Oh my bloggy friends, it is SO good to be back.
***Update - The Bloggy Button is here!! Steal away!***
While I am still busy finishing up my young adult literature class and still working away on a new writing project, that crunch time feeling is less so, and so my bloggy break has come to an end!
Well, for all those of you who have been waiting on(clothes)pins and needles, today I am announcing the start of Gift of Green's Clothesline Challenge 2008!! One of my oldest and dearest friends, Sue, has designed an adorable bloggy button for your site - as soon as I can figure out how to bleepin' resize it I will add it to my sidebar for you to steal.
The Clothesline Challenge will run for three months: May, June and July. And your attention please! Your clothesline need not be a traditional line hung between posts in your backyard! You may use your shower curtain rod, your banister, your apartment balcony.
There are three Line Levels: Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced. Chose your Line Level based on what you think you can accomplish over the next three months.
Novice: Using a clothesline (or clothesline-related product) gives you the chills. You have bad memories of a towel burn you got from a crunchy sun-dried towel. You'll give it a try, pledging to dry 10% of your wet laundry (1 item out of ten per load or one load per ten loads) on a clothesline or CRP.
Intermediate: You've been itching to formalize your clothesline (or CRP) and here's your chance. You want to rig up a better system, whatever that may be, and see how much you can save on your energy bills by cutting out the dryer. You pledge to dry 50% (5 out of ten items per load or 5 loads out of ten loads) for the duration on a clotheslines or CRP.
Advanced: Crunchy towels don't scare you! In fact, bring them on! Crunch builds character! In fact, you are running out of space to hang all of your fine and not-so-fine washables. You pledge to dry 90% (9 out of ten items per load or 9 loads out of 10 loads) for the duration on a clothesline or CRP.
To sign up for the challenge, leave a comment stating your Line Level and the type(s) of clothesline(s) you have (just out of pure curiosity on my part). I will post a list of participants on my sidebar linking to your blog (or just your first name and state - whatever you prefer).
Caveats? Can't think of any at the moment. There will be some fun clothesline-related giveaways and lots of links to help you on your non-dryer journey. Stay tuned for more posts related to Gift of Green's Clothesline Challenge 2008!!
Thanks for visiting! It's so nice to hear from you again!
50 comments:
Well, you didn't think I would leave you hanging (so to speak) about my clothesline usage, did you. My line level is Advanced (gulp!) which is, I admit, a bit of stretch for me. I am probably at 50% the last couple of weeks. The problem is the rain (which I am grateful for) has been most abundant - so I will need to work a little on my outdoor clothesline alternatives. We have a simple retractable clothesline hung between two posts in our backyard.
I'd like to join, but I'll have to be a Novice. It's been very rainy here and I did have a bad crunchy towel experience. But I have a regular clothesline, though saggy and a little rusty, that came with my new house, and I can't complain about the energy savings...
Hmm...I think I will shoot for Intermediate. We are already Novices b/c we hang our work clothes to dry--especially my husband's. All the little baby clothes though...I'm not sure I have the strength to hang up all those weensy clothes...And I'm not prepared to hang out my bloomers, which are definitely nowhere near "weensy"...more like voluminous!
We're not allowed to hang things out on our porch, though we cheat sometimes. We have a drying rack, our shower rod and our stair banister. Will that do?
Also, these sites have clotheslines of all types for sale:
http://www.stacksandstacks.com/shop/view-all.html?productId=75
http://www.clotheslineshop.com
WELCOME BACK!
I am in sign me up for intermediate. I have had crunchy towels in the past - but I am not afraid...and I love the savings!!!
This is my very first laundry line and I am super excited.
I meant to add - that if you need help resizing your challenge blog button let me know! I'd be happy to help you out.
Total novice - as in I HAVE THOSE BAD MEMORIES! My father's family lived in Mississippi and my Aunt hung her laundry out almost always. She also ironed her sheets. But I have a line, so maybe.
I will go for intermediate. I will be pushing hard for that though, as I do lots of laundry! Mostly after kids go to bed, hmm that will have to change!
I'll give it a try, and go with intermediate. I have lots of crunchy towel memories from growing up, but also lots of good clothesline drying experiences too.
I've been waiting for this!! I will say I am intermediate, but I'll shoot for advanced. I live in Michigan.. there are about 4 sunny days a year. I will use my indoor clothes airer though, and I have lines hung in my basement I have been using for a few weeks now. It's really not that bad, it's just making sure I do a load a day so I have enough time for it to dry before I need the space and pins again.
I'm in at advanced. First couple of days of warmth over here this weekend and my laundry is being hung outside instead of inside - pure bliss, very satisfying too. Feeling lucky to have outside space to hang it in too. Welcome back Amy :)
I'm in. Advanced. Clotheslines rock!
I'm in, too. I'm embarrassed to say that my clothesline attempts have been minimal since I often do the laundry at night. I'll try washing at night and hanging in the morning. Just need a new routine, right? We are out of the rainy season, so I have no excuses. Thanks so much for motivating me and keeping us all green.
Welcome back!
Oops. Forgot to say my level. I'll commit to intermediate but will try for advanced. Oh heck, let's say advanced. Woo Hoo!
You can sign me up for this! This is the push I've needed to get drying outside. I'm going to get one of those collapsible clotheslines I can set up on my deck or, on rainy days, inside the house. Put me down as intermediate although I hope to dry more than 50%. I love the smell of towels dried outside, even if they are a little crunchy! It reminds me of summers growing up...
This is something I have always wanted to do, but was chicken. I will be a novice line hanger and aim for intermediate. Thanks for challenging me!
Sorry I don't have a blog....YET. Can I still play?
This is just what I need to get motivated this summer. We are intermediate. I grew up in a family of 7 and we always hung our clothes up to dry. When did I stop? I don't remember. In Japan almost everyone hangs all those clothes to dry all year round and they have the coolest outdoor clotheslines accessories.
Line level: Intermediate
I am moving from Bakersfield, CA (air quality is the 2nd worst in the nation...an "improvement" after being 1st for many years) to Golden, Colorado. (Move date, May 30.) I will have a house with a yard!!! :D I have a gas dryer here but I will need to use an electric one in Colorado.
I plan on using a simple, old-fashioned clothesline. I have fond memories of bed linens (and crunchy towels!) after my g'mother and I hung them to dry when I was young. They are so crisp and in the rocky mountain air, they will smell soooo good!
I can't wait to go a little greener AND reduce my electric bill, too!
Line Level = Intermediate
The line I have is a retractable cord (love it!) that I have wound around a tree across the yard and back again - works great, but I love the challenge of "having" to hang out more than just my cloth diapers and sheets, so bring it on!
Good thing you include CRPs - we use a drying rack in the basement, plus two clotheslines in the basement, so I'm at an Intermediate level - because we do dry some things (I hate crunchy towels!) I would love to get an outside clothesline - I love the smell of clothes dried outside - but I need DH's assistance with that project and he's not sold on the idea!
I just realized that the acronym for clotheline-related product (CRP) sounds an awful lot like cr*p. Aw cr*p.
I have to be novice, living in an apartment (so shower curtain city for me) but I'll try, and hey... I don't DO a lot of laundry so... does that count? ;)
Hi, I'm a stranger here...Put me down as advanced, please; I am shooting for 100% line drying this summer. We stretch two lines between the house and the posts on our deck. Inside, when the weather is poor, we hang hangers off the kids' bunkbeds. Thanks for getting people motivated to line dry!
What a great challenge!! My first post here - found out about it over at mom go green. Sign me up for Advanced; we love line drying our clothes. I set the machine to wash at night while we sleep and I hang the clothes in the morning. We use an umbrella-style line outside or a collapsing rack inside.
I'm actually not a huge fan of crunchy towels, but I love the smell of line-dried clothes. mmm...
Funny that I stumbled on this post. My husband is currently installing a clothesline in our backyard. We've been doing the 'hang 'em on the deck' for a while now and have already seen the energy savings. I grew up with a dryer so the crunchy towels were a surprise. But, I'm up for Advanced!! I've noticed that it doesn't take but about 40mins to an hour here in Texas to get things dry, so we should be able to get several loads a day, but I'll still be breaking open that beer like Renee!
Okay, I am in for the Advanced. I have been drying the majority of our goods on the pipes in the basement. The only thing left is the towels...I will have to suffer through the scratchies :) However, I hope to have a line up outside since the weather here in Mich. is getting warmer now. Hopefully, flapping in the breeze will help the towels a little bit.
I'd say I'm between novice and intermediate; I dry lots of things inside (mainly to prevent them from shrinking!) but I am hanging all of our jeans, towels, sheets, tees and blankets outside now. I would LOVE to have more outside space to hang things, but I'll also work on what I hang up to dry inside. However, I can't stand crunchy towels, so they will be dried for a few minutes after being line dried!
I'm so excited about this! I called my blog "the clothesline" in part because I found hanging my clothes up to dry the EASIEST way to be green. I live in Colorado, which has at least 300 sunny days a year. I've been hanging all my clothes out to dry since last year, and I don't mind crunchy towels, so I'll say I'm "advanced."
I'm in! Put me down for advanced! I actually love scratchy towels, and crunchy jeans!
Thanks for the challenge!
I'm in! I just came over from Jenny Rough's EatWasaFeelGood blog. I'm beyond advanced - I'm EXPERT! I dry 100% of my clothes outside in the warmer months. A little fabric softener to avoid crunchiness and I'm good! It's the end of May, so I'll be participating June, July, August. Great idea! I'm adding the button today.
~Amalia~
So I'm late. I didn't even now about this until reading about it on Lola's blog today. You can put me down for advanced. We live way out in the boondocks where only the cows will see our unmentionables. I have six daughters who all love to help do laundry especially when we hang clothes out on the line to dry.
Count me in, Advanced. This will be a breeze, hehehehe, pun intended. I'm lame, huh?
I will make at least 95% of my clothes line dried, easily. I dry diapers about once a month, that's about it.
I'd like to join as a novice for June. Our umbrella style clothes line is on it's way, so I may not be able to start drying outside until mid June, but can still hang clothes inside until then.
I'd have to say I'm probably a Novice but will strive for somewhere between Intermediate and Advanced for this challenge. I just used a wooden clothes drying rack and when that fills up, the chairs, doors, towel racks, shower curtain rods--pretty much whatever else I can! I will also use this time to try to get another recycled wooden clothes drying rack. On the plus side, we have no A/C and I heard letting your clothes dry inside will help to cool down the inside air. Hope it helps for the warm summer nights!
I love this and I finally have a functional clothes line. I got my husband to set it up and I have not dried any laundry in the dryer since I've had it. I'm going to commit to intermediate HOWEVER I'm striving for advanced. I'll add my button tomorrow.
Oh and my clothes line is a pulley type. I'd love to have a second line and may work on that but for now just one. I'll be posting a picture in my post announcing the challenge on my blog. Yay! I'm so excited that I can finally enter. Better late than never, right?!
Intermediate, stretching for advanced. We have a line in the basement with a folding wooden drying rack; outside another line. Now that the weather in Portland is improving, it will be easier!
I have a pulley and a rack thinger. I've only used my dryer four times in the last three months and I am cloth diapering my babe and potty training my toddler, so I do A LOT of laundry.
I'm Advanced (and stoked to be).
http://mybloggylife.wordpress.com
I'm a teen and my mom does most of the laundry but I will try to do 1 item in 10 of what I do...so novice
~Green Teen
I'm in! Advanced. I use a retractable clothesline and a drying rack. Just what I needed to get back on board.
Very Neat. I would say I am advanced. I dry about 95% of my clothes on the line now that the snow is gone. I do not like the feel of the crunchy towels, so at least one of the towels I wash goes in the dryer for me, but thats it. Everything else is line dried :)
Hmmm...this is something I would like to try - but I am afraid of spiders. And almost every load of laundry I hang out comes in with at least one spider. So I like to tumble my line-dried clothes in the dryer for a couple of minutes to ensure said spider is not hanging out in our clothes. Does this disqualify me? :)
better late than never. I used one backin the Uk for many many years, it was a whirlly one,now i have one in my back yard, and i use it for most things I guess i am an intermediate though, i stilllike my fluffy towels everynow and then.
Living in Australia, this is
hilarious! I grew up in the US
(thankfully left many years ago
and will never go back) but I'd
forgotten what it's like there.
Most people here still use
clotheslines. Call me ultra
Advanced.
Bought a house 12 years ago. Got an old washing maching for free. Never bought a dryer. Always use racks inside and line outside. I live in the southwest. So it's easy. I am definitely ADVANCED.
Hi!
I have been hanging clothes out since I was five and have always loved it! I am at 80-90%, because my mom doesn't like the crunchyness. My sister makes up for it most of the time because she has a lot of clothes. Our clothes line is the kind they put in with every house back in the fiftys (when everyone did it). It's a little rusty, but works fine! Here in NM we can almost do it all year. :)
Add me to the advanced list.
I dry everything outside or on dryer racks after turning off my dryer with Huricane Katrina. the kids think I am nuts, but they have learned the skill of drying outside or on racks.
It has taught them to plan ahead, as they can't suddenly wash and dry something and have it ready immediately, but it also makes them more aware of what time of the day is the most efficient use of our thermal hot water system, and how long will it take to dry things. It is a very weather related system, although freezing weather has not slowed us down here in the southwest. Dang if the frozen clothes don't dry in two hours by having the humidity sucked right out of them.
I drew up without a dryer so in the long run, this just isn't such a big deal. And my clothes last longer too.
I have no idea who you are, but my daughter has linked me to your blog. I am a life long Mega-Advanced and am currently suffering on my move to a new neighborhood. They do not embrace the clothesline in any way shape or form. Thankfully the line has been in the same place and used for almost 50 years, so they are unable to make me move it. And these people are unfamiliar with being told no. I'm afraid I am no longer welcome at any neighborhood functions until I remove my line...which will not happen. If I want to be their friend, the line must go. Oh, and they're all over 50, so don't think people change after high school.
So glad to hear their are others out there who see the common sense it using the free sun rather than paying for energy!
Another Advanced level here--pleasant memories of the fresh smell of clean laundry dried on the line! A good rinse cycle and good shake (snap?) when taken off the line helps the scratchies. We have clothesline posts shaded by a locust tree, two twisted-wire clothes lines, and one heavy gauge wire line scrounged from somewhere. With the recent rain, we just watch the skies and get loads done as we can. If necessary we hang them up in the bathroom on the shower curtain or hangers. Been in this mode since February. Thanks to everyone for saving the planet!
Wow, I'm way too late for this challenge, but guess what one of the first things I blogged about was, before I heard of your site? You've got it - I set myself a challenge to air dry laundry. It looks like I'm an Intermediate.
Post a Comment