It was a very productive weekend. I discovered that with the TV completely off, and no music playing I stayed on track and got so much done! Thank you screen writers for making me turn off the TV and craft and sew all weekend. I'd break for dinner ( just a snack) and get right back at it and when I'd look at the clock it was 10PM! This summer, one of my projects was to start line drying my clothes. I remember how good things smelled when I was a kid and wanted to see if I could do it for that reason as well as energy savings. I keep trying to be more green for the planet and not for the reason my husband says - he's green too - "I like to save as much green as I can...."
For months I have tried to think how my grandmother used to do things. On wash day she'd pull out the old wringer washer, fill the wash tub with hot clear water and get to work. Sudsy water in the wringer and load the clothes - go back upstairs and mak
e a pie crust, start bread dough to rise - throw the pie crust in the ice box, go back down to the basement, stop the machine, start the wringer, push clothes through to clear water - push clothes with wooden pole to rinse, swing wringer arm over empty tub with basket waiting for wrung out clothes. Lug the basket up stairs, around house and hang on line. Hope for a breeze to dry them quickly. Go back downstairs, re-heat water in wringer and start process all over, while baking at least 2 pies and 2 loaves of bread, cleaning the house, fixing a dinner from scra
tch, with the only canned items used being the ones you put up "last season". Then, when the first line of clothes were dry, 75% of the time the ironing board was up with the iron ready to go so she could iron everything (even the sheets and towels, which were used as training for me to learn how to iron) at various states of dryness, thus eliminating the need to sprinkle the clothes prior to ironing. IF she had to sprinkle the clothes it took a lot longer, because they had to marinate in the freezer for an hour to get that professional laundry look.
e a pie crust, start bread dough to rise - throw the pie crust in the ice box, go back down to the basement, stop the machine, start the wringer, push clothes through to clear water - push clothes with wooden pole to rinse, swing wringer arm over empty tub with basket waiting for wrung out clothes. Lug the basket up stairs, around house and hang on line. Hope for a breeze to dry them quickly. Go back downstairs, re-heat water in wringer and start process all over, while baking at least 2 pies and 2 loaves of bread, cleaning the house, fixing a dinner from scra
tch, with the only canned items used being the ones you put up "last season". Then, when the first line of clothes were dry, 75% of the time the ironing board was up with the iron ready to go so she could iron everything (even the sheets and towels, which were used as training for me to learn how to iron) at various states of dryness, thus eliminating the need to sprinkle the clothes prior to ironing. IF she had to sprinkle the clothes it took a lot longer, because they had to marinate in the freezer for an hour to get that professional laundry look. Oh yeah, I forgot about starching shirts - that was another tub with water and starch added that the shirts were dipped into prior to the final wringging out - and they had to be watched as they dried because they had to be damp to iron. Instead of bleach she used bluing to get whites white along with a cup of 20 Mule Team Borax. I use the Borax in my laundry today too - 
it's the only thing that works on AZ water and keeps the yellow out of my white loads.
it's the only thing that works on AZ water and keeps the yellow out of my white loads. I'm exhausted just writing this down! She did it every week from the time I can remember until she was in her 70's. She canned, baked, sewed without patterns, played piano and Hammond organ professionally at church and funeral homes (- don't ask) and still had time for me whenever I needed her. She did it all without complaint and with a smile.
I started hanging my clothes outside in mid-July. It was a riot just figuring out how to hang the clothes line. In my childhood everyone had permanent lines in their back yards that lasted year round. In the spring you'd wash off the line or replace it, but the T poles were in cement and lasted a lifetime. I didn't have that luxury, and being in an HOA regulated community I had to find a way to keep it on the down low, so no one could see it and bust m
e. It had to be close to the back door because I for one did not want that walk my Grandma had with each load. I checked the internet to find out solutions, (the Amish were the biggest help), went to Wal-Mart with my list of necessities and came home with the line, pullies, spacers and hooks. I laid it all out on the living room floor and had to figure out on my own how to put it together. I set it up between the poles of our patio cover and made it so it could be taken down and kept out of sight when not in use. With the heat we have, my clothes were bone dry in 15 min. - 20 min. for heavy towels and 30 min. at most for jeans. I was beside myself. For the most part, the outdoor smell was still nice, and if I used vinegar and fabric softner things were soft but had body. Well, I just knew this was the motherload of conserving on electricity. In some way both my huband and I were being green, green and more green. I didn't expect to see a savings right off the bat with the August bill, but by Sept. I figured I'd see something. Well temps in Sept and October were over 110 degrees 25+ days so the A/C was taking a real load. I waited for the October bill, and still saw no change worthy of all my effort. I was disappointed but still felt there was a change - I was just missing it. Out of frustration
I wrote the power company explaining my dilemma . They wrote back - and said "Thank you for contacting us through aps.com in regard to your recent electric bills. We appreciate the recent efforts you have made to conserve electricity.Keep in mind that during the hotter months of the year, over 60% of electricity is used by your air conditioner, so our record-breaking temperatures these last three months have had the most significant impact on your electricity usage. By analyzing your electric usage based on the number of days in each billing period, we can provide a better comparison of 2006 to 2007 energy consumption as follows:
Oct. 2007 statement shows 1306 kWh used in 28 days, or 46.6 average kWh per day-average outdoor temperature was 87 degrees
Oct. 2006 statement shows 1497 kWh used in 31 days, or 48.3 average kWh per day-average outdoor temperature was 82 degrees
Sept. 2007 statement shows 2237 kWh used in 32 days, or 69.9 average kWh per day-average outdoor temperature was 95 degrees
Sept. 2006 statement shows 1921 kWh used in 29 days, or 66.2 average kWh per day-average outdoor temperature was 89 degrees. As you can see, showing the information in this way makes it easier to see that your efforts have succeeded in reducing your energy consumption ------despite outdoor temperatures being higher this year than last...." That's all I needed to keep on keepin' on.
e. It had to be close to the back door because I for one did not want that walk my Grandma had with each load. I checked the internet to find out solutions, (the Amish were the biggest help), went to Wal-Mart with my list of necessities and came home with the line, pullies, spacers and hooks. I laid it all out on the living room floor and had to figure out on my own how to put it together. I set it up between the poles of our patio cover and made it so it could be taken down and kept out of sight when not in use. With the heat we have, my clothes were bone dry in 15 min. - 20 min. for heavy towels and 30 min. at most for jeans. I was beside myself. For the most part, the outdoor smell was still nice, and if I used vinegar and fabric softner things were soft but had body. Well, I just knew this was the motherload of conserving on electricity. In some way both my huband and I were being green, green and more green. I didn't expect to see a savings right off the bat with the August bill, but by Sept. I figured I'd see something. Well temps in Sept and October were over 110 degrees 25+ days so the A/C was taking a real load. I waited for the October bill, and still saw no change worthy of all my effort. I was disappointed but still felt there was a change - I was just missing it. Out of frustration
I wrote the power company explaining my dilemma . They wrote back - and said "Thank you for contacting us through aps.com in regard to your recent electric bills. We appreciate the recent efforts you have made to conserve electricity.Keep in mind that during the hotter months of the year, over 60% of electricity is used by your air conditioner, so our record-breaking temperatures these last three months have had the most significant impact on your electricity usage. By analyzing your electric usage based on the number of days in each billing period, we can provide a better comparison of 2006 to 2007 energy consumption as follows:Oct. 2007 statement shows 1306 kWh used in 28 days, or 46.6 average kWh per day-average outdoor temperature was 87 degrees
Oct. 2006 statement shows 1497 kWh used in 31 days, or 48.3 average kWh per day-average outdoor temperature was 82 degrees
Sept. 2007 statement shows 2237 kWh used in 32 days, or 69.9 average kWh per day-average outdoor temperature was 95 degrees
Sept. 2006 statement shows 1921 kWh used in 29 days, or 66.2 average kWh per day-average outdoor temperature was 89 degrees. As you can see, showing the information in this way makes it easier to see that your efforts have succeeded in reducing your energy consumption ------despite outdoor temperatures being higher this year than last...." That's all I needed to keep on keepin' on.
Now, I need to learn how to do canning and preserving and I also did sewing and cleaning this weekend all the while hanging the clothes out to dry and save green...both kinds. Now I need to learn how to can and preserve.....
Be well and enjoy the flowers...the bees need them.
Love,
Hannah
Dreaming In ColorsDreaminginColors.etsy.com
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