In many ways solar power for our homes is a nice idea, but out of most people’s price range. There is one case, however, where this isn’t as true. What would you say if I told you that you could buy a solar powered clothes dryer for less than $15 (or a high-end, top of the line model for under $50)? What if I told you that it would make your whites whiter and could dry your clothes in less than half the time of a normal dryer? Not only that, but it is easier on your clothes so that they will last longer. This amazing dryer doesn’t heat up the house the way a conventional dryer does and can even leave your children with fond memories of it’s use. Yet, despite all of it’s wonderful attributes, this solar powered clothes dryer is anathema to most HOAs. Can you guess what I’m talking about? Yup, it’s a clothesline…
They are generally frowned upon because they are considered “low class” or “trashy”. (Which is really funny since Martha Stewart is one of the biggest proponents of line drying clothes.) The bottom line is that there are some times when a clothesline is much better than an electric dryer. In Arizona small things are frequently dry by the time you finish hanging up the rest of the load and your sheets don’t get as wrinkled. Plus, there is nothing nicer than standing between two wet sheets hanging up laundry on a hot day. (Really, I’m not a masochist, we don’t have that type of humidity so it is lovely and cool.) Having grown up with both I’ve been missing having access to a clothesline and finally decided that I don’t care about the HOA and installed one that I can pull down when it’s not in use. I spent less than $15 for everything I needed (including clothes pins) and only took a few minutes to install. If this one works half as well as I foresee we will be installing more eye bolts and making some extra removable lines with clips on each end so that we can hang even more of our laundry out. I am really looking forward to saving electricity and money. (Especially since the A/C won’t have to work as hard to keep the house cool on laundry day.)
How about you? Have you ever used a clothesline? How did you like it? Would you consider trying it again (or even for the first time)? If you don’t like a clothesline or agree with the HOA that they should be outlawed, why?
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