tel: 435-648-2141
TOYS OLD FASHIONED
Thanksgiving
CHRISTMAS
Halloween
Cookbooks
Cloth Face Masks
Canning Peaches
Canning Raspberry and Apricot Jam
Planting Tomatoes
How to Dry Mint |
Teaching Kids to Hang Clothes on the Clothesline
She is finally tall enough to hang out the clothes and is getting pretty good at it. She can't reach the ends but does good toward the middle of the line.
Years ago I had my grandson over for a visit and asked him to come out with me to hang out the clothes. As we were at the clothesline I asked him to hand me the clothes which he replied “Grandma they are wet!” My son had been taught to hang out clothes but since he was married his wife nor him apparently ever hung out clothes so the poor grandson had no clue.
My other grandchildren are close by so they have been seeing me hang out clothes for years. Their idea of helping thus far has been to play around while I hang out the clothes. Now that they are getting taller they are able to start hanging out some clothes. The younger boys don’t really understand the whole procedure, the one putting as many clothes pins on one piece as possible and the shortest one just attaching them to any part of the clothing and he is helping.
I had a young gal who was visiting me watch me hang out the clothes and I asked her if she hung out clothes. She told me she didn’t need to hang out clothes because she had a washer and dryer. She had never been taught so she didn’t realize what she was missing.
When I go out to hang out the clothes whatever time of the year it is I have to stop whatever I think is so important inside and enjoy the weather hot, cold or just right. I see my plants, flowers and weeds, the birds and whatever else is sharing the beautiful spot on this earth I live in. You could say it is a kind of meditation with the benefit of clothes that smell wonderful and whites that surpass any that you could get with bleach or out of the dryer.
I feel it is so important we pass on to our children and grandchildren the art of hanging out clothes, if a dryer ever breaks they need to know there is another way to dry clothes than a Laundromat, or if they just want to save money on the electric bill and have clean smelling sheets
.
If they drop something on the ground just tell them we will wash it off, hang it out, no problem.
You can never have enough clothes pins
Pin the clothespins on your brother
|
How to hang out clothes on the clothesline.
I found this old picture in my family photos - she is taking the clothes off the line on a cold afternoon.
There should be a handbook on hanging up clothes. Anyone who has hung out clothes for years knows there is a special technique you develop after many years of spending time under the clothesline. I have been hanging out clothes since I can remember. I started at my Grandmother's who never had a dryer. She would hang out her clothes year round unless it was so cold the clothes would freeze and I am sure she hung out some then.
You need to have something to transport them from the washing machine to the clothesline. I suggest a sturdy clothes basket, one that you can put on your hip so you don't carry all the weight in your arms, somewhat like carrying your child. Next you need some good clothes pins. Sad to say all the good clothes pin manufactures in America have gone out of business so all we are left with are the cheap clothes pins made out of the country. Try to pick as study as clothes pins as you can get. I use the clothespins that have a spring; they seem to hold the clothes better.
When you get your clothes out of your basket shake them out first, don’t just put them on the clothes line. I hang the shirts up by the bottom and put two clothes pins in the first item.
The next item overlap the edge, I use the second clothes pin from the first thing I hung up and use it as one of the clothespins on the second item and add another clothespin to hang secure the other end. You just keep going until you get to the end of your line. In other wards you don’t need two clothespins for every item you hang up, only two the first item then one for the other ones after that because you are using the second clothespin from your first item as the first clothes pin on your second item. You still have two clothes pins in each item but they overlap each other, it saves room and clothespins. I hang my clothes this way UNLESS it is winter time and cold - on heavy shirts and other clothing that is thick I don’t overlap them because it takes longer to dry in colder months. In the summer and warmer times it doesn’t matter if they overlap the edge of the material as they dry quickly.
When you hang up sheets, table cloths or other large items make sure you put in more than two clothes pins, the wind may come up and blow it off if not secure.
When I hang up pants I use two clothes pins on each of them I don’t overlap them unless they are thinner material. You can either lay them over or hang them up by the bottom of the pant leg.
Another thing I do is hang the longer items first and the shorter items last. If the sun is shining I want it to not shade my clothes so the shorter ones in front, closer to the sun, give the ones in back of them the warmth of the sun more directly.
If here was a clothes hanging contest I am sure I would win hanging up clothes and taking them off the clothes line, you get pretty quick when you have hung out clothes on the clothesline as long as I have.
Now about what kind of clothespins I use. Luckily I have some old ones I bought years ago that are made in America. The American clothespins are longer. I bought some clothespins a while ago and when I got them home they were shorter and when I looked they were made in China and are so much cheaper built. They do not have the length or the grip needed for my satisfaction. I like the clothespins with the spring on them, the old fashioned ones that just slide on seem to stretch your clothes when you put them on the line, I don't use them.
|
