DIY Clothesline

This may sound completely heinous to some, but here goes: Forget the dryer--hang your clothes on the line to dry! You will see a tremendous decrease in your utility costs, an increase in the fresh fragrance of your clothes, and surely a more peaceful, green energy settle into your home. I don't know about you, but I am actually looking forward to seeing my electric bill this month!!

Our townhouse has an enclosed courtyard in the back that leads to the garage. This little area is perfect for a clothesline. At first I was nervous about how much of a breeze we could get, but time revealed that it was not an issue. This little project costed under $10, took about 15 minutes to complete, and is going to be one of the biggest energy/money savers we've implemented yet! So let's get down to bidness.

Materials needed:

• Electric drill
• Drill bit (one size smaller than eye bolts)--not pictured
• 4 eye bolts (only 2 picture here)
• 50 feet of clothesline (or sized to your needs)
• 2 swivel snap hooks

Directions:

First, after choosing where I wanted my line to attach on each wall, I drilled the hole with a drill bit one size smaller than the threads on my eye bolts. Then I screwed in the eye bolts to each hole by hand first, then with the aid of some pliers. I knew it would be a strong hold for the clothesline because it was really tough to screw into place.

I then tied one end of the clothesline to one of the swivel snap hooks and hooked it onto one of the eye bolts. I stretched it out as tight as it would go and secured it with several more knots to its corresponding eye bolt. **This part is really important because the line will droop under the weight of clothes if it isn't tight enough.** I left a long piece of the line hanging at this end in case I need to tighten it after it stretches a bit.

 

After both lines were secure, it was time to test this baby out. 

Look ma! Clean clothes! 

One of my favorite parts about this project (besides the energy and money saving bit) is that these lines can be taken down in an instant should we decide to have a little tea party out in the courtyard. And then they can be reinstated when the wet laundry calls. Yay for dual-purpose spaces! :)

Don't be jealous of my mad Paint skillz...

Of course, I had to find a cute little way to store our clothespins. I had this tote bag from a project a couple of years ago. I bought it in a three pack but this one was torn at the seam. So into the sewing machine it went and it came out like new! I wanted to spice it up a bit so I got out the paint and stencils. (And by that I mean I went to the store to buy the paint and made my own stencil.) I used "Burnt Umber" FolkArt Acrylic Paint and blotted it on with a paper towel and paint brush.

To make the stencil, I printed out a pic of an antique clothespin, outlined it on a piece of thin cardboard, cut it out and viola! Adorable stencil.

   

I tested it out on a piece of scrap fabric first (with cardboard underneath to catch the paint bleeds), just to make sure I could create the desired effect. I think I'll actually keep this, too. I'm thinking it would look just dandy displayed in a picture frame in our laundry room. :)

   

Who knew that clothespins could hang out in style?

Needless to say, I'm very pleased with how everything turned out. It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday morning! Perhaps you will be inspired to create your own clean, green laundry-drying machine. Does your backyard space have you scratching your head in a clothesline conundrum? Ask away, dear darlings! For surely a green cause such as this is worthy to be considered. We will figure it out together!

Much love and the sprightliest of spring days to you all~

Ruth