Hanging clothes out to dry

Sometimes I wish I could walk outside in February in shorts and t-shirt and feel the warmth of the sun. But living in Michigan has put the kaput on that. But I wouldn't trade my four seasoned state for constant warmth. But when I say it like that...No I'm sticking around. Who am I kidding! Nothing compares to spring and fall :)

Anyways, that has very little to do with what I'm actually posting about. This week I'm writing about how we save money with our laundry. Today I'm telling the tale of our drying system. We currently have a washer and dryer, but I haven't used the dryer since January 20th!! Whoot Whoot! During the warm months it's easy. Just hang your clothes outside, but when it's sub-freezing and your underwear would freeze long before it would dry, you have to take other steps. So what I've done is hung some string from the beams in our basement and hang our clothes up down there. Our basement is unfinished so I can stick nails where I want. If you have a finished basement, or a tiny home you can invest in a drying rack. My set-up works ideal because there is an open vent that blows on the clothes when the heat is on. It takes most of a day to dry one load. This probably has a lot to do with the temperature in which we keep our home. We let it drop to 55 when we aren't home and 62 when we are.

There are two reasons why I started hanging my clothes up in the winter.

First, it saves money. For a price explanation click here. They estimate that the average electric dryer costs 30-40 cents per load. If I did 100 loads a year, I'm looking at ~$35. That doesn't sound like much, but I believe every dollar counts. That's $35 I could spend on a vacation or a steak dinner. Money adds up!!

Second, it saves energy. You've probably heard it before, but we do not live on a planet with unending resources. I don't know all the details of how many resources it takes for me to dry a load of laundry, but I do know that it is a step in the right direction.

Hanging your clothes up in your home to dry during winter months may not be for you. And that's okay. But just know that it isn't that bad :)