Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Airing My Laundry


So, Buncombe County, where I live, is running out of gas, thanks to Ike. And bureaucracy. I haven't gone out much in the past few days, which is great when one is working on writing a series of books!
In recognition of the gas crunch, and my own dependence on fossil fuels, I've decided to, in the true spirit of "small measures", take back the air! Literally. What that means is that I'm returning to line-drying my laundry. With 5 indoor cats and 2 dogs, it doesn't do much in the way of remove animal fur from freshly laundered items, but it sure does cut down on the electric use. Plus, it smells all mineral-y and sunshine encapsulated. Or something akin. Go ahead. Don't take my word for it. Air your formerly dirty laundry yourself!

4 comments:

Unknown said...

a great and timely post. i've been air drying much of our laundry (all pants, skirts and most shirts) for a couple years now. alas, my laundry just doesn't seem as charming as your gorgeous photo since my laundry ends up in the pantry and sometimes scattered to the kitchen table.

interesting tidbit from a sustainability nut: when you’re washing your laundry in hot water, 90% of the energy used goes to heat the water, while only 10% powers the machine itself. in most cases, washing clothes in cold water gets them just as clean as washing them in warm water or hot water. newer, front-loading washing machines can save even more energy by reducing the amount of water (hot or cold) used in each load by about 50%.

it's an easy "small measure" to take indeed.

ashley english said...

thanks for the timely tidbit, nicole! indeed, i've been washing in cold water AND on express load for a while now, probably after finding the same sustainability nut info.!

Anonymous said...

I agree with Nicole, your laundry looks cuter.

Sarah Ryhanen said...

ha! we must have been commenting at the same time!

i wish i had a laundry line...but then again, i do my laundry at my mothers house. and she has a line. it took some effort to figure that one out.