How to hang out clothes on the clothesline.

I found this old picture in my family photos - she is taking the clothes off the line on a cold afternoon.

 

There should be a handbook on hanging up clothes.  Anyone who has hung out clothes for years knows there is a special technique you develop after many years of spending time under the clothesline.  I have been hanging out clothes since I can remember.  I started at my Grandmother's who never had a dryer.  She would hang out her clothes year round unless it was so cold the clothes would freeze and I am sure she hung out some then. 

You need to have something to transport them from the washing machine to the clothesline.  I suggest a sturdy clothes basket, one that you can put on your hip so you don't carry all the weight in your arms, somewhat like carrying your child.  Next you need some good clothes pins. Sad to say all the good clothes pin manufactures in America have gone out of business so all we are left with are the cheap clothes pins made out of the country.  Try to pick as study as clothes pins as you can get.  I use the clothespins that have a spring; they seem to hold the clothes better.

When you get your clothes out of your basket shake them out first, don’t just put them on the clothes line.  I hang the shirts up by the bottom and put two clothes pins in the first item.  The next item overlap the edge, I use the second clothes pin from the first thing I hung up and use it as one of the clothespins on the second item and add another clothespin to hang secure the other end.  You just keep going until you get to the end of your line.  In other wards you don’t need two clothespins for every item you hang up, only two the first item then one for the other ones after that because you are using the second clothespin from your first item as the first clothes pin on your second item.  You still have two clothes pins in each item but they overlap each other, it saves room and clothespins.  I hang my clothes this way UNLESS it is winter time and cold - on heavy shirts and other clothing that is thick I don’t overlap them because it takes longer to dry in colder months.  In the summer and warmer times it doesn’t matter if they overlap the edge of the material as they dry quickly.

When you hang up sheets, table cloths or other large items make sure you put in more than two clothes pins, the wind may come up and blow it off if not secure.

When I hang up pants I use two clothes pins on each of them I don’t overlap them unless they are thinner material.  You can either lay them over or hang them up by the bottom of the pant leg.

Another thing I do is hang the longer items first and the shorter items last.  If the sun is shining I want it to not shade my clothes so the shorter ones in front (closer to the sun) give the ones in back of them the warmth of the sun more directly.

If here was a clothes hanging contest I am sure I would win hanging up clothes and taking them off the clothes line, you get pretty quick when you have hung out clothes on the clothesline as long as I have.