @ http://www.thistlecovefarm.com...a grasp on the past & a hold on the future... |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Nov 16 2004 : 7:30:13 PM
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I also have a low body temperature. 97.4 is my normal temp and anything above about 97.8 I am feeling really lousy. I also have a very low blood pressure and have been kiddingly asked by the nurses where I put my pulse when they want to get my blood pressure. Other times I have been asked if I was really alive.
After my surgery last year all of the nurses went to get different bloodpressure machines thinking that the one they were using was broken. I kept telling them to look at the notations on my chart from the previous shif of nurses but they still took my pressure at least three times every time!
I tend to hang my coat above the wood stove to warm it up if I am going out in the cold. I also must be very careful about my feet. They get frozen so easily.
Eileen
songbird; singing joy to the earth |
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KJAMES
Farmgirl in Training
34 Posts
KAREN
SC
USA
34 Posts |
Posted - Nov 19 2004 : 09:53:43 AM
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Glad to hear that others like the clothes line. Most of my friends and my husband think that I am crazy.
Nothing is better than to go out early in the morning as the sun is coming up and hang out the clothes while the cats wind in and out of my legs. I can see the goats and chickens from the hill where I hang clothes, so we all have a nice conversation as I hang things out. I enjoy it so much that I hate to go back in the house.
It is so nice to open the linen closet and take a deep breath and smell clean sheets. Nothing smells or feels better than climbing into bed on nice "clothes line fresh" sheets. |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - Nov 19 2004 : 4:51:19 PM
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Eileen and Clare - My body temp is also normally 97.6 or lower. When I have a fever, I know it immediately, and feel it, even though the doctor says my temp is normal!
For me, a fever of 101 is enough to put me flat on my back! My blood pressure is also very low. So good to hear others say the same! Good, I am not imagining things!
jpbluesky
Love those big blue skies and wide open spaces. |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Nov 19 2004 : 9:59:05 PM
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I love my clothesline! My mom had one of those round or octagonal clotheslines she hung sheets on and oh did they smell like sunshine on my bed as a girl in the 1960's! My friends and I would spin that thing around and play in the sheets and clothes on those lazy summer days. We broke some of the wires and got into trouble. I loved the smell of those sheets... and 10 years ago my husband and I built a clothesline in my rose garden. When my roses are in bloom our clothes flap against the blossoms and the smell is heavenly! The hotter the sunshine the better! But I do hang them out in the winter and they freeze solid. They thaw in the house and still retain that certain fragrance.
As for body temps...I have always been around 99 degrees. I guess that is a little high for normal basal body temp? My girls are the same way... When I get sick my fever soars to 103 or more... As small children my girls could go as high as 105!!! The doctors were amazed because most kids would go to febrile seizures that temperature. I have to sleep with the windows cracked open a little in the dead of winter or I would be very uncomfortable, ever since I can remember.
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
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Kathy A.
True Blue Farmgirl
116 Posts
Kathy
Utah
USA
116 Posts |
Posted - Nov 22 2004 : 10:21:19 AM
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| It's Fall and we have actually had quite a bit of rain over the last few weeks. What a rare and beautiful treat! Okay, Where to hang the laundry? I bought the large old fashioned floor dryer from Lehman's It's a solid built work of art! Made by the Amish of hardwood with 3/4 in. dowels. I just love it. It's been set up in my living room for two days just so I can Look at it. When I get tired of that, I'll put it away until the next rainy laundry day. If I had a great Quilt collection I would have to buy another one to display them on. ~Kathy |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2005 : 10:33:23 AM
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Absolutely amazing. Does this also have an effect if your dryer is in a closed room away from the rest of the house? I love to dry clothes, but Florida is certainly not conducive to it. Dampness and humidity prevent them from drying for days, and lots of rain showers keep me running in and out to save the clothes. :(
Heartland girl |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2005 : 11:31:27 AM
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That is an amazing piece of information Clare! Thanks for posting this! I have learned so much from you! This makes so much sense to me... When I slip my body into bed at night on line dried sheets I feel myself relax every muscle and the stress seems to just leave and I sleep so much more soundly. I don't get that "rush" when I got to bed in tumble dried sheets. Has anyone else noticed this?
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. http://www.xs4all.nl/~josvg/cits/sb/sb101.html |
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quiltedess
True Blue Farmgirl
296 Posts
Nancy
Priest River
ID
USA
296 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2005 : 10:08:18 PM
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I love this topic. It has really gotten my mind churning. It's been so long since I've had sheets on my bed that were dried outside and I find myself longing for them. My hubby has always been of the opinion that it was really tacky to hang laundry. Now I'm trying to think of a way to accomplish this as unobtrusively as possible. Hmmm . . . just hanging up a couple of sheets on a sunny day . . . taking them down before he gets home from work . . . I know he would love it once they were on the bed. Now . . . where to hang them . . .
Nancy |
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Cleaning Up: Using a clothesline |
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Using a clothesline
