Hang your clothes out to dry.

[zach]

Much of the energy we use everyday goes to heating and cooling. Whether it’s heating our home or refrigerating our food it takes a lot of energy.

By hanging your clothes out to dry on a clothesline you will save a lot of energy and your clothes will last longer and retain their color better. Why put one of those fresh air dryer sheets in with your laundry when you can have the real thing!

Some other ways to reduce energy consumption when drying your clothes.

• Put a retractable clothesline in your basement for the winter months. This will actually help add humidity to the dry winter air in your home as well.
• Use a lower heat setting.
• Wear your jeans twice before washing them.

More...

[Matt Johnson]

We just moved into a new home where there is a washer but no dryer. We bought a wooden drying rack, set it up and use that to hang out the wet clothes.
It's a bit annoying when we're used to having dry clothes right away, but most things will dry overnight anyways.

[zach]

That's great! Fresh clothes dried in the wind and sun are always nice they just take patience and a little more work.

[TheGreenestDollar]

I recently wrote an article on the benefits of line drying your clothes (which you can see here: How To Line Dry Your Clothes | The Greenest Dollar).

While doing research for that article, I found out that families that regularly line-dry their clothes save, on average, $25 per month on their electricity bill.

That's pretty significant! Plus, your clothes last longer when they're not subjected to the searing heat of the dryer.

[andreverde]

yeah, i've always hung them b/c it never mattered how gentle the dryer was, it managed to ruin my clothes... and i'm one who likes to keep clothes around for a while...

hanging is a lot better and not an inconvenience! although my bedroom space night not agree... it's not a huge compromise.

[B.G._schmid]

My wife and I also just moved into a new apartment. There was actually no washer, or dryer. So, we installed a washing machine a few weeks ago, but we chose to hang our clothes outside when it's nice. The only con is that the clothes (especially jeans) are pretty stiff. So, we started using fabric softener during the rinse cycle. Does anyone know if liquid fabric softeners are harmful to the environment? It's a hypo-allergenic one, too. I don't know if that makes a difference.

[andreverde]

Originally Posted by B.G._schmid

My wife and I also just moved into a new apartment. There was actually no washer, or dryer. So, we installed a washing machine a few weeks ago, but we chose to hang our clothes outside when it's nice. The only con is that the clothes (especially jeans) are pretty stiff. So, we started using fabric softener during the rinse cycle. Does anyone know if liquid fabric softeners are harmful to the environment? It's a hypo-allergenic one, too. I don't know if that makes a difference.

there are brands like attitude and seventh generation that carry biodegradable ones

[B.G._schmid]

Thanks Andre, I'll check that out.

[DanTheMan]

I made my own clothes line out of some old shoe laces across my back porch, works great!

[whodefu]

always do that, one of the benefits of living in florida is that they dry very quickly and because of the hot weather there is not much in the way of clothes to dry - but if you can just do it in the summer if you are in a different climate that is great, may benefits to doing it besides saving money and energy !