Clothesline Memories / myLot

Pensacola, Florida

July 21, 2020 4:00pm CST

Many of us out there over the age of about 50 (some younger) probably remember during our growing up days of hanging clothes to dry on a clothes line. It was one of my chores growing up and remember the fresh smell of the clothes when I took the down to bring them in to put away. I also remembered that in summer I had o keep a close eye on the sky especially in the summer for the pop up showers so I could run outside with mother's help and ge the clothes off the line so that what was dry or near dry didn't get wet from the rain and hen once the shower had passed hang them up again to finish drying. Then there was winter when here were days we couldn't hang clothes up outside due to rain and had to dry necessary pieces on clothes line we had over our gas space heater. So thankful for the dryer these days, but do at times hang my sheets across the side yard fence to dry to enjoy the smell of going to bed on sun dried sheets. (Feel sorry for the areas where the neighbor hood association rules don't allow clothes lines because they say it is ugly to see. Bu I say o them there is beauty in seeing clothes on a clothes line flapping in the breeze and saving energy.

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19 responses

Jeff Moffitt

@moffittjc (128835)

• Gainesville, Florida

27 Jul 20

More and more people these days are shunning the dryer to return to hanging clothes out on a line to dry as they make a conscious effort to use less electricity. I try to air dry my clothes as much as possible when I can. Plus, like you said, they smell so much better!

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Mary Guice

@Elizaby (6902)

• Pensacola, Florida

28 Jul 20

I feel for those who don't have a choice that live in a neighbor association that don't allow clothes lines and have other rules you have to follow (like that commercial where the head of one home owners association is cutting down hanging plants and even a mail box for being two inches over regulation and the couple glad they got that insurance)

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Jeff Moffitt

@moffittjc (128835)

• Gainesville, Florida

28 Jul 20

@Elizaby I used to live in one of those neighborhoods that had an overzealous HOA like that. I'll never live in a place like that again. They wouldn't even let residents fly an American flag.

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Mary Guice

@Elizaby (6902)

• Pensacola, Florida

29 Jul 20

@moffittjc I don't plan on living in an areawhere there is a home owner assoication because there will be a fee for living in that neighborhood besides all the rules to live there

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Thelma

@thelme55 (79323)

• Germany

21 Jul 20

That is also one of my good memories. The awesome smell of the fresh washed hang clothes.

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Mary Guice

@Elizaby (6902)

• Pensacola, Florida

22 Jul 20

Mine too.

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sweet as honey

@sweetashoney (3597)

• United States

22 Jul 20

Oh yea, I remember having to hang out clothes. We used a wringer wash machine and that's what you did on the weekend. I do say your clothes was a lot cleaner use those machines, because you could wash them for as long as you wanted to. The clothes lines we had was about 50 feet and had 4 or 5 lines hooked to each pole. All the lines stayed full. I didn't mind washing clothes and hanging them up in the summer time, but I sure hated it in the winter. This was way back before most people had dryers. I remember the first dryer I ever owned, when my husband bought it he told me " I only want you to use it when it is raining" About a month or so later, he said " It must have rained everyday since you got it, because you haven't hung out clothes sinse." lol

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Jabo

@jaboUK (64346)

• United Kingdom

22 Jul 20

This is not just a memory for me, it's normal practice. I don't even possess a dryer.

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Marie

@Tampa_girl7 (54715)

• United States

22 Jul 20

I have memories also of our clothesline and helping my mama.

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Valerie J. Routhieaux

@just4him (323168)

• Green Bay, Wisconsin

24 Jul 20

It's rare to see clotheslines today. I remember them well as a kid.

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Belle Starr (Iz)

@BelleStarr (61463)

• United States

25 Jul 20

We can have one of the umbrella types at our florida home here and at the cottage we have no HOA

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Juliaacv

@Juliaacv (56207)

• Canada

22 Jul 20

I still will hang a few things out today. I no longer have a clothes line, so they are draped across patio furniture. The smell of freshly sun-dried quilts and bedding is so nice. I have a pole that we have hanger on it in the laundry room that I will hang certain items on that should not be dried.

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Marlina

@marlina (154103)

• Canada

21 Jul 20

We used a clothes line when I was a kid, I love the fresh smell of the bedding that dried in the sun,

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DianneN

@DianneN (254926)

• United States

25 Jul 20

My parents had a clothes dryer. I tried hanging clothes on the line when we had young children, but I found bugs in the sheets and wound up with stiff towels. Here. our town won't allow clotheslines, as you said, because it is ugly to see. I live in an upscale town. I use my dryer or a mini clothesline in my laundry room for things that can't go in the dryer.

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Dena Miller

@Dena91 (17039)

• United States

22 Jul 20

I still hang ours out weather permitting

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Felicia Kane

@DesirousDreamer (34776)

• Peoria, Arizona

21 Jul 20

We still use a close line. Dryers run up the electric bill like crazy. We hang out black clothing inside so they don't fade and then our house smells so nice!

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