Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Laundry Day ~ Just an ordinary day

So many people have asked me "do they really dry" and I have answered "yes they do."  If there is wind, they dry completely.  If there is a small amount of wind, they dry almost 90% and then it only takes about 5 minutes to dry them in front of the wood burning stove (on drying racks).  I have not yet used my dryer.  It's there if I need it, but I have not needed it yet. 

This is only one of my lines outside.  The other line was drying blankets that we keep in boxes for the barn cats.  I do put the laundry out early, so it has more time to dry.  It's all a matter of a little "hard work" and letting go of convenience and spending money for convenience.

I am truly a pioneer at heart, with a urge to learn surviving without.  Do you know how to dry your laundry if your power was eliminated?

When I wrote the above article (click on highlighted link in above paragraph) on drying laundry without a dryer, I wrote it from true experience.  We have 2 drying racks and one, 5-line retractable indoor clothes line.  The next step is to add lines in the garage, and a washing tub such as this one:
(photo borrowed from Lehman's)
We learned to survive without a dryer, but have you learned to survive without a washing machine?  We go through a lot of dirty clothes around here, especially in the summer with the garden work.  We have however, taught the kids to reuse bath towels to lower the amount of dirty clothes, and the amount of washing time.  Simply hang the bath towel to dry and reuse again.  Are you not clean when you get out of the shower?  Again, it's a matter of living without convenience and thinking frugal and smart.

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