There are two main reasons for hanging my clothing, bedding and linens outside. One is that there is no scent, including dryer sheets, that leave your fabric more fresher than the items that come from the outside. After bringing in the day's wash which was outside for most of the day, the whites are brighter and the bedding takes on the crisp clean scent of pure country air. I can't think of a better luxury than to snuggle down into cool, fragrant sheets that have been playfully dancing and fluttering in the delicate breeze all day. Watching the laundry sway in a gentle motion on a sunny day is like watching the waves rhythmically ebbing to and from the sandy seashore or watching an colorful autumn leaf swirling through the air as it falls from the tree. All of them bring about a sense of calm to one's soul.
Another reason why I prefer to hang my laundry outside is entirely one that is in reminiscence of days gone by. It is my small chance to relive "the old days" when I watched my mother stand next to her wringer washing machine and lovingly and carefully run the wet dripping clothes through the wringer into the rinse water on one side of the stationary tub and then once again into the other side of the tub with the fabric softener. After one last trip through the wringer rollers, the laundry was ready for the laundry line outside. If it was bedding, it remained on the line long after it was dry and until late in the day when it was taken from the line and went straight onto the bed. As children, our bath or shower was taken in proper timing with the task of making the bed, so that when finished, we could happily burrow down in those fresh aromatic sheets. The long-lasting earthy scent of those spotless sheets made you feel you were still playing in the brisk outdoors and the exhilarating scent lingered long into the night's slumber.
The Clothes Line
by Marilyn K. Walker
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