Clothesline Options

A while back I mentioned that I was thinking about trying a clothesline (see Memory Of A Clothesline). It's been years since my family had one. So when I started researching line drying, I had no idea there were so many options on the market now! I was only familiar with what I had seen growing up; an umbrella clothesline and the traditional T poles with line stretched between them. Of course I knew that the Europeans were famous for their urban alley lines that went from building to building, but since I live in a rural area, I never really considered it much.

Photo Credit: romkey

If space is tight, your yard small, or you’re lacking a few buildings, the umbrella version (also known as a rotary clothesline) is a great choice. I’m seriously thinking of using this one at my own homestead because I live where there are tight restrictions for clotheslines. Even though I have nearly 5 acres of land, it can’t be visible to neighbors. An umbrella line would be easier to conceal behind a couple of trees as opposed to a long line stretching across a broad area.

Clotheslinesource.com

The T-pole type is my favorite because it just looks nostalgic. This option would be ideal for those with long narrow lots, or if you wanted to conceal it on the side of your house or behind a building. It does require a bit more walking around, whereas the umbrella pole can mostly turn where you stand.

Urbanclothesline.com

Another newcomer to the clothesline market is the bracket system with removable lines.  Similar to retractable lines, they are nice if you only use a clothesline on occasion or if you live somewhere that requires you to use the space for multiple uses where you don’t want a line up all the time, such as a back patio, balcony, or garage. The retractable line would also be ideal for basements in winter or in front of a wood stove.  Check out this video to see how easy it is to put up and remove.

Photo Credit: Dan

The European pulley version still works best when you are working above ground level and you have some kind of structures around you to utilize for both ends. As romantic as these seem in photos along cobblestone streets and stucco buildings with tile roofs, I don’t know if it would look as good on my own homestead. You'd really have to love a clothesline 24/7.

The wall mounted clotheslines were totally new to me. These attach to the wall of your home, either inside or out, and can be raised up when needed and lowered when not in use. The only requirement is a large blank wall and space in front of it when hanging laundry out to dry. If you live in an area that restricts clotheslines, this would be an option for a garage or basement. And I’m thinking it would be easy to conceal on the backside of my house. (See UrbanClothesline.com)


You'll also want to consider the type of line you use, because they are not all the same. According to The Old Farmer's Almanac:


• Plastic clotheslines are waterproof and allow you to clean or wipe them, but they are typically thin and harder to grip. The clothespin isn't going to hold as tightly as on a thicker line.


• Multifilament polypropylene or nylon lines are lightweight, water and mildew resistant and of course, strong. But... clothespins don't grip well if the line is slippery and this is often the case with nylon.


• Basic, old fashioned cotton clotheslines are hard to beat because they grip the pin well, but they won't be as strong and definitely attract dirt and dust as well as mildew.


Before purchasing, be sure the clothesline will work in your area and be suitable for your family. Consider how many clothes you wash in a day and make sure you have enough drying space on your lines (the average load of wash uses about 35 feet of line). And be sure to leave a tail of extra line because it will stretch! All that water weight in the clothes will eventually cause it to sag and you'll want to cinch it up a bit. 

Photo Credit: peppergrass

Clotheslines run anywhere from $20 - $250, so shop around before purchasing.If you’re new to clothesline drying, try an inexpensive model until you’re sure you like it enough to make a larger investment. Consider how long it will take you to recover your costs. Most likely, it will be about two months of no-dryer use to break even, so be sure you’re willing to commit at least that long.


One more consideration... If you have a homeowners association that restricts clothesline use, find out if they actually prohibit the use of the clothesline or do they just want it to not be visible, in which case you just will need to be creative. Some homeowners associations are open to what the majority want, and with the economy on the down side, they might be willing to make a change. Talk to your neighbors and see how they feel about it.

Photo Credit: rhonda023

There are so many more choices out there, it's really amazing. And there are plenty of other great laundry line websites as well (although I do not endorse everything on each site). Here are a few:


Urban Clothesline

Clothesline Source
The Clothesline Shop

Project Laundry List
Mrs. Clothesline

I hope to post tips on using a clothesline next week for all of us who need a refresher and those who are new to hanging the clothes out to dry!

Homemade Dishwasher Soap

Whenever I wonder if it is worth it to make my own laundry soap, I just recalculate what it costs and I remind myself how much money I'm saving. It's nearly 50% less than what I was currently using. So when it came time to buy more dishwasher soap, I decided to try making my own as well.

I predict that some of you are already rushing to comment that this has not worked for you. In all my reading on the web, there are a lot of dissatisfied dishwasher owners. Even with the commercial soap. (You'll want to read my article on Keeping Your Dishwasher Clean to get my thoughts on scum that builds up inside these automated washers. A lot of people are making big mistakes, such as using a rinse aid when they may not really need one.) The issue isn't just the soap, but it's the water that goes through the appliance.

I'm going to give you the recipe I use, keeping in mind that I have a water softener. I'm finding that it works for me pretty well, but I had to try a couple of different recipes before I got one that worked just right. This isn't a "one-size-fits-all" kind of a thing. I suggest that you make a small batch of the recipe that follows, adjusting the ingredients as needed until you come up with the right formula for your water situation. 

The Ingredients 

Washing Soda:

Sodium carbonate can be used as a pH regulator to maintain stable alkaline conditions and to neutralize the acidic effects of chlorine and raise the pH level. Without using washing soda, additional detergent is needed to soak up the magnesium and calcium ions. It effectively cuts oil or grease on dishes and is used as a descaling agent in boilers such as found in coffee pots or espresso machines, which leads me to think it would do the same in a hot dishwasher.

Baking Soda:

Sodium bicarbonate can be added as a simple solution for raising the pH balance of water (increasing total alkalinity) where high levels of chlorine (2-5 ppm) are present. A paste from baking soda can be very effective when used in cleaning and scrubbing. For cleaning aluminium objects, the use of sodium bicarbonate is discouraged as it attacks the thin unreactive protective oxide layer of this otherwise very reactive metal.

*Note that this is very similar to washing soda and many recipes interchange this ingredient. If one doesn't work well for you, try the other. I found the washing soda worked best for me.

Borax:

Sodium borate is used to help cut grease, reduce spots and film by conditioning the water, and removing hard water minerals. It also works as a disinfectant. This is the one item that  I would caution you to keep out of reach of little ones. It is mined from the ground and is a natural mineral, but not safe for ingestion. I took a tour of the 20 Mule Team plant in Boron, California, and was amazed at all the uses this product has in our everyday lives (and we aren't even aware of it)!

Citric Acid:

Citric acid's ability to chelate metals makes it useful in soaps and detergents by allowing these cleaners to produce foam and work better without the need for water softening. It also will remove hard water stains from glass without scrubbing. In addition, it works as a natural antimicrobial agent. I recommend purchasing Frontier Naturals one pound bag of Citric Acid from either Amazon, Frontier Naturals, or a food co-op. It will run you about $7-9, but should last a while. I wanted to get started right away, so I purchased some Fruit Fresh, which has some citric acid in it (or you could buy cheap lemonade packets), but it cost me more and I don't recommend this unless you're in a bind. However, it seems to be working well. I'll be ordering bulk citric acid from the co-op in the future!

Salt:

A lot of recipes for homemade dishwasher soap include salt, but I'm not sure that it's really a necessary ingredient. While it is often thought to reduce the effects of hard water, I've read elsewhere that adding salt along with the detergent does not soften the water much, but the water will gain some additional ability to dissolve hard water ions. How much is the question. Keep in mind that as water drops remaining on the dishware evaporate, deposits of the salt will likely remain. To combat this, the use of a rinsing agent such as vinegar will help eliminate the spotting. *If you should choose to use salt, do not use regular table salt, but rather course Kosher salt. Read more here.

Homemade Dishwasher Soap 

{soft water recipe}   

1/2 cup borax ($.18)

1/2 cup washing soda ($.33)

1/4 cup food grade citric acid ($.66)

* for hard water, try increasing the amount of borax or add 1/4 cup course kosher salt, not regular salt! Read more here and scroll to middle of the page where it says "Dishwasher Salt".

Combine ingredients and use sparingly. I use only about 1 to 1 1/2 tsp. per load. (For hard water, you may need more.) Keep in a handy container near your appliance.

Total cost: $1.17 per batch (mine was actually closer to $2.01 because I used the expensive citric acid). 

Total # Loads: 81 per batch (@ 1 1/2 tsp. per load)

Total Cost Per Load: $ 0.014 - Nice!

Rinse Aid: Add white vinegar to the appropriate dispenser. Refill as needed. (I do this even for my soft water).

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this, so join the conversation and leave a comment!

Upright Freezer Organization

See this picture? I love this kind of organization (Better Homes and Gardens October 2009). Once again, function meets "pretty". For years I've had a chest type deep freeze. Still do, in fact. But this summer I purchased my first upright, frost-free, energy saver, deep freeze. Yahoo!


I'm till hanging on to my chest freezer for the side of beef I just bought. In fact, I plan to store most of my meat and frozen fruit in there. But it's out in the garage and hard to dig through. So the upright is now located in my pantry and it will hold smaller amounts of meat and things I use on a regular basis.


I really wanted to keep this one organized, so I did some searching and found the same kind of baskets that they used in the photo (and looked at a lot of others as options as well), and ordered a few. I measured beforehand to make sure they would fit and to know how many I would need of each size. I did not want to have to hunt them down later and manufacturers tend to change styles often, so if you do this, be sure to purchase all you might need in one order. Keep in mind, baskets with straight sides utilize space better than baskets with graduated sides (where the top is wider than the bottom).

Next, I made some laminated tags to attach to each basket and drawer so that everyone would be able to find what they were looking for. I have sections for meats, but also smoothies, granola, baking, bulk baking, cubes, and soups/broths. 

To attach the tags, I used hinged snap rings so that they could be moved around should I ever need to rearrange items in the future (of which you can be sure!).


All items that needed to be corralled went into a basket, while all meats went into a drawer. The door was used for canning jars to hold my extra grain that is left over from milling as well as some bulk items: cinnamon, sugar (for very special occasions or guests), etc.

The smoothie and granola baskets are packet with items respective of each category. 

For example, In the past I would have to hunt through my deep freeze, refrigerator, and spice drawer for all the items to make a batch of granola. Just walking around and grabbing these things more than doubles the amount of time it takes to make it! However, now that I have all the ingredients in one basket that I just pull out, set on the counter, use, and return, makes perfect sense. The smoothie basket holds all of our half opened bags of frozen fruit that I allow the kids to use for making blended concoctions. 

Don't ask me why I keep some of these items in the freezer though, like the granola ingredients. It has become a habit, mostly because a few years ago I made it only on occasion and so the freezer kept the seeds fresh. Now that we no longer purchase store bought cereal, I make granola on a regular basis and the ingredients get used fairly rapidly. {Sigh}...old habits can be hard to break. (If you didn't want to do this in the freezer, you could just store them on the pantry shelf in a basket.)


Perhaps now I'll be motivated to organize the old chest deep freezer! 


What do you do to organize your freezer space?

Back To Basics Hand Mill Give-Away

This give-away is now closed. Thanks for all the comments with wonderful ideas for using a hand mill during a crisis! And thanks to USA Emergency Supply for hosting such a great give-away!


YES!! Are you as excited as I am? Isn't this a fabulous give-away? USA Emergency Supply has generously donated this wonderful hand mill that would be perfect for grinding grains when the electricity is out. Or when it's not! And if you've never tried grinding your own grains, this is a reasonably priced mill to start with. 


The Back To Basics Hand Mill easily grinds and mills wheat, corn, rice, oats, barley, soybeans, seeds, nuts, pepper-corns, peanuts, and more. It's light weight, stores easily, and secures to your counter or table top for use. In just one minute, you can grind approximately 1/2 cup of flour.

To enter the give-away, just visit USA Emergency Supply and look around. Be sure to check out their information section where you can learn about different kinds of grains. Then come back and tell me what grain you would like to try in the Back To Basics Mill and what you would make with it in an emergency situation. You must be a follower to enter this give-away, but you are welcome to join Homestead Revival right now! I always like making more friends! 


(This give-away ends Thursday, July 22 at midnight PST).

French Market Baskets

Just thought I'd share one of my favorite items... a French market basket. The best in ingenuity... beautiful and yet very practical. 

quelobjet.com

maisondekristine.com

smallbones.com

frenchclass.com

frenchbasketeer.com

jeannebeatrice.com

medinabaskets.com

A French market basket adds a lovely touch to your errand days. I'm ordering one for myself to use as a summer purse. I love how they are roomy and some even stand up on their own. My big wallet fits inside, my slimline Bible, even a canning jar of ice water (which I like to take with me on hot days). 

Check out a few of these sellers. A good basket really isn't that expensive and always a good investment. If you see one at a flea market or garage sale, grab it! You can always use more!

What do you think about french market baskets?

Sunday Blessing

 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 "I am the vine, you are the branches ; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing . 6 "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into thefire and they are burned. 7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 9 "Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love ; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. 11 "These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full."

~  The Gospel of John, chapter 15, versus 1-11

                                   
May you glorify God and enjoy Him today as you abide in Christ!