SAVE $300 With a Clothesline

What would you do with an extra $300 a year? Pay off some debt? Invest it? Save it for a rainy day? We show you how simply using a clothesline has saved us over $300 a year in electricity. We also go over the pros and cons of using a clothesline and tell you how to build one.

If you have some tips or questions on using a clothesline or how to save money with a clothesline, please be sure to leave them in the comment section below or feel free to do your own video and link to us. We encourage community and want to provide access to a variety of information so viewers can make their own informed decisions about the topics we cover.

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Thanks for watching!

Jaime and Jeremy

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Established in 2015 and now nestled in the foothills of North Carolina, Guildbrook Farm is a modern mountain homestead in pursuit of developing a more self sustainable way of life. From planting, growing, canning and preserving our own food to managing our forests and land resources, our life long journey demonstrates preparedness, DIY projects, strategies and ideas that you can practice to help increase your own self sufficiency and balance with the land. Follow along as we continue to develop a little homestead in the mountains of Appalachia.

[rough-hewnhomestead]

I LOVE my clothesline!  I learned to hang things for the least wrinkles lie pants being hung from the bottom of the legs (waist down), for example.  Stains on whites are often bleached out by the sun and clothes are sanitized when hung in strong sunlight.  Great video!

[sharonwilson]

Enjoyed this video. My hubby built me one just like this year's ago... Can't kill it! For the folks that don't care for the stiffness that comes with line drying, a compromise is to put them in the dryer for ten minutes or less on the "air fluff" cycle. It will soften them, using minimal energy, without heating up your home. Make it a Fun Day ~ Sharon~

[dorotheep.]

Good call! I've used a clothesline for decades. It's extremely pleasant, because you always hang out clothes on nice days! It relaxes me, I get fresh air, you don't have to listen for a buzzer to go off - just check back later. When I take clothes down, I pre-fold the item and lay it in the basket ready to put away. Always shake out or snap the clothes before you hang an item so you get a min of wrinkles, and use 2 pins per item to spread it out to the breeze. You can use fewer pins by overlapping washcloth corners, towel & pillowcase corners. Hang woven shirts by the collar points, t-shirts by the bottom hem. To avoid stretching, pin closer to the center than at the edge. Most knit tops should be laid over the line with a pin to secure it or they'll stretch pretty bad... Heavy items like quilts get laid over a fence, away from trees, and flipped after the top dries. I'm on my 3rd house, and everywhere I bought, I was the only one to hang clothes out, but by the second year, other neighbors were doing it too. When winter comes, I hang in the basement - it adds moisture to the whole house and makes the basement smell good until the clothes are dry.

[kan-zee]

1:00 Jeremy is a good man...his homestead builds are always inspirational...he got me inspired to build homestead stuff again, with proper tools and stop buying stuff.LOL
1:46 One tip is get yourself a waist pouch/ roly poly pouch, for easy access to your clothpins, ..we can't bend over as well these days..LOL

[heritagehousewife]

I hang laundry on the line, starting as soon as I can in the spring! I hate when I have to use the dryer! I've never tried in the winter, might have to do that!

[cherylcoder]

Another "pro" for not using a dryer is that clothes seem to last longer. I love using a clothesline for the fresh smell, savings, and I enjoy a break in the day to stop and hang the clothes and be outdoors.

[vidareich]

I just restarted hanging clothes outside several weeks ago ago(first time in 38 years) after finally getting my husband to put up an umbrella line(works really well for us). I am a grandma now & retired from outside work so I finally thought, why not. I find it fun to do (shows how exciting a life I have). We live in N. AL so have had a lot of rain so I'm picking what days to wash- not ever going back to ringer wash like my mom. I washed cloth diapers & hung them out for first two children. Didn't think it was fun then.

[tammybradshaw]

I use to have a clothes line strung in the basement of our old house, it worked well. Not an option in the "new" old house so I purchased a clothes rack from Ikea that paid for itself rather quickly. I use that along with an old fashion dryer rack that is hung on the wall for the winter. If I need to I can always hang clothes in the shower also.

[abradarby]

I live in an apartment with a family of 6 and have a laundry facility that cost $1.50 to dry one load. I was spending about $36 a month that's $432 a year just to dry our clothes. We are on a tight budget now so I went and bought 2 drying racks that have paid for them selves 6 time over now. If it's a nice day I put them out on the balcony, otherwise they are inside. It took some getting used to but I enjoy the process now. I really enjoy your videos Thank you!

[KaleidoscopeJunkie]

Been using a line for 20+ years.
Sunshine is good !!! The UV sterilization kills bacteria and that's why the clothes smell so good.
Those posts are beautiful. Nothing like aesthetically pleasing to make the chore more palatable.

[ajammes]

For folks with a smaller yard there are collapsable umbrella style clotheslines. I have one that works great for me. I can fit an entire large load on it. Sheets are a little harder but still possible. Mine is set in a large flower pot filled with cement.

[mngardner]

We grew up using the clothesline for drying all of the clothes, sheets, blankets, rugs and for making tents outside!  My dad (92 yrs old) still uses it during the warmer months of the year. It's the same one that has been up for at least 50+ years. I still have one, though I don't use it as much as I should.  I came from a very large family, and chickens. Everyone pitched in with the chores (inside and out), canned everything, made most food from scratch, mom made most of our clothes, etc...But we all had plenty to eat, plenty of clothes, fun times and we did not lack for anything!  We all grew up knowing how to work hard but also how to have fun. Sure miss those days!

[utbsks]

I also use a clothesline but during the winter I hang clothes on heavy plastic hangars throughout the house. Works great to dry the clothes and also keeps the house humidified. The hangers that come from the stores with the swivel top hooks are great for hanging things over the top of doors, on door handles etc. My mom hung clothes in the basement in the winter as she only had a wringer washer and no dryer. Thanks for sharing that with folks Jamie.

[diyfferent]

That's a nice looking clothesline you have. We love using a clothesline. Ours is an Amish pulley clothesline with a metal cable. I find hanging clothes out to be kind of relaxing and peaceful. I grew up without a dryer and we always hung our clothes outside or inside by the wood stove. You're right, clothes hung outside to dry smell fabulous.

[latonyaheaton]

Love this, been hanging our clothes forever it feels like, but only 25 years actually. The clothes last longer and don't shrink from the dryer.

[tanikokishimoto]

Thanks for the thought about keeping clothing from being bleached out by the sun. I've been drying my clothing (indoors in the winter or during rain), and outside hanging these things off of hangers under trees. Well... my cats destroyed the dryer vent outlets on several occasions, so I adapted since I got tired of replacing... Undergarments on something to put up indoors. Anyhow... I will say that if there's a bit of breeze, in my experience outdoor drying clothing never got stiff, and smells wonderfully like the great outdoors! I like Jeremy's suggestion to build this, for my future home! Thanks!

[CupcakeBaker]

Clothes lines are standard in the UK. We only really use dryers in winter...sometimes not even then. I've always loved your clothesline, thanks for sharing how to make it xxx

[cynthiabrennemann]

We put a canopy over our clothesline. Yes, it does tend to make it take longer to dry, BUT, it makes it useable year round, especially since the canopy can be enclosed completely during the winter.

[phototristan]

And in the winter you can even do this indoors with foldable wood racks.

[BobEMoto]

Polyester cord stretches the least. Quarter inch should be okay over 25 feet. Nylon stretches more, but with the advantage that it shouldn't stain (when rubbed polyester can leave a dark stain). Classic cotton covered cord is okay (and probably cheapest) if tightened fully.
A truckers hitch, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trucker%27s_hitch, for the final connection will tighten the line without a separate device. Using this on each individual line will provide tighter lines.