Laundry on the Homestead

Doing laundry is a little different on the homestead. We have a very small washing machine, tucked away under the eaves of the A-frame in the bathroom, and it uses cold water only.

On sunny days, I now can go back to what used to be an enjoyment of mine: hanging clothes out on the line (I loved hanging cloth diapers in the sun and wind!). We have a corner clothesline, right on the deck. As long as I'm not burning an outside fire, it's safe to hang clothes up.

And rain or shine, this inside clothesline works great (or, like today, when I had a lot of laundry to do and needed both lines). The inside one is an invention Roger came up with. It raises and lowers with a pulley and a rope. It holds two loads from the little machine, and if the clothes are hung in the late afternoon or evening, they are dry the next morning--even in the middle of winter. The heat rising up to the A-frame cabin makes this an excellent alternative to depending on electricity, even though electricity is pretty cheap over here.