Monday, June 8, 2009

The Clothesline



Because today is "wash day" for me and I love to use mine, and because I recently recieved these in an email, and because Eldest Farmer's Daughter called to ask where I got mine, I thought this might be a good time to share about~

"Clotheslines"

THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES:

1. You had to wash the clothes line before hanging any clothes-walk the entire lengths of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.
~
2. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang "whites"with "whites,"
and hang them first.
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3. You never hung a shirt by the shoulders - always by the tail!
What would the neighbors think?
~
4. Wash day on a Monday! . . . Never hang clothes on the weekend,
or Sunday, for Heaven's sake!
~
5. Hang the sheets and towels on the outside lines so you could hide
your"unmentionables" in the middle.
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6. It didn't matter if it was sub zero weather . . .
Clothes would "freeze-dry."
~
7. Always gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes!
Pins left on the lines were "tacky!"
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8. If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item did
not need two clothes pins, but shared one of the clothes pins with the next washed item.
~
9. Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothesbasket,
and ready to be ironed.
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10. IRONED?! Well, that's a whole other subject!
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**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**
The Clothesline
by Marilyn K. Walker

~~~
A clothes line was a news forecast
To neighbors passing by.
There were no secrets you could keep
When clothes were hung to dry.
~
It also was a friendly link
For neighbors always knew
If company had stopped on by
To spend a night or two.

~

For then you'd see the 'fancy sheets'
And towels upon the line;
You'd see the 'company table cloths'
With intricate design.

~

The line announced a baby's birth
To folks who lived inside
As brand new infant clothes were hung
So carefully with pride.

~


The ages of the children could
So readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed
You'd know how much they'd grown.

~

It also told when illness struck,
As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,
Haphazardly were strung.
~
It said, 'Gone on vacation now'
When lines hung limp and bare.
It told, 'We're back!' when full lines sagged
With not an inch to spare.

~

New folks in town were scorned upon
If wash was dingy gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their brows,
And looked the other way.

~

But clotheslines now are of the past
For dryers make work less.
Now what goes on inside a home
Is anybody's guess.

~

I really miss that way of life.
It was a friendly sign
When neighbors knew each other best
By what hung on the line!
~~~
~~~
(Oh! I forgot to mention, I got my clothesline from my Grandmother!
Handmade with 3 inch pipe welded in a T shape with five rows of line.
That's about 100 feet. I can hang a lot of clothes!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Let thy garments be always white;"
Ecclesiastes 9:8a

18 comments:

Mrs. E said...

Oh...... I LOVED this post, Lady Farmer! ;) Thank you for the fabulous tips!!

Love & Hugs~ Jen

Lori said...

What a fun post! :) How neat that you got your clothesline from your grandmother!! Makes hanging out clothes all the more fun, doesn't it?
I use my clothes line all the time, spring summer, winter, fall. It's just part of my day, except on Sundays when I don't wash at all.

Thanks for sharing this.
Have a wonderfully happy day!

lady m said...

Oh this is such a fun post!

I don't have a clothesline...my yard is so small that I would not be able to hang anything, but I do have drying racks that go out pretty much everyday, except Sunday's ;-)

I like the tips.!

Thanks for sharing, have a wonderful rest of the week!

lady m

Sharon said...

I really enjoyed this post! I love to hang my clothes on the line, but my husband doesn't like that my clothes are not as soft as when I put them in the dryer. Any tips?

Jennifer said...

Today is laundry day for me, too! I don't use a clothesline but what a neat post...and so sweet that you have your grandmothers!! And I second that UGH!! for ironing!

Andrea said...

Oh, how I love this post! It reminds me of hanging out clothes with my grandmother! Piece by piece we hung them much like you described.

Thank you for sharing!

Blessings,

Andrea

Simply Heart And Home said...

I do love hanging clothes outside on the clothesline. I confess that I do not follow all those rules. I shall have to take note of them. :)

Gina

Sharon said...

Lady Farmer,

Thank you for such a delightful post! That was so sweet and full of charm :) I am hoping that my honey can make me a clothesline this year. I am anxiously awaiting hanging clothes and linens out to dry!

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

Great post, Lady Farmer!

Oh, and thank you for entering my giveaway! :)

Nadine said...

What a wonderful post! I was smiling when reading the rules, as I follow most of them! I love the poem too!
Blessings!

Mama B said...

I'm so glad I was curious! Thanks for the 411 on clothesline! =)

xoxoxo

Lori said...

i loved this post too...and i love my clothesline, but it needs a bit of repair.
have a great day!

Marqueta (Mar-kee-ta) G. said...

Dear Lady Farmer,

Thanks for the timely tips! Going over the line with a damp cloth; great idea! Especially with birds in the area! My clothesline must look very tacky, since I usually leave my pins on. My mom made me a clothespin apron, but it wound up played with and lost, so the pins are safer on the line here!

It sounds like you have inherited a treasure of a clothesline from your grandmother. Quite a legacy, indeed.

Love,

Marqueta

Paula said...

Dear Lady Farmer,

I enjoyed reading this so much. I love my clothesline and abide by those rules! It must be something ingrained in me from my female ancestors!

The poem was so sweet, too! How wonderful that you inherited your clothesline from your grandmother! That is quite a large one! Is the last photo of your yard? It is so beautiful!

Thank you for your kind comment!!!

Love, Paula

Anonymous said...

What a great post, Raeann. I enjoyed it tremendously. Love the verse too!

Sandy said...

Thank you for your sweet visits and comments. In my book there is nothing better than line dried sheets that smell like summer sunshine. I did my share of line drying as a girl. My mother grew up without a dryer and did not trust them not to catch the house on fire. As a teen I detested those scratchy line dried jeans and swore I would never ever line dry clothes. I grin now to think that I love the fresh smell of line dried items and the secret to the jeans losing their stiffness is to fluff dry them for 15 to 20 minutes before hanging out. Adored this post that took me down memory lane!

Mrs. Teapot said...

Dear Lady Farmer,

Thank you for sharing this post. It is delightful. I was reading the 'rules for clotheslines' it reminded me of how my mother taught me to hang clothes on the line. All the whites together, all the dark colors together, etc. also in each color scheme went all the t-shirts together, pants together all towels together, etc. and always two items shared by one pin.... just like you posted. I haven't hung out clothes in a line for over 20 years. Just recently I bought a line that I need to put up, now that we have space to hang clothes outside. I'm looking forward to it.

p.s. please pass by, I have something I would like to share with you.

-Mrs. Teapot

Judy said...

I came over from Gina's blog. I just had to comment on this post. I just came in from hanging my clothes out on the line and thought I would visit blogs. What a nice post. I need to take note of a few on the list...especially #10.
Beautiful blog you have.