Laundry

My favorite part of homemaking is hanging my laundry on the clothesline. I’m thankful for the quiet moments it gives me to reflect on the beauty of God’s creation and all the little things I have to thank Him for.

I always find it amusing how very many different ways there are of sorting laundry and hanging clothes on the line. I hang shirts by the hems, my sister hangs them by the shoulders. My mother-in-law can use three clothespins to hang two dishtowels, overlapping the edges, but I quickly learned that on my windy hill that method of hanging out the wash would leave me lacking dishtowels. And the clothespins—I keep them in a basket where they stay clean and dry, while my mother-in-law leaves them on the line regardless of the weather.

My mom sorts clothes carefully according to the care directions on the tag (you know, like that picture going around on Pinterest). I throw them in baskets based upon colors and fabric weights, and use cold water for at least one load per washing day if necessary. (And don’t tell my mom, but if there’s just a bit of laundry—which is rare these days—and none of it is too dark or light, I throw it all in one warm-cold load!)

Clotheslines, sun-dried sheets—there’s something beautiful and even romantic about it all to me. Maybe it’s because I didn’t grow up with a clothesline. Maybe it’s because I love the peaceful, quiet moments hanging clothes out on the line.

I never tire of taking pictures of clothes on the line. But I had extra fun compiling laundry photos, stories, and quotables for “Laundry Week” on my blog in September 2012 (much like “Apron Week” I hosted the previous year). I asked some of my friends who love (and hate) clotheslines to guest post about their own laundry habits, methods, and delights.

Laundry Week

More Laundry

sun-bleached diapers

On sunny days, I try to hang the diapers outside to dry…they get sun-bleached and smell so good when they come off the line. -Jessica Telian in “The obligatory cloth diaper post”

something about hanging out the laundry…

There’s something about hanging out the laundry that makes it all right in my world once again. Maybe it’s the wind in my hair. Or the sheets flapping in the breeze. Maybe it’s the sense of accomplishment, four baskets of clothes hung neatly on the line. And the even greater satisfaction of a job well…

Hanging Out the Washing

Ah, springtime… Geese flying, calling across the morning sky; brighter sunshine; longer days; balmy winds; mud underfoot; little rivers running down, down, down, carrying winter away with them. Two days ago, I was walking across the pasture bareheaded, my two small boys tagging along and my baby on my back, watching the creek run. That…

clotheslines

I love hanging laundry up on a line to dry. For the extra time it might take, standing out there in the open air, feeling the breeze on your face and hearing the birds sing is definitely worth it in my book! Besides, can anything beat the fresh smell of line-dried laundry? –Chantel Brankshire in…

new country, same laundry

a guest post by Jennifer (Pinkerton) van Leeuwen Monday came fast. We’d arrived to the new “home” on a Friday after two weeks trekking across the country and into Canada on a honeymoon road trip. The occasional hotel laundry room had provided unique bonding experiences along the way (“John! Why did you put my white…

a case of clean laundry ocd

a guest post by Chantel Brankshire I have this thing for laundry. I’ve been doing laundry as my “main thing” since I was a girl at home. Sometimes I enjoy it more, and sometimes less. But it is always one of those things that feels homemakerishly good at the end of the day. I enjoy…

washing my day

It seems like laundry day always falls on a day full of so many other to-do’s. And the toys are a mess and the dishes need doing but if the laundry doesn’t get hung out in the morning it won’t be dry by dark on these short autumn days.

But isn’t it when we’re dirtiest that we’re most in need of washing?

Little Laundry

When they are tiny, the ride in the laundry basket is the highlight of the day. And the weight of them, the brush of their fingers? Memories to cherish. They will outgrow the basket and you will be left with a running wild-man that won’t hold still for a split-second kiss, let alone a ride…

Airing Our Clean & Dirty Laundry {Link-Up}

There’s something so beautiful about it. Hung all in a row on the line to dry. In colorful mounds waiting to be sorted or neatly stacked and folded piles. Clean or dirty, I love looking at other people’s laundry! And it’s always fascinating to read about their laundry methods—find out if they turn the clothes…

laundry around the globe

I asked a few friends from around the globe to give us a glimpse of what laundry looks like in their corner of the world… Washboard in Belize “This is one of my favorite pictures from our travels. We were visiting our godchildren in Belize, and Phoebe wanted to help with the laundry. Prior to…

mommy’s helpers

It may be true that many hands make light work but little hands in the laundry make for dark socks in the light loads and clothespins scattered everywhere.

How “green” is your laundry?

a guest post by Kristy I remember the first time I stumbled upon a recipe for homemade laundry detergent: I was dumbfounded. Make your own laundry detergent? You’ve got to be kidding! Who even knew it was possible? As outlandish at the idea seemed to my twenty-first century-woman brain, it was the savings that convinced…

The Clothesline by Irene Rawlings

…is a book I would leave on my coffee table all the year round—if I didn’t have three little children who would remove the dustcover in a heartbeat. I love the quotes and sayings and stories it contains. It’s like Laundry Week, in a book. And I know that if you love doing laundry, you’ll love this book.