This is my first guest post here on Janelle’s blog. I am so happy to be a part of the Blissful Randomness team. Two things I tend to be most of the time. But to the point of why I’m blogging here.
Janelle is constantly looking for ways to make us healthier, more efficient, more fit, more globally conscious, or all around better people. This particular project fits in the efficient, globally conscious, better people category. In an effort to be more hippie conserve electricity, she suggests we start using a clothesline to dry our clothes. Plenty of good reasons for it, and it gives me a great opportunity to do something I really like doing, building things. Here are some photos of my last project, a new front closet:
Unlike that project, I did not take pictures throughout the process, just the finished product, it was just too hot.
Our original idea was to put 4″x4″ posts in concrete with a T cross piece on top, then string clothesline between them. We were going to place it on our back deck, as we tend to use the patio more than the deck, and it is one of the few places in our yard that we don’t have trees covering, because we obviously don’t want trees dropping berries or whirlybirds or anything else on our fresh clean clothes, right? So, we’re in Home Depot, and I’m talking with a really nice older employee, explaining our project and my idea to make sure it will work. We go back and forth a little, then Janelle suggests just bolting it to the deck, since we aren’t likely to need to or want to move the entire setup. Well, that makes things easier since they make a 4″x4″ sleeve thing that you can bolt down, which is way easier than mixing and pouring concrete.
We bought two of those sleeve things, a 12′ pressure-treated 4″x4″ which they kindly cut in half for us, an 8′ 2″x4″ which I kindly cut in half myself, some 7″ bolts with nuts and washers to connect the wood, some bolts and washers to fasten the sleeves to the deck, 12 eyelets, and of course, clothesline. Then this morning before it got too hot, I started assembling this thing.
It went together exactly like I hoped it would. I had all the necessary hardware and nothing leftover! BOOM! It took me about 45 minutes start to finish, and it did get hot and I did sweat. Here is proof:
Ignore the sweaty mess, look at the thing behind me.
Of course, I had to tie up the clothesline, and I remembered two key things from my days as a boy Eagle Scout, how to fuse the end of the rope to prevent fraying, and how to tie appropriate knots (I used a two half-hitches knot, so it can be tightened as we go)! Everything worked like a charm, and I only have two blisters on my hand from burning myself on melted nylon!
Here is another photo of the clothesline in use with the dog towels after they got a bath today:
It’s working so far!
So that was the project of the day, and I think it turned our pretty good. Here is where we could use some help though. When you dry things on a clothesline, they tend to get stiff and aren’t as soft as we are used to. We could use liquid fabric softener in the washer, which I think we’ll try, but I’m not sure how that will turn out. Any other ideas? How can we keep things soft and comfortable while saving electricity and using our new clothesline?
Blissful Randomness 