It is a bright sun-shiny day today, so I decided to do laundry and hang out my first wash of the season. It has been very rainy so far this year and frankly I’ve not been as attuned to the sunshine as I should have been, for I have missed a couple of really pretty washing days but such is life.
Thanks to the almost unceasing rain it is still very muddy and wet where the pre-existing clothesline is situated. Honestly, that line has seen better days so we hung out a load of colors around the worst of the wet places to preserve our feet then went out in search of a replacement clothesline to place in a dryer spot of the yard.
Alas, I do believe every store in Paducah has chosen to rearrange it’s inventory—it took several times as long as it should have to purchase ammonia, clothespins and a line. Dollar Store was out of clothes pins after a lengthy search through their chaos so we had to go to Wal Mart and deal with their remodeling frenzy.
We got what we needed as well as a couple of groceries for meals next week and finally escaped to come home. Instead of a traditional clothesline, I purchased a nylon rope that is rated to hold 75 pounds instead. Not only was it several cents cheaper, it was designed in a more durable fashion and the regular clothesline was only rated to hold 24 pounds in comparison. Wet jeans and sweats weigh an obscene amount, so I am in hopes that this new line will reduce sagging in the middle.
I got my electric bill yesterday. It has dropped to $85.59, which is significant decrease compared to last month’s $124.41. These past couple of warmer weeks I have been leaving the furnace turned off and just using a small kerosene heater in the kitchen when we get chilly to help reduce the billed expenses.
For the rest of this month and the warm season I plan to only do laundry on sunny days and hang them out to save on the electric bill. I read somewhere that every load of laundry dried in an electric dryer costs at least $0.75 to dry in electric usage alone. Heavy items and full loads seem to take longer to dry than the auto-sense selection allows them in my dryer, so I’m estimating that to be double on occasion in my particular machine.
K has not owned a dryer for a couple of
The previous occupant of this mobile home used an indoor clothesline for his clothes in inclement weather. He had the line stretched along the length of the hallway and just left it there year-round, using it primarily in bad weather. It wasn’t very obvious when there were no clothes hanging on it, but would be a bit of an eyesore if company came, so I removed it when I moved in. With utility bills what they are I wonder if I should rethink the situation. What would you think about using an indoor clothesline to dry in inclement weather? Would the money savings be worth the detraction in looks on laundry day? A box fan could be used to dry the items faster, costing much less than running the dryer would….
The whites have reached the final spin, so time to wrap up and get back to work! I hope all of you have a wonderful day!