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Solar power for $20

As I was taking my laundry off the line on Sunday, I felt a rush from that special smell of sun dried clothing. No toxic fabric softener can duplicate it.

I also remembered hearing that this Friday is National Hanging Out Day, when we are all supposed to hang our clothes on the line and talk to each other about line drying. So I looked up Project Laundry List, which sponsors the event.

Their research shows that I can save up to $25 per month by not using my dryer. Thinking about that for a minute, I realize that line drying is the cheapest form of solar power. For a $16 clothesline and $4 worth of clothespins, I can go solar for some of my energy needs.

Project Laundry List also reminds us that line dried clothes last longer (think about all that lint) and that being active and outside makes you happy. If only it could sort our socks.

Plus, of course, line drying doesn’t pollute. It’s great when you can take an activity’s emissions to zero. If all Americans used a clothesline for ten months of the year, it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 12 million tons.

Project Laundry List also says that only four percent of Italian households have a dryer. Maybe it’s not the red wine that helps Italians live so long after all. I think it’s that fresh clothes smell.

   – Brad Heavner