Good morning! I have a new favorite laundry helper that I just love! We have a neighbor who also hangs out laundry regularly, sometimes I see her laundry blowing in the breeze and think “Oh, she beat me outside this morning.” I have also noticed the basket on legs that she uses to help hang out laundry.
Oooh, a new item to put on my Buy at Garage Sale/Auction list! How fun! I love adding things to my list; it gives me a reason to go garage sale-ing.
But, as I was watching her, she was also watching me. It turns out that she was given an extra laundry basket with legs, and didn’t really need two. She is so thoughtful, and wondered if it would help me with laundry, so she passed it on to me.
I love it!! It is not hard to hang out laundry, but this makes it even easier. Over the years, I have developed a pattern for hanging out laundry, and I used to bend down or kneel in the grass as I sorted through the clothes. With the laundry legs bringing the basket up to waist level, it is so much easier on my older back and hip.
My clothes hanging pattern:
I have a 4 line clothesline, and my pattern alternates depending on the direction of the breeze. The line closest to the direction the breeze is coming from is for socks and things that need their own clothespins. This includes jeans, slacks and kitchen dishcloths. On the other three lines, I overlap the clothes so I can use one clothespin to hold two corners. This really helps to conserve clothespins. I have acquired quite a few pins now from garage sales and my mother-in-law, but I remember using 1 pin for 2 socks or pinning socks with shirts. They don’t dry as well when you do that.
The very opposite line (the other outer line) is for longer items. Towels, shirts and longer t-shirts go on this line. This way, the longer items blow out furthest from the wind, so they are not hitting you when you are hanging up clothes. The wind can whip the clothes and move the lines enough to hit you in the head. I am always afraid the blowing lines will knock off my glasses: then I would be in trouble. I have had to get the husband or kids to find my glasses if I drop them in the house. I wouldn’t actually walk into a wall-but finding my glasses in the grass would be near impossible.
The middle two lines are for smaller clothes. Washcloths, kitchen towels and t-shirts get hung up on the line closest to the socks. The other line is for pajamas and unmentionables. Not that anyone really notices, but I like them hidden by the towels and other clothes.
One day, a neighbor boy was over chatting as I hung up laundry. He asked “if I was embarrassed to hang up undies, what if anyone saw them?” Unfortunately for him, I was in an ornery mood. With a big smile and wide eyes, I asked “What if I never hung undies up? They might think we don’t have any!” Then I smiled again and said “It’s ok, I always hang them in the middle to hide them.” I probably shouldn’t tease him, at least he smiled back.
I like my laundry pattern, when I remember to consider the wind direction, the longer clothes blow away from the rest and are not hogging up all the wind from the smaller clothes. When it is really windy outside, I will put extra clothespins on sheets and jeans so they don’t blow away. I don’t like finding sheets in the garden or washcloths in the raspberries. Once, on a very windy day, a construction worker returned my sleeping bag that had blown a few yards away.
The laundry basket legs that I received are probably for a basement or inside laundry room. The wheels are smaller, but it works ok on the grass. We might replace the wheels eventually. I just go slowly and it is definitely easier than carrying the heavy clothes basket out to the line full of wet clothes. This laundry bag with wheels is very similar to mine,it has a bag like my neighbor uses. I was lucky that when I took the bag out to wash it, one of my laundry baskets fit inside.
People, like my neighbor, can be so nice. I can’t believe how such a simple addition to the laundry basket can make the job sooo much easier. Soon, I will take her some homemade maple syrup as a thank you.
Happy Camping (or hanging out laundry!)
The Frugal Campasaurus