When the kids were smaller, and before I had heard the term “sparking joy”, I used to have piles and piles of laundry because we had too many clothes and a ton of other stuff in the house. I guess you could say that my house tends to follow the state of my mind. One day I was super behind on laundry and climbing over Mt. Washmore I got really frustrated. I had turned the dryer on for the 3rd time and I figured they would probably still be damp when it got done… but then what was I supposed to do?
We live in a trailer park. We aren’t allowed to have clotheslines outside. I didn’t really feel like I had time to hang dry clothes anyway. But of course I have damp clothes and a dryer that isn’t working. So I decided to figure out places to stick clothes hung up when they got done so they would actually get dry. I really don’t remember how or where or what I used that time, but I do know that I ordered a retractable clothesline. I just didn’t have the cash to go buy another dryer. I had been through so many washers, dishwashers, and the like that I just didn’t want to get another appliance I didn’t feel like I could afford. So what is a Mama with two little kids and a mountain of clothes to do? Well, I tested it out. I found that it dried clothes in less time than the dryer had been! Granted it was dry and hot inside because I had fans going and it was the middle of summer, but I was amazed. I have had piles a few times since then…. usually accompanied by illness or poison sumac issues, but not very often.
That clothesline gave way from where it was anchored a year or two later (I might not be the best at stud finding). I still didn’t get a dryer though. I got some more hangers. I added a tension rod in the bathroom, and actually started hanging the clothes up on hangers. This worked amazing! So the hangers let me hang more clothes in a smaller space since the linear amount was reduced to slightly more than the size of the hanger. Space them about 2″ apart and you are good to go. You have air flow, and do you know what my kids did after a bit? “Can we leave our shirts hung up Mom?” It was actually about a year later I imagine, and they are used to hanging everything at their Dad’s. This frustrated me. Why does it have to be like it is at his house? We’ve always folded our shirts here. But I was taking time to fold all of their clothes after they dried. And did I mention we hung the clothes on hangers to dry in the first place? Huh… but we don’t have enough hangers….. Enter the first culling of the clothes. My daughter let go of so much, and still had way to many. And my son let go of none… and had plenty, probably enough for if he lived here full time. So she had some go into hiding, and they each had a set amount of hangers. And within 2 months she had worked through all of the hidden piles by letting go of things she didn’t want anymore. She has since sorted from more of a KonMari aspect and is at a very tight capsule wardrobe. I think she has 5 or 6 t-shirts and just as many hoodies— mostly Pokemon costume hoodies. 🙂 She is totally inspiring my move toward a uniform, but I will deal with my closet in a different post.
So we got rid of the dryer. Got rid of the pile because when you dry 3 loads at a time and plan ahead to have things dry when you need them you also tend to have time to fold and put them away. We got rid of a lot of the folding as well. And last but definitely not least, we got rid of dryer sheets. Dryer sheets are full of chemicals that do a number on our bodies, on our dryers, and on our clothes. I didn’t notice a ton of difference in my body with this, but I did notice some changes in our clothes. We started using vinegar as a fabric softener in the washing machine fabric softener compartment, so our clothes are still fairly soft and static just really isn’t an issue when you don’t add heat and rub your clothes together.
So what did we gain? We gained space— from the walkway where we had the piles, the place we had the dryer, dresser drawers where we had clothes shoved, and from the passing on of clothes we no longer wanted. We gained a bit of patience from the process of waiting for clothes to dry so we can wear them. We gained a little money from the energy we saved, and from buying 1 less item for maintaining the household.
I know it seems crazy to question such a basic thing, but sometimes when something breaks it can truly be a blessing. Join me next week for the second part of my journey when I learned how to let the water do the work.
~Going Green Mom