I recently made myself an apron with big pockets for the clothespins, I also use it for egg collecting. The idea was to make it easier, but I still like to walk back and forth to a stationary pouch full of clothespins that hangs on one end of the clothesline.
My outdoor animals of course need to be involved, usually running under the hanging clothes like little bulls charging a flapping, colorful piece of fabric. Chickens, geese, dogs, cats and wild birds seem to be attracted to the moving pieces of clothing and bedding. Maybe it's fun for them, a change in their daily routines.
As I lift each wet piece of laundry and hang it on the line, it brings me back to a time when I would run around under the clothes while my mom hung out her laundry. Sometimes it was a wet smack in the face, sometimes a crispy, white sheet that smelled so good. I would cling to that sheet and smell it while my mom would laugh at me as one of our cats was also clinging to one of the hanging towels. Those were the days when my mom would wash clothes, hang them outside to dry in the sun and the breeze, and then when they were dry to the touch, she would fold them into a laundry basket and take them into the kitchen. Once there, she would dampen each piece, separate them with wax paper and then iron them perfectly. It was like an art form to her. She would turn on the radio in the kitchen and sing and sometimes whistle while she ironed away. She seemed to take so much pleasure in her daily 'taking care of her family' activities. Her iron was heavier than what we use today and it didn't have a spray nozzle. She had an old pop bottle with a cork sprinkler head in it that she would shake and dampen each article of clothing. She ironed everything...the only thing she didn't iron were towels and items that went to the dry cleaners. I would iron my dad handkerchiefs and the pillowcases, because they were 100% cotton and much easier than trying to line up the center of a shirt sleeve. I still have that pop bottle, and it is a wonderful memory of all of the conversations we would have when I would get off the school bus and find her in the kitchen ironing.
When I hang clothes on the line, it makes me look all around at the beautiful outdoors. I hear and see birds; I watch bunnies run and stop in the yard. I look at the cloud formations and make sure that hopefully there are no rain clouds in sight. Although, some of the clothes have gone through drying, getting rained on and drying again when I would be gone for the day. No matter, they smelled wonderful when I would put them on the beds.
Hanging clothes on the lines makes me feel like I am contributing something good to our overtaxed environment...not using the dryer all summer saves on our gas bill also. But, most of all, it's good for me and my balance. It centers me with being able to reminisce about times gone by, also be in the present as I look around and also allows me time to float and dream. It's that kind of an activity that you do to relax your busy mind. It always kind of feels like I'm sailing or flying while I'm in and around all of the moving sheets and pillowcases. Kind of how I picture being up in the clouds. It is my little bit of heaven on earth.
