Going Green

Going "green" on laundry day

Growing up, one of my summer chores was hanging out the laundry. We had a electric dryer, but in the 60's, using a clothesline was not a matter of 'saving the planet' but of saving money. Most of the time, when Mother needed the laundry on the line, I was busy checking out the latest hairdos in "Seventeen", or listening to Ricky Nelson sing his newest hit "Garden Party"--still a favorite of mine! What would we have done with the Internet and cell phones! (I can't imagine the time I would have spent on Facebook, or texting, or 'twittering') Even so, it was never convenient for me to stop and hang the laundry on the line. Mother usually had to "remind" me several times. Didn't occur to me that the laundry needed to get the heat of the sun for several hours in order to dry before evening!

Through the years, I have always had a clothesline. Sometimes I would get nostalgic about the wonderful fresh smell of sun-dried sheets and go through a period of hanging out my laundry. It usually didn't last long since there were other things more important. How easy it is to load clothes from the washer to the dryer! Only seconds really! Anyway, there was always the chance the birds would use the clothesline for a perch. Ever go out to take the laundry off the line and find a purple "stain" on a freshly dried pillowcase? Saving money and the planet became secondary in my busy world.

When we moved to the mountain and lived in the little shed in the back (check out "About Us" at http://www.mountainspringscabins.com/ ). Jack was considerate enough to hook up the washer and dryer in the little mini barn close by. That worked for a while until the dryer quit! No use fixing it since this was only temporary anyway. We would be getting a brand new one for the house shortly. A temporary clothesline was stretched across the back from tree to tree. It worked! I had to learn how to hang and secure sheets in the windiest of conditions, and there were times when the sheets flew right off the line not matter what!

After we moved into the new house and started our cabin business, the clothesline was abandoned. Keeping laundry from two cabins going was a job that required help--in the form of an electric clothes dryer!

But I still missed the clothesline!

Last year, my neighbor, Darlene, got her new clothesline, which she uses a lot. Her husband, Mike, is a very handy man with a welding torch, and was nice enough to make me two T-posts just like hers. Jack set them in the ground and stretched the wires, and I painted them dark green.

Now hanging out the laundry is no longer a chore I put off. Just look at the scenery I get to gaze upon while I work! It is a brief respite in a busy day when I can let my mind wander and be amazed at God's beauty around us. And, I feel good that I am doing a little something to save both money and the planet!

If you visit us on a nice sunny day, you may see my sheets flapping in the breeze, soaking up the beautiful sunshine and fresh mountain air. If you stay at Eagle's Rest Cabin, you may even get to sleep on some of those sheets!

Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens,

Your faithfulness to the skies.

Psalm 36:5