I’m still working hard to trim my new novel down to size and so I’m sharing some smiles tonight. This was a pass-around on social media a few years ago that I happened to save. I’ve hung out many lines of clothes in my life. There’s nothing quite as fragrant as sheets and towels off the line. But in the winter, a person’s fingers can freeze hanging out those clothes and then sometimes having to prize loose the corners that stayed frozen under the clothespins. But it is true that diapers will freeze dry on a clothesline. It’s also true that frisky pups will sometimes tear up your favorite sheets or towels when the wind starts blowing them around and the dog thinks that’s the best toy ever.
The rules below are true too. There is a certain way to hang up clothes. I’ve never had near neighbors so I didn’t have to worry about hiding those “unmentionables” behind the towels. I did have certain things that I hung on certain lines.
If you’ve ever hung out clothes or if you haven’t, these clothesline rules are fun to read.
THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES:
- You hang socks by the toes. NOT the top.
- You hang pants by the BOTTOM/cuffs… NOT the waistbands. (Oops. I broke this rule.)
- You have to WASH the clothesline(s) before hanging any clothes. Walk the entire length of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.
- You have to hang clothes in a certain order. Always hang “whites” with “whites,” and hang them first.
- You NEVER hang a shirt by the shoulders – always by the tail!
- Wash day on a Monday! NEVER hang clothes on the weekend, Or on Sunday, for Heaven’s sake!
- Hang the sheets and towels on the OUTSIDE lines so you can hide your “unmentionables” in the middle (perverts & busybodies, y’know!)
- It doesn’t matter if it’s sub-zero weather… clothes will “freeze-dry.”
- ALWAYS gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes! Pins left on the lines are tacky!
- To be efficient, you line the clothes up so that each item doesn’t need two clothespins, but can share a clothespin with the next washed item.
- Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes basket, and ready to be ironed. IRONED??!! Well, that’s a whole OTHER subject!
- Long wooden pole (clothes pole) is used to push the clotheslines up so longer items (sheets/pants/etc.) don’t brush the ground and get dirty.
And now a CLOTHESLINE POEM…
A clothesline 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 designs.
The line announced a baby’s birth from 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 also said, “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 and gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their brows and looked the other way.
But clotheslines now are of the past, for dryers make work much 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.
Hope you enjoyed the trip back in time. In some places these days, clotheslines are against neighborhood rules. I still have my clothesline in the backyard, but I don’t use it these days. That other thing about clotheslines that isn’t mentioned in this piece is that sometimes if you are running through a yard in the dark, you might get clothes-lined and come to a sudden, painful stop.
Have you ever hung clothes on a clothesline and if you have, did you follow the “rules?”