The Art of Line-Drying Clothes

Hanging clothes to dry is a dying art. In today's harried world, people are too busy to do this, too busy to do that. It's easy to make time and you don't even need to have an outdoor clothes line.

First off, for those who are outdoor challenged, many manufacturers make ingenius indoor solutions. From the hideaway clothesline which rolls itself up like a tape measure to fold up drying racks, the solutions are everywhere. A dowel mounted across a hallway makes another great inexpensive solution -- just use plastic hangers on the dowel to hang your clothes. An added bonus: position it near a vent or fan for quicker drying time. And when in doubt, the backs of kitchen chairs are always handy and very forgiving.

Now to the nitty-gritty. How do you get your clothes line dried cheap but not so full of lint that it takes a roll of duct tape to get it all off? First, separate your laundry. Not just by colors (if you actually do that). You need to separate by lint quantity. For example, towels, socks and underwear just need to be dried. Underwear maybe not so much but I was never one to like hanging my undies for my neighbors to see. And socks just don't work when line dried. Socks and towels also seem to produce a lot of lint so keep them to a load of their own.

Also keep out anything fleece. Sweatshirts and jogging suits are the two main fleece items in your closet. Both will leave fuzzy deposits on your other clothes.
Heavy blankets should be washed by themselves but will do nicely with air drying. Acrylic blankets should never been thrown in the dryer.

To make time to do all this hanging around, set your load up (of air drying items) the night before. Wash them in the morning and hang before you leave for the day. By the time you come home, your clothes will be ready for folding.

If you discover your washed clothes are stiff, you'll want to put them through an extra rinse or use less laundry detergent. Stiff or sticky clothes are often a product of too much soap. In the case of heavy fabrics, such as jeans, they will remain a bit stiffer than when run through the dryer but will not be so stiff that they stand on their own. If yours do, reduce the soap!

Should the lint bug leave traces on your garments, make sure a sock didn't sneak in. And did you remember to empty the pockets of all shirts and pants? A single piece of paper or a tissue will leave lots of lint on your clothes and in your washer! Should this happen -- the next washer load needs to be stuff for the dryer. It may take a couple of loads to remove all traces from your washer.