Clotheslines

[Miss 1929]

Ah the Hills hoist. This one item says Australian suburbia. The memories of childhood swinging off the clothesline are an integral part of growing up here.
(summary execution if caught by Mum). As we grew up new party games were invented centered around the Hills hoist like goon of fortune (like wheel of fortune). A goon is the wine bladder out of one of those chateau de cardboard wine boxes. Tie one to a clothes line and then the participants form a circle around the line. Spin the clothes line and if the goon bag stops at you, you have to skull. Kinda like spin the bottle with a Hills hoist.

My hometown is the birthplace of the Hills Hoist and I would pass the Hills factory every day as I went to and from school.

You explained "goon" but what the heck is "skull"?

Arcane Australian lingo...

 

[LizzieMaine]

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Line drying is different than the dryer method, the clothes, sheets and towels may take on a stiffness quality to them. If you don't like that then you may want to add those liquid fabric softeners in the rinse cycle to ward off the stiffness.

A quarter-to-half-cup of white vinegar in the rinse water, depending on the size of the load, will also work, and is a lot cheaper than commercial softeners.

 

[John in Covina]

I usually put all my clothes thru either thru the rinse and spin cycle a second time or thru a whole wash cyle without laundry detergent to try to get it all out. I have sensative skin so fragrences and strong remaining laundry detergent will bother me.

 

[Paisley]

John in Covina, you might try a detergent without sodium laurel sufates.

 

[Miss Sis]

You explained "goon" but what the heck is "skull"?

Arcane Australian lingo...

"Skull" means downing your drink in one, I believe, if it has the same meaning as in NZ!

eg/ "Skull that drink, you big pansy!" Usually heard at parties. lol

To me, clothelines are a way of life. They've always been there, as long as there's a place to hang one. Just had to replace the poor excuse of a clothesline in our garden that was pretending to be a Hills Hoist. Since we just rent, I bought a cheap one, but when we buy our own place, only the best will do for me!

 

[TraditionalFrog]

As I live in a flat, a clothesline is more the less out of the question. I recently obtained a portable camping type line. I am going to try and either hang it across my bath or my balcolny. I am also tempted to puchase some drying racks as well.

When I was growing up my mother used to hang clothes, sheets, towels and blankets out to dry in the summer. I used to love going up to the sheets and pressing my nose to them. Ahh... the fresh clean smell!

My great aunt used to hang clothes out all year round, as she didn't own a dryer (until the last few years of her life). I remember her gathering up all the clothes in the laundry basket and taking them outside. She had a hanging bag of wooden clothes pins that she would move down the line as she hung the clothes. Later, she would gather them up and bring them inside. She would then iron (on an old board the type that pulled down from the kitchen wall) and fold.

She also had a series of lines at one end of a basement room. Here is where she would hang clothes during very cold or inclement weather. I remember a few times in the summer a thunderstorm would blow up and she would grab her laundry basket and make a mad dash gathering all the clothes and bringing them to the basement. She would hang them there until the weather cleared up or until dry if it didn't!

My great aunt generally did her laundry on the same day each week, just like she did her food shopping.

As the old song goes "Memories are made of these..."

 

[barra063]

"Skull" means downing your drink in one, I believe, if it has the same meaning as in NZ!

eg/ "Skull that drink, you big pansy!" Usually heard at parties. lol

Sis. You are correct. It has the same meaning.


To drink a beverage (usually alcoholic) very quickly. Synonym for chug.
Scull! Scull! Scull!

 

[John in Covina]

I had an apartment in Lakewood california and had put up a couple of heavy duty hooks screwed into the studs along the ceiling so I could easily put up and take down a clothes line inside. Hanging up my laundry to dry inside to avoid the punishing dryer charges. In the winter it was doing double duty helping to humidify the dry winter air. When I left I unscrewed the hooks and filled the holes with spackle so it was nearly impossible to see they had ever been there.

 

[ladybrettashley]

I love my clothesline! I had never used one before we bought our house recently, and i adore it. It came equipped with both of it's t-bars still upright (it's not uncommon to see houses with only one standing in our neighborhood now), and even had a (slightly worn and sagging) line on it still. And the way our frat-boy neighbors think we're kinda crazy because of it is funny too.

The first time my mom came to visit, she walked out in the back yard and immediately corrected my hanging technique, but i'm learning =)

I have a question, though: does anyone know where to get line tighteners? The hardware store sells the lines and pulleys, but nothing to keep it taut. I found some online that looked reasonably priced until i realized they wanted $10 shipping - each.

 

[John in Covina]

I think line tighteners are call turnbuckles.

If you have a Home Depot, Lowes or OSH they usually have some in a variety of sizes in their hardware department.

 

[tuppence]

I love my clothesline, the local bird population also loves my clothesline. Sometimes my clothes come off second best.

[/IMG]

Lucky your local wildlife doesn't include fruit bats!! Not that mine does either But when I lived up North you definitely needed to bring the washing in before dark.

 

[BegintheBeguine]

In case anyone's interested

Dagnabit, I found out why I can't peg out my clothes and other laundry anymore because of the bad smell clinging to them when I brought them into the house: the airplanes dump out over my house! My house is directly under the flight path and the airport is within walking distance. Now I'm mad and I have clothesline envy for all y'all who are able to hang out laundry to dry.

 

[John in Covina]

You can try hanging in the house or if you have a garage.

 

[BegintheBeguine]

Come on'a my house

I hang in the house on 2 wooden racks. There are dead cats in the garage, but thanks anyway!

 

[John in Covina]

There are dead cats in the garage, but thanks anyway!

Sounds like an interesting hobby...

 

[tuppence]

Dagnabit, I found out why I can't peg out my clothes and other laundry anymore because of the bad smell clinging to them when I brought them into the house: the airplanes dump out over my house! My house is directly under the flight path and the airport is within walking distance. Now I'm mad and I have clothesline envy for all y'all who are able to hang out laundry to dry.

Does that make you sick. Is that how the cats died? I live directly under some flight paths. I wonder if they are dumping on me too!

 

[lolly_loisides]

Does that make you sick. Is that how the cats died? I live directly under some flight paths. I wonder if they are dumping on me too!

fftopic: I used to live at Mascot (Sydney airport) & I could often smell (what I thought were gas leaks), I reported it once & was told it was the airplanes dumping fuel before landing.

 

[BegintheBeguine]

Does that make you sick. Is that how the cats died? I live directly under some flight paths. I wonder if they are dumping on me too!

No, there are open windows in the big garage, which I rarely go into for any reason, and the feral cats crawl up in there for a quiet place to die. Cats hang out while alive in there too as I see paw prints on the old car.
I discovered the truth about the funky smell the other day when a friend who lives under the flight path a mile from the airport in New York City was in my yard and told me that, after several planes went over in a few minutes, not only were they dumping fuel, they' were dumping the toilets!
Poor me, I used to hang laundry in the basement but it's so leaky there lately if it rains even for a few miinutes I get dampness seeping into the walls and onto the floor.
Not time to move, though, I love living in my creepy old house!

 

[Stormy]

When I moved into this house, I was supposed to buy a gas dryer. I didn't want one. My electric dryer was in fine order at the time though I'd had it for almost 12 years . So, I put up a clothes line and haven't looked back since. The electric dryer just sits in the space aloted for its gas counterpart. It doesn't bother me so I just leave it be. My friends and family members hate this idea. My best friend thinks I should be embarrassed.

 

[buelligan]

Airplanes do not dump their toilets in flight, in fact on most planes the valve that you have to open is on the outside of the aircraft covered by a door so it's not even possible to dump your toilet in flight, there are specially designed trucks for servicing the potty tanks on the ground and they shouldnt be dumping fuel while landing either. If you are committed to landing it's to late to dump fuel and if I remember correctly you have to be above a certain height in order to allow the fuel to disperse properly. Also no airline is going to dump fuel unless it's a emergency, fuel is expensive stuff and you don't just throw it away like that.