Sun-dried Clothes

The other day I posted on Facebook that I'd dried bedsheets on my clothesline and they would smell like sunshine. Someone asked what sunshine smells like. Hummmm. Well, it is not an easy fragrance to describe. It smells like heat but not the heat from a woodfire or from a hot coil in a space heater. It's the heat from the sun. It does not last long. By the second night of sleeping on sun-dried sheets, the scent is gone. This fragrance cannot be captured in any bottle no matter what the makers of detergent and fabric softener say.

I went through a brief period of using these products but the perfumey odors assaulted my nose. I figured that was not a good thing so I went to unscented soaps and gave up softener except for cleaning paintbrushes. There are times when I have to use a clothes dryer but I'd rather use the clothesline. A few years back I read an article about how clothes dryers literally erode clothing. Every spin breads down the fibers and eats away at the integrity of the fabric. Clotheslines are not only cheaper to use but clothing lasts longer.

But using a clothesline takes time: time to hang out the clothing, run out to grab them off the line if a rain shower springs up, take them in before evening when rising humidity makes them feel damp again. Some people complain that sun-dried clothes, especially towels, are stiff. Use the dryer for a few minutes to 'relax' the wrinkles before hanging out the clothes and that takes care of the stiff-as-a-board problem.

As a child, I used to hide in the clothes hanging on the line never realizing that my mother could clearly see my legs and feet and knew exactly where I was. She didn't like me dong this because sometimes I pulled the sheets loose from the line so they fell on the ground. Few people use a clothesline today but young children probably still hide in clothing racks in stores. It drives parents crazy.

Besides the cost of the clothesline - less than $100 or build your own for less - the sun is free.