Line Drying Your Clothing

After watching the Al Gore documentary I have been conscientious about being a green mommy. My latest endeavor is to go back to drying my laundry the old way – on a clothes line.

I must say though the one thing that I am missing is the dryer sheets. Clothes are a little wrinkly and is it wrong to admit that I actually love the smell of those scented dryer sheets. I love the vanilla varieties and also the lavender types too. However I am not as fond of the scent of the great outdoors around where I live.

However with some clothespins and a clothesline I intend to save a lot of money and achieve that scent that every laundry detergent company has been trying to capture called the Fresh Outdoors. The key though is to hang it out on a day where there is no smog or you will not get that result that you are looking for.

Another caveat is the subdivision. It is important to make sure that you are even allowed to put up clothesline. Same if you live in an apartment building. Many find them unsightly. A clothesline may be against some local regulation or law.

Of course for your clothes to dry well you will need a good quality line. It need to pulled very tight and not sag as the saggier the line is, the less chance it has of drying the clothes in a way that helps them keep their shape.

Drying clothes on a line doesn't cost a lot. All you need to do is hang them out. I wipe down the line itself every now and then with a damp rag to make sure that it is clean so the clothes or clothespins don't become marked in any way. It is a guarantee to me that the clothes will not get marked up in any way.

Clothespins are also essential and they come in several different types. There are plastic ones that stay clean and undamaged. The wooden ones tend to swell up in the rain. Whether you use plastic or wood you should store them where they will keep clean and dry anyway. I use a small plastic bag that I just hang from the clothesline as well.

Another reason to line dry instead of throwing them in the dryer is it is just that much easier on the clothes. They will simply last a lot longer than if you just threw them in the dryer. Lint, after all, is actually worn away fabric that is floating around in your dryer. It is usually hardware, like zippers, scraping away against clothing that causes this.

You can also save yourself some money by not using your electric dryer. The electric dryer costs more energy then just about any other appliance in the home. By being this conscientious about energy you will be making Al Gore feel proud.

Parenting Tips
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Things to Do on Rainy Days

The spring weather has been colder and rainier than usual and my kids are bored on the weekends. Here are some ideas for things for the older kids to do on those cold wet and rainy days.

You can try putting a scrapbook together that can be sent to a relative like grandma. Don't make it seem like homework. Instead buy a small notebook and encourage the kids to tell her about the things in their lives through the expression of images. All you need for this are plenty of old magazines and the usual art supplies.

You can also try making own jigsaw puzzles. This is done by gluing magazine pictures to cardboard and then cutting them with a pair of scissors. The kids can then trade puzzles with each other and see if they can put them together. You can use these again and again if you store the puzzles in bags or boxes. They also make neat gifts for other kids if your kids get bored with them.

Making mini pizzas is also a good distraction on a rainy day. I use an English muffin or tortilla and then set out different toppings on the table. They then can create their own pizzas. Once they complete their creations it is only a minute or two under the broiler or in the pizza oven

In the same vein is cookie decorating. I just use freezer dough. I slice it up into coins and just give them icing, candies and all the tools they need to be creative with the cookie dough. Sometimes I roll it out in sheets as well.

Little kids get stressed like we do if they do not get to work out. This is why I sometimes recommend an exercise DVD. Get them doing some aerobics. This makes them less irritable and less maniacal if they have been acting out.

Use all of the empty boxes form a recycling bin to create some kind of miniature city or castle. You can also make something like a dollhouse out of a cardboard box. Let the kids draw on the boxes as well.

6. Use all the empty boxes from the recycling bin to create a city, or a castle, or cars for toys. The ideas are endless. Kids can draw on and decorate the boxes, and the mess is easily dealt with by recycling.

Sometimes when it's raining I just let my kids play outside anyway. I only do this if it is not too cold or if none of the kids or sick. They love playing in the rain. Afterwards we strip their clothes off and have hot baths. The good thing about this is that they eat all of their dinner and sleep really well all night.

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