My First Time...

This year anyways!

Get your minds out of the gutter!

It's my first time hanging laundry outside this year!!!

Yes, those are my son's diapers.   You didn't figure me for a disposable diapering mama now did you?  How DIY is that? ;-)

So what are the benefits of hanging your laundry outside?  Glad you asked, there are several.

1. The most obvious, cost savings.  It takes money to run your dryer.  It doesn't cost you money to run the sun!  I wont lie.  There are some start-up costs; line, posts and pins.  There are a range of price points for all of these.  You don't have to go as fancy as I did. I dug four or five foot holes and set those babies in quick-crete.  It was a BIG project.  For which you can find directions here. That reminds me!  If you're going with untreated wood posts, as I did, it's always a good idea to give them a fresh coat of sealant every year.

2.STAINS!  By golly it never fails, when ever my husband throws the laundry in the dryer, I've gotten something on something and he just probably set a stain into my favorite shirt!  So, when you line dry, the dryer won't be setting in your stains.  PLUS! You'll be "sunning" them.  A term that is probably familiar to other CDers.  That would be Cloth Diaper-ers.  :-)  The sun does this magical thing to stains.  They disappear!  The darker the stain, the longer it takes.  But even the set in stains on my son's diapers fade dramatically.

3. Your clothes will last longer.  Dryers are notoriously hard on fabrics.  By keeping them out of the dryer you will extend the life of your clothes.

4. The smell.  Your clothes will smell like sunshine and the outdoors without the use of chemicals.  And if it happens to rain on your clothes, it's not a big deal.  The rain water will soften your clothes and add a pleasant fragrance.