Sunday, October 7, 2012

Free Standing Clothes Line



I love clothes lines.  There is nothing better than line dried sheets.  They have this incredible smell that cannot be duplicated.  The sheets are also nice and crisp, almost like being starched.  I love that starched sheet feeling you get at hotels and I get the similar feeling from sun dried sheets.

Dry sheets aside, clothes lines are also a great way to save money.  Instead of paying for your clothes to be dried you can just let the good old (free) sun do the work.  Besides towels (and personal items, I don't want any neighbors seeing them), I dry all my clothes in the sun.  With towels I dry them in the sun and then throw them in the dryer with a damp washcloth for a few minutes to get them soft.

Of course, with the North East weather, I don't get to use my clothes line all the time, but when I do, I really enjoy it.  I love to be out there with my clothes line and my wood clothes pins.  I feel like a proper homemaker.

How to Make a Free Standing Clothes Line

I did not make this project, my hubby did.

Isn't he handsome?
He was so sweet to make this for me.  He knew I wanted a clothes line, but we didn't have any trees that would work.  Hubby found directions online, then promptly lost them.  But he got enough information to make the clothes line for me.

The hubby used landscaping timber to make the posts.  They are cheep and they hold up in the weather.  The hardest part was getting these logs home.  We ended up using a rented truck when we picked up our wood flooring.

It took us (and by us I mean him) a lot longer to get the wood properly cut.  We didn't  have the right saw.  Eventually we got he right saw and the right screws (really big ones) and then this spring hubby got to work.

The process was super simple.  Hubby cut the wood at 45 degree angle (I think) and attached the two sides to a cross bar.


The angled bars are not perfect, but they are good for me.  We made two, dug holes, and kept the posts in place with some cement.

Then we added the rope.


 We screwed the eye hooks right into the posts.  Attached the rope to both sides and we were done.


We got three lines up.  We plan to add three more.



I really meant to get a shot with my sheets hanging in the wind, but alas, it never happened.

You do get a shot of my house though.  Yup, that is my little cottage in the background.  The place we call home.

We want to paint the house next summer.
I can't wait to get some color on this house.

2 comments:

  1. Oh how I love clotheslines!!!! Please don't laugh at me, but some of my favorite memories are at the clothesline!! When my children were young, being the early bird that I am, I would be outside hanging up the clothes on the line by 7 AM. I can still smell the wet clothes scented by my beloved Downy Fabric Softner! Loved those sweet days!

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  2. Yea, saves money and good for the earth!

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