Today's tip is brought to you courtesy of Kay, who left a comment on Sunday to the effect that her clothespins have to be replaced periodically, due to the high winds on the prairie where she lives.
And I have a solution to this! Well, something that worked for me, anyway.
See, we also have very high winds here on our mesa. And I don't have a dryer, which means all my clothes get hung outside on my clotheslines. That means that my clothespins are very, very important. And also very, very well-used.
When we moved to this house and A. put up my clothesline, I had to buy clothespins. So to the Internet I went, confident that I would just find some good old wooden clothespins to order and be on my laundry-hanging merry way.
Which is when I discovered that most wooden clothespins are garbage.
They appear to have mostly fallen into the category of craft supplies. Like for the cute little Christmas tree ornament made out of a clothespin and painted like a snowman that Charlie brought home from preschool a few years ago.
Those might be great for Christmas ornaments, but they would be nothing but trouble on a frequently-used clothesline. They are cheap. And they are flimsy.
But! While I was poking around online and researching my clothespins--for far longer than I ever thought I would do such a thing--I discovered the existence of metal clothespins. I did not know that was an option.
There are different styles, but the ones I got are kind of short and chunky, with a rubber grip part on the inside to hold clothes.
And they most assuredly do hold clothes. I have had laundry out in 30-mile-an-hour winds that hasn't come off the line. In more than two years of constant use, not one clothespin has broken.
The only downside to these might be that if you live in a wet place, they might rust, but here in the almost-arid West, rust is not an issue I deal with.
I hardly ever link to actual products, and I am certainly not getting any payment for this, but if you want to try these, these are the ones I got.
Happy line drying. May the sun always shine on your laundry and the birds never perch above your line.
3 comments:
Agree, the newer wooden clothespins are junk. I have some older wooden clothespins from my mom, probably from the 50's/60's & they never break.
Linda
I agree, most new clothespins are made in China junk. However,I just noticed that the Lehman's catalog has made in USA wood clothespins.
Gracious! I feel honored to be mentioned! And I do want to say, while I replace wooden pins every year; I, too, have metal pins. Mine are Extreme Clothespins - Stainless Steel - 20 Pack from Henry Berry & Dairy Store on Amazon. I have about 40 of these pins but that's not enough to do my all the laundry I hang out. (especially when I need to put 4-8 pins on each sheet and 3 on each pair of jeans and bath towels. So I use the wooden ones on lighter clothing.
My mom gave me a bucket of older wooden pins that I need to bleach. They were not kept in the best conditions and I don't want marks on my clothes.
Thanks for putting a smile on my face this evening. :)
Post a Comment