“The children are outside.
I’m doing laundry. Bright, sunny winter’s day.
Maybe the first one this winter that feels genuinely like beginning spring.”
One of my favorite tasks as a homemaker is washing and hanging up the laundry … with six children, we have a lot of dirty clothes (twice as much during the summer when the children play outside from sun-up to sun-down). I must not be lazy with this task as one day off and I fall quickly behind. I once read that doing laundry provides a mother with the opportunity to pray for her children with each little item to be folded, or each sock that needs pairing … sometimes, I must admit, I forget to pray but other times, I am gently reminded that laundry time provides a time of prayer over the family.
But hanging the washed little and big various clothes items on the line is one of the most wonderful tasks at hand for the day.
One of my favorite things with laundry is hanging it on the line …. if you have never hung laundry on a line, you are surely denying yourself one of the best ‘chores’ with keeping the home. The sunshine on your skin, the sound of the birds singing in the trees, listening to your children play outside, having the wind brush your hair and bring back some fresh air into your lungs … it’s a beautiful way to start your morning.
It’s March and the winter days are melting into spring ever so slowly. It’s a wonderful day when the laundry flies on the line after months of being dried indoors.
Our laundry is line-dried all year long.
In the summer, we line dry outdoors. I would never think to turn the dryer on during the spring, summer and autumn months. The dryer is never used.
I also do not use our dryer during the winter, but hang dry the laundry on an indoor line. It’s been over a year since I’ve used the dryer in the winter months and for years, we have used the line during the warmer months. I gave up the dyer last January, and simply started line drying indoors during the winter. It didn’t take long to realize how easy it would be to simply hang the laundry inside or outside on a good winter day. Sometimes, when company visits and I have not had a chance to remove the clothes, they notice the laundry strung across the room, I wonder if they question ‘why’ – but it does save money and it also adds moisture to a dry winter home.
Yes, I love my laundry line and all the blessings that come with each wooden clothespin hanging the laundry up so well …
by Gigi
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