Day Forty Six- 2/15/11 Hang a Clothesline in the Basement

Day Forty Six: 2/15/11
New Thing: Hang a Clothesline in the Basement    
Inspiration: Wet Clothes, the Earth 
Cost: $0  
Time: About 10 minuets  
Bottom Line: Hopefully this will help cut down on how much we use the dryer.

Reflection: I know what you are thinking: "Hanging a clothesline in the basement: this is perhaps the world's most perfect way to follow up a romantic post about marital love." Yes, we truly do know how to keep the fires of romance lit 365 days a year.

This one doesn't need to much reflection. It is my monthly "Eco Stewardship" change that I am undertaking for February. (You might remember that each month during this year, I will be making at least one small change to better the planet.) By hanging up our clothes in the basement, we will be saving money and helping the environment.

Growing up, we used to do all of our laundry in the basement, and we had several clotheslines down there. However, there were several times when things got totally out of control in the basement--dirty clothes just dumped into one HUGE pile, things hanging up for weeks-on-end that would smack you in the face every time you walked through that area (I suppose we could have taken them down and folded them, but that thought never occurred to us), and several large barrels dedicated to off season clothes. We had a pug at one point who use to burrow in that pile and I used to joke that she had an elaborate tunnel system build for herself complete with buttresses, a mine of some kind, and trolls. it got to the point that I would just have my own laundry system and by-passed everyone else.

My sister was the worst when it came to laundry. Eventually, she had so much dirty clothing downstairs that it simply become easier for her to buy new clothes rather then wash the old ones. This practice has really paid off for me, though, since she will now give me all her hand-me-ups! It is seriously like Christmas when ever I get one of her huge bags because her style is infinitely more advanced than mine. 9 times out of 10 if I get a complement on an outfit, it was originally from my sister's closet. Thanks little sis!