While the task of doing laundry is definitely a repetitive one, a line of washing flapping away in the breeze, spinning around on our hills hoist in the sunshine does in fact make my heart sing. Come the cooler weather however, the task of actually drying anything becomes near on impossible and our living room soon resembles a laundromat. Chairs are lined up in front of our heater and anything laundry related becomes a stress.
Several times recently, I've hung out a load and popped out to run an errand, only to return home and discover an almost-dry line of laundry, now saturated after a downpour. With the air much chillier here lately and with showers of rain occurring on and off, the line strung up under our patio just hasn’t been cutting it as a 'wet weather option'. Not only do I struggle to hang up more than ten items of washing with the space available, everything seems to stay damp.
We've toyed with the idea of getting a dryer. Part of me loves the idea, dreaming already of being able to efficiently dry load after load and managing to keep up with the weekly washing with ease. However a bigger part of me wonders whether such a purchase is justifiable when it will only be used for a few months of the year and when we don’t really have the room for such a large appliance. I also hate the idea of buying such an energy guzzling appliance which seems so ‘unnatural’ in comparison to the alternative of drying washing in the sunshine which I really don't think can be beaten.
I’d love to know your thoughts…
Are you able to dry your washing easily in the climate where you live? What are your tips for surviving the wet, wintery months when it comes to your laundry chores?
We didn't have one.. but last year with the prospect of all those baby clothes and going through yet another winter with washing hanging all over the place we went and brought (a fairly cheap) one. And it is great for those few weeks out of the year that we really need it.. I try not to use it anymore than I need too. But I think it's just packed it in in the last week, it's not heating up anymore so I need to get it fixed. Annoying!
ReplyDeleteWe are having the exact same discussion in our house at the moment! I have an out of control laundry situation going on now the rain has arrived. I've decided to go ahead with getting one and use it only in the winter months. Maninly for towels and bed linen which seems to go to the back of the pile to keep up with all the clothing. I will continue using a drying rack which I can keep under the wide eaves of the roof. For my sanity, I really do need one. xo
ReplyDeleteYes, towels and sheets are the hard ones! I find, if I slip behind at all and don't keep up with the washing, come a rainy day, things become so much harder to get on top of...
DeleteWe live in Timaru, NZ. So we get pretty cold winters. Nothing dries properly outside at this time of year. And I also find it comes in smelly from people's fires. So I hang our clothes on a clothes horse in the lounge overnight. Perfectly dry by morning, clothes get folded, clothes horse put away - done for the day. And we have a dryer for sheets and towels. It's out in the garage so doesn't take up inside space. Couldn't be without it I don't think. Andrea :-)
ReplyDeleteOur garage is the only real space for a dryer here too...
DeleteWe don't have one (or a clothes line at the moment!). I put everything on two clothes horses/racks and put those out on our covered deck. If it looks like it might be too cold to get anything dry, I just move them iside and put them over the heating vents. I'd be hesitant to get a dryer because of ther energy sapping ways, can't wait to get a clothes line though!
ReplyDeleteWe've always had one, and though I tried not to use it, it was very handy. When our dryer died recently though we decided not to replace it. We are using a clothes horse downstairs instead and hubby is going to string up some lines under the back deck so I can even hang out sheets in inclement weather. So far, so good. Even after a rainy, overcast week and an exclusively cloth nappied babe. We shall see long term though. I'd rather not invest in another one and I'd rather a bigger credit from our solar panels. :)
ReplyDeleteYou are right, nothing can beat sunshine and breezes drying your clothes.
ReplyDeleteWe used to live in a newish (tiny) apartment in an area where all new apartments had to be supplied with a dryer by the builder, as part of council policy ... so although there were days where the entire apartment seemed to be clogged up with washing on clothes horses, there were also times when the dryer just seemed so much more convenient.
These days we are in a house and when we moved in, I knew I wanted a dryer. With the third baby on its way, I couldn't imagine life without a dryer – especially for the bulkier items like towels which seem to take forever to dry in wet weather.
we do have a dryer -- but we hardly ever use it. as a child our house never had the luxury of a dryer, so i think i've mentally just accustomed myself to not using one. our dryer really only serves a purpose of drying heavy loads like towels or sheets when it's really wet and stormy (and there's no way it's going to dry out on the line.)
ReplyDeleteour house in winter (and for the last few weeks) always looks like a chinese laundry...luke just commented on that last night. i probably could put the clothes horses outside under our covered pergola area, but like you, find if i leave them too late in the afternoon/evening they seem like they're damp and that bothers me!
so would i recommend getting one? i'd have to say yes -- because while it is an expense & it takes up room...just having the *option* of being able to dry if you need to (think of those heavy grobags that you want dried before night time rolls around!)...is comforting. :)
Sleep suits were always SO hard to dry in winter... I always bought a second spare for that reason. I've never grown up with a dryer either so I haven't exactly missed one... it's just that the idea of one seems appealing...
DeleteI have a relatively cheap one for 'emergencies' and with three kids sometimes I just need some things asap. We don't use it a lot really. In the cooler/rainier months I use portable clothes dryers inside the house. Ikea have them at reasonable prices. I have two of them and if the air is dry will put them out on our undercover back deck, otherwise I bring them into our living area to take advantage of the heating inside. They dry relatively quickly inside.
ReplyDeleteI try for a happy medium. I air dry the best I can during Winter, with an under cover line on our deck, and a fold away airer in the house. I do, however pop them in the dryer for ten minutes to take that Winter chill and damp away at the end. I feel comfortable with this and the dryer is wonderful to have as an emergency back up when there are beds wet (we have a three year old!!) etc. xx
ReplyDeleteIt's a clothes rack indoors and lines strung up under our patio for me too... however, a quick burst of a dryer to take the chill off clothes would be lovely :)
DeleteI live in one of the rainiest parts of Victoria - I am lucky if I can get washing dry during on the line during summer!
ReplyDeleteI use our dryer a fair bit, but in my defence I try to use the clothes rack for the bigger things and just shove all the small things in the dryer. It's dark when I leave home, and dark when I return, so I rarely see our clothes line!
I'll be honest, I've been over-using my dryer lately!
ReplyDeleteWe didn't have one for about 2 years, and I coped with getting everything clean and dry but it did mean a few trips to the local Laundromat {with kids in tow} during the constant-rainy weeks. Chris bought us a new dryer last year during a rainy period and i LOVE it....especially in this cold, rainy weather we're having here in QLD.
I am able to wash & dry all towels and bedding within 2 hours, making life a lot easier. Especially when kids are sick and bedding has been wee'ed on, spewed on or sweated on and I need to wash more than normal.
Lately, I have been putting a load on at dinner time and then putting it in the dryer when we go to bed, so it does it's magic throughout the night. Then I can wake up to clean/dry clothes and can fold them on return from the morning school drop off. Works for us. But has left me a little lazy and not using the clothes line as much lately.
xxx
Having a dryer means that you can use your line in winter still but bring in the clothes a bit earlier and take off the final dampness in the dryer..the best of both worlds...enabling them to be folded and put away before dinner leaving the lounge space to relax in without being reminded about the days laundry still to be finished off.
ReplyDeleteThat final dampness is what drives me crazy!! If I leave anything on the line later than 3.30, it feels cold :)
DeleteNever used one in Perth but here...different story
ReplyDeleteThis week we've got two doing swimming every week, a little one wetting the bed occasionally and non stop rain
Loving it this week!!
(although for 9 months a year it sits in the garage not being used)
We have a wall-mounted drier above the front loading washing machine in a cupboard so minimal space is used.
ReplyDeleteA drier is probably a luxury here in Sydney but on cold and wet days, getting sheets and towels dry is sometimes impossible so I tend to hang items outside on a rack first before bringing them in overnight to dry a bit more. Finally I give them a quick run in the drier to dry them properly and to fluff up the towels.
I'm not good at ironing so have been known to put things in the drier for a quick 'fluff' before wearing!
No wall space in our already tiny laundry unfortunately due to a large window... our garage would be the only real space for a dryer. Fluffy towels sound nice... mine are always so crunchy :)
DeleteHi Amanda, I have to say get the dryer! You won't remember how you did without it. You just never can tell when it's going to rain here in Auckland and even when it doesn't the washing just hangs damp all day. Airers are only good for one small load, and they're just too tempting a "play tent" for the kids! They can hang on the wall so if you're short on space just take down a linen cupboard (you won't need so much of that now that you can wash and dry it in a couple of hours) and put a dryer in its place! We just had a tummy bug in the house a few weeks ago, and in the space of 24hrs I had to wash a car seat cover, two full sets of bed linen, and blankets for both the cot and single bed, and clothes/pyjamas for two littlies. Without the dryer I wouldn't have been able to put them back into a freshly made bed.
ReplyDeleteI never had a dryer until I moved into this house. I get no sun on my clothesline during winter and I had to surrender. It's a last resort though. I place 2 airers out in the sun or in front of the heater. If it's cold enough to need the heater on, I do a load of washing so I can warm the room and dry clothes at the same time. I don't like looking at the washing indoors (too much of a neat freak!) but I prefer that to the guilt that surfaces when I use the dryer. Lol :)
ReplyDeleteFortunately I have a front loader and the dryer sits on top of it in my tiny laundry. Despite seldom use, I'd be stuck without it. I'm sure there's relatively energy efficient dryers available now.
I doubt it would be a purchase you'd regret xx
I love our dryer for those times when the rainy weather is relentless and I can't get things dry, oh and when our towels need a freshen up too during the cold weather we've been having. I only use it for those couple of things as I much rather hanging things on the line, I love the crisp feel of a towel dried on the line much better. They are convenient to have though for those just in case moments I find. xx
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