I have a clothesline. But not one of those stand alone things I used to see in peoples yards. I just have a line from my back kitchen door area to my garage and I hang clothes on it. I am too old fashioned to do anything else. I don't even own a dryer. I do have another clothes line in the basement near the washer were I hang things like underwear and such.

Heck, I don't have a dish washer either. Don't want one, don't want a dryer. Like things just the way they are.

nyr, no dishwasher here either! :-)

A couple pictures
This was early last fall, before the driveway was put in. Can't see the garage in this picture.
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This was taken after the driveway was put in, but not landscaped. DH feels the post near the driveway detracts from the garage? Is it that bad? (the blue tarp and pile of dirt are gone!)
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The pole nearest to the driveway in the last picture would be moved further in on the lawn, not as close to the driveway. We now have a bed of peonies planted along the length of the driveway.

I don't think anyone would even notice it as a clothesline unless you pointed it out to them. It just looks like part of the garden to me.

Hey, maybe I could put wire around the pole nearest to the driveway and plant a honeysuckle to grow up on it? :-)

I love my g*arden and really find anything in the g*arden that detracts from the 'ideal' something I keep working to eliminate, BUT, I really miss c*lothes being dried outside. In an effort to have my c*ake and eat it too, I bought two retractable clotheslines over the winter. I've yet to put them up because I can't figure a way to make it work in a way that pleases me. I am determined to get c*lothes drying outside though. [g]

I was just discussing this over in the Laundry Forum. Someone suggested one of those rotary clotheslines. They used it with a cemented pipe in the ground that the clothes line just slips into and they put it away when they are done. I was surprised when she told me how much laundry she could fit on it. I'm still thinking about it.

I love to hear that someone still goes without a dishwasher and a dryer!!

Mary Lu, I was thinking similar...a climbing vine of some sort. Honeysuckles get pretty big, but what about a small clematis? I think it would become a garden asset with that addition.

I have a tiny garden but I do have a clothes line. It's a retractable one and all you can see when it's not in use is a small fixture on the wall. There are lots to choose from with various numbers of lines. I don't have a dryer but I do have a dishwasher. I loath washing up. I think I'd rather give up the stove than the dishwasher!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:685196}}

I would choose the clothesline. I think it actually completes the homey, cottage garden look.

I have a retractable but would have a regular one if I could just figure out where to put it that it wouldn't be in the way and still be in the sun.

What about a retractable. I love mine. I also dont use a line daily..but I do love to hang out bedding and I like to have it for emergencies also. I bought a retractable one off of Ebay about five years ago. I mounted it from building to a gate arbor and no one even knows it is there EXCEPT when I use it....maybe an answer?

I remember we've had this discussion in this forum a couple of years ago :-). The thread is probably somewhere around here still. How about installing a retractable one using those poles as support? Climbers can be trained up the poles and the whole thing would be invisible when not in use. I have a retractable line and wouldn't even consider not having one. What a waste of our lovely sun! I do have a dryer, but only use it occasionally when the weather is bad for a few days in a row, which doesn't happen often here.

Love your Grandma´s Green garage, Mary Lu!

Eduarda

I had the old metal T poles before we built the addition. I rarely used all 3 lines at one time. Decided a retractable line would be more than adequate ... and it is. It's mounted on the garden shed and when in use stretches out to a hook off the screened porch.

If you keep the permanent clothesline you might consider painting the poles to coordinate with your house & garage.

Rita, do you hang your laundry outdoors in the winter? My sister lives in southern California and doesn't own a dryer either. Course there it's warm, sunny, and dry almost every day.

Another vote for retractables, I have two along each side of a path from my pergola to a garden room, invisible when not in use. I love the idea of vines climbing around the posts.

Annette

I just bought 2 - 20ft retractables but haven't figured out where to put them up yet. I can mount it on the house or garage somewhere, but 20ft out from the wall is lawn or vegetable plot and nowhere to hook it to. 20ft doesn't seem long enough. 40 might have stretched across the lawn to a border so I could put a post up for it I suppose.

No, I hang it in the clothesline in the basement. But in summer, nothing beats the fresh smell of sun dried clothes, especially for bedding.

I am not totally old fashioned. I could never do without the microwave or my computer. I bought a large nice new flat screen HDTV this past winter. Just hate dishwashers, useless things to me. And I have no need of a clothes drier. Believe me if I wanted those things, I would buy them.

I have not had clothes lines in years and years instead we use a clothes dryer makes everything nice and soft. We have also had a dishwasher for a long time even my DH loves it and knows how to use it giving me more time in the garden. LOL One time when I was at work and he was home he decided to run the dishwasher and used regular dish soap. Needless to say he had bubbles pouring out of the dishwasher to the extent that it even scared the dog. He used the shop vac to help clean up the bubbles. When I got home I thought he had scrubbed the floor it was so nice and clean. We still laugh about that one!

My MIL who is in her 90's still once in a while hange some things outdoors even though she has a clothes dryer, of course she refused to let her childern get her a dish washer. To each their own, we like some conviences makes our life a bit easier.

I could not live without my clothes line in the summer. I hate paying for the electicity to run the dryer when mother nature can do the work for free :) right now we 4 poles for 2 clothes lines lining either side of the sidewalk in the back yard. we're going to remove them and install 2 poles with tees so I can have multiple lines with minimal poles. I wanted wood and DH wants metal poles, so we're still debating this one.

I was wondering if anyone grow vines up their laundry poles. I've often thought and it but I was afraid the vines would start growing across the lines and I'd feel terrible having to cut them back all the time.

Here's what the posts look like now.
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The new post will be at the furthest point in the bare spot by the sidewalk

I had Carolina jessamine growing up one of my poles. And it did exactly what you said ... vined down the lines. I still had plenty of room to dry a few things, but growth is a good thing to keep in mind if you decide to add a vine.

Yes, eduarda we did. I think I posted this pic of "Linens on the Line". I use a retractable clothesline.

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I have a retractable line at the ranch. Regular clotheslines were out of the question because of the big tractors that needed to get through all the time when feeding bales to the horses and donkeys etc. The retractable works fine for a small family but last summer when the Rancher's oldest son and his family moved back, they stayed with us all summer. To cut down on costs we hung ALL the laundry outside and the retractable had a hard time handling all the weight so some support posts had to be employed. At this house I have an umbrella type clothesline and I use it daily for everything but underwear and socks. My dryer is a small portable one for apartments.
I have always used a clothesline in good weather and only use the dryer during winter. For me a clothesline is a neccesity! I don't have a dishwasher either, never have.

MeMo

Mary Lu,

I personally would keep the clothesline. I live in CA and we don't see them too often out here, primarily because of the marine layer and the fact that it takes longer to dry the items. Reminds me of growing up. I do not see any distraction and I have even found paintings online depicting older homes and the clotheslines painted right into the paintings. If it really bothers you, you could put it off near a patio or between a patio or garden, but I just could not do without one.

Schoolhouse: I LOVE your photo. Reminds me of the days when my mom hung my dad's white undergarments. I used to refer to the line with all of the 'whites' hanging on it, as my version of a JC Penney white sale - LOLL

Mary Lu, I love your multiple line clothesline! Really a very great addition to a cottage property IMO.

I had a clothesline at our last property and used it a lot. It was close to the basement door and laundry so was very convenient. I should have planned this house better as there's really no good place for one here. For the first couple of years I had one at the end of the kitchen deck which was 15' off the ground and I was afraid I'd unbalance as I leaned out over the deck railing to hang big sheets. It's either carry heavy baskets of clothes a long distance or risk breaking my neck so I use a dryer or hang things on a folding rack in the basement. I hang many of my clothes after a quick spin in the dryer anyhow as they look better. I must check out the retractable lines - might work somewhere. My DM had an umbrella type which I didn't mind using when we visited.

I've had dishwashers for over 40 years except for our first year in Europe and I'd rather eat at McD's (my least fav place to eat) than go without a DW! Different strokes, and all, altho I do think it may be quicker to wash dishes by hand and I could get along with fewer cutlery and dishes. Just never been my fav job and my DH knows how to load the DW, which is even better! ;-D

Since we're OT ...

I didn't have a DW the first 27 years in this house. Put one in when we remodeled a couple years ago. I still have to hand wash knives and pots, but I LOVE being able to let the machine do a load 2 or 3 times a week. Such a sweet luxury!

Thanks for all the support! Will be showing DH this thread on the weekend.

For those of you without DW's, this is mine...
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See....I said my house was OLD!

Mary Lu I've never had a dishwasher either, I love your sink and I know some people that would almost I said almost, kill for one like it. There is a similar sink in the house next to me, when it was being updated they put in new counter tops but the sink stayed.

Annette

Oh my, Mary Lu, I love, love, love your sink! Of course I'd have to completely reconfigure my kitchen to have one like that but it would be worth it. I'd still have a DW tho. We use cast iron pots a lot which need hand washing, as do the knives.

This is my "clothesline", it will rotate around the pole when it's windy if I remove the latch.

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Xuan

Mary Lu, I have a similar sink laying out in one of the sheds. I can't remember where I got it. What a practical design that was!

Re: Vines on poles; I wouldn't; you don't want to encourage the birds to sit on them and decorate the laundry. Maybe, instead a small planting of flowers around the base.

Mary Lu I just adore your sink!

I have been wanting to get a retractable clothes line since last year. Still plan on getting one just haven't got around to it yet. I say go for one, again. I love seeing clothes hanging on a line, reminds me of my grandmothers house growing up.

Wow - what a sink Mary Lu!!! that's awesome! When we redo our kitchen I really want a farmhouse style sink but that is something else!

I think you're right gldno1 - I will definitely plant around it - maybe some tall phlox or something. The birds site on the posts I have now but they do avoid them when the wash is flapping in the breeze.