About three years ago, I mostly stopped using laundry detergent when I washed our clothes. I noted at the time that this was hardly a mainstream approach to laundry, but I also noted that I didn't care. The word I used was "fringe."
And now the fringe continues to unravel, you might say.
About two months ago, our dryer broke. A. fixed it briefly before it broke for good. Instead of buying a new dryer right away, A. built a winter clothesline for me in the pasture, where the clothes get sun and wind. That is not the case with the clothesline in the fenced-in backyard, which is great during the windy season or in the summer, but not very useful in the winter. So the new clothesline does get clothes dry here in New Mexico even in the winter, except for on days when it's actually raining or snowing.
Yet another glamour shot of a clothesline on this blog. There can never be too many.
At about the same time, our washing machine ceased to actually clean our clothes, instead depositing visible dirt on clothes that hadn't really been that dirty to start with. It was clear there was significant filth in the innards of the machine somewhere.
Eventually, A. took the whole thing apart so we could clean it. He needed a special part to get the drum all the way apart, which we ordered. But the part didn't come for almost a week, during which time both our broken dryer and pulled-apart washing machine were sitting out in front of our house on the patio. A lovely home decor statement right by our door.
During this period, we were doing laundry in the bathtub again.
A. did manage to get the whole washing machine back together again, and it worked for two loads before it refused to drain water out of the drum.
A. was so sick of dealing with laundry machines at this point that he declared he would rather do laundry in the bathtub indefinitely than buy another machine.
I disagreed. Strenuously. I told him I was willing to live without a dryer, but definitely not without a washing machine.
I found a place in a small city 90 miles away that sells refurbished appliances and called them to make sure they had some washing machines. It took another week of tub laundering before we were able to make it in to the city to buy a machine, but we did eventually.
They actually had sets of both washers and dryers, but I told A. not to bother getting the dryer. After two months without one, I realized I really don't need one here. I mean, sure, it's sometimes a pain to be rushing laundry out first thing to make sure it gets dry, and hanging clothes on the line when it's still below freezing is no fun, and sometimes the dirty clothes pile up a bit if we have a couple of days of inclement weather, but generally? Nope, don't need a dryer here.
So now in addition to not using laundry detergent, I don't use or even own a clothes dryer. Fringe, for sure. But still okay with it.
9 comments:
I haven't quite gotten to the point of not using laundry detergent. Farmer gets way too dirty to not have some kind of grease releaser. I have not used dryer sheets in a couple of years now. I have found unless I have a particularly static-y item of clothing, our clothes come out static free without the chemicals. It took a few washings but once the residue was gone, they were naturally static-free and soft enough for us.
And maybe this is TMI, but I started using a very natural deodorant (Lume') and have found now in the winter months, I can get by with only using it 1 - 3 times a week. Again, once the antiperspirant residue was off my skin and out of my pores, I just didn't stink nearly as badly.
It's a bit alarming at what chemicals do/create just so we buy more.
I love clothes lines--and hang my clothes outside whenever the summer arrives. Mary in MN
I am just in awe ... I would not enjoy not having my washer, dryer, or drying rack! Yes, I do hang dry my "delicates" but I have to throw them in the tumbler or else they just feel so "rough"! How do you guys get your clothes to feel soft after hang drying? If you have a knack for not needing the washer and still getting soft clothes I'd be up for hearing so that I could save a few rounds of dryer loads!
I'm still fringe laundering. And love to hang my clothes outside, but here in the northeast it's been so rainy & humid the last few years, that it's hard to get the clothes to dry.
Linda
Loving: I'm afraid clothes are never going to be as pliable off a clothesline as they are out of a dryer, so tumble away. We're used to the feel of them off a line. That, or we're just naturally rough ourselves and don't notice. :-)
Linda: I would not have been pleased to be without a dryer in New York, although there never was one at Blackrock (A.'s family home where we lived for ten years) until I moved there and got one. So I guess they managed somehow.
Kay: Oh yes, grease is another story. I keep a container of finely-grated Fels Naptha for loads with anything greasy, but that's mostly just small kitchen stuff here. A. gets really dirty, but it tends to be just actual dirt (or animal poop . . .) rather than grease.
I grew up without a dryer and my mom still does not use one. I much prefer line dried. We also had a wringer washing machine until the mid 90's- luckily she bought an automatic one just before we kids started to take on that chore.
I'm wondering where A gets the great T-poles for your laundry lines. I never had a dryer in NM--but then, I didn't have a washer, either.
MiL: From the new/old house next door. Almost all old houses here have those home-welded T-bars for clotheslines.
Post a Comment