I have an electric pump that collects the condensation and then pumps it to an outside line. For me, I have that line going into a bucket. When I first bought the house, I asked the a/c guy why he didn't just run the line into a nearby sewage drain. He said that it would be illegal.... stressing the city sewer system. It has been very humid and hot over the past few days here in Tennessee ... after having an amazingly cool July... so now it seems that I'm getting over 6 gallons a day from the a/c. I never have enough dishes for a dishwasher. I have heard that dishwashers use less water than hand washing, but it's hard to believe. I try to be pretty darn conservative! Further, I rarely make greasy foods, so the stuff I wash cleans off real easy... so it doesn't require that I use a flood of water to get the job done. To tell you the truth, I use one specific plate for myself (or one specific bowl)... when I'm done, the dog gets to lick it clean. Then, when I wash, I am washing a plate with nothing visible to clean off... just need to wash the plate of the dog's "wetness". I use the same plate/bowl so that I don't expose my guests to me and my dog's little secret!

measure twice, I live in northern NY and I use my clothesline almost all year, even in the depths of winter. Here's my set up: I dislike the look of a rigged clothes hanging off a house so I've moved my drying yard behind my barn which allowed me to choose a particularly good site in view of breeze, lack of early dewfall and sun. I live in a very rural area so privacy is not too big a deal, though I confess to having scarpered out on occasion in my jammies to snatch something I needed to wear that day off the line. For actual clotheslines I have a combination of long lines set up with T- pole supports and those revolving umbrella-style (or Aussie-style) things. Each has it's advantages. Since I do a bit more than thirty loads per week I have a lot of line length, which is critical for successful drying in the cold, short days of January. I have one pair of T-poles (with six lines) running north and south and a double section (three poles with six lines) running east and west. In the winter that south facing line is critical, but as a rule my wind is from the southwest. These two runs of straight lines are at right angles to each other on the west forming a little courtyard with two umbrella things within the angle. The whole area is about 40 by 30 feet. I keep a bench and a folding table out there during the warm weather. The surface of the yard is turf and stays nice and clean for the occasional dropped item even in mud season. To support the poles (and I recommend the more expensive ones that can be found on the web over the cheaper hardware store ones) and the center stakes of the umbrella dryers I have pounded in metal stakes which fit inside the uprights. Over the vertical posts I have installed part of my collection of old stone millstones. I live in an area where they were used extensively in the 19th century so they can be found in barns - in fact they were sometimes used here as foundations in cheap, somewhat transitory farm buildings. I realize that in some areas they cost a bomb, but perhaps not where you live. Mine are generally about 16" thick and about 2 or 3 feet in diameter. They do a terrific job of stabilizing the vertical posts while permitting me (if I ever needed or wanted to) disassemble and move the whole yard, whereas sinking them into buried concrete blobs would not. You could cast lookalikes for yourself, and treat them to so they'd grow lovely lichens like mine have done. For clotheslines I preferred the plastic coated wire as it seems to last the best. You can buy line tensioners but I find it pretty easy to adjust them manually and the do expand and contract noticeably with the changes in temps and with prolonged use on were breezy days. Diamond makes the best wooden clothespins, IMO, espcially the kind with two bars on the tips. Since I dry in all seaons and wash nearly everyday I find that I almost always have laundry drying. In the winter I use special ice-fisherman's gloves to keep my pinkies warm. I often leave my stuff hanging out overnight (I usually do a last load or two in the evening and except in extraordinarliy frigid weather it's dry by mid-morning.) I don't find it inconvenient to carry the laundry out to the line; in fact I kind of look forward to it as it gets me out of the house; it gives me a chance to gauge the day. I have often seem (or heard) unusual birds while I am quietly working on the laundry. In the early winter, just at dusk I see the (rare for my area) short-ear owls coursing on my meadow. Late evening hanging-outs in the spring give me the buzzy peeent of woodcocks calling. I wouldn't be truthful however, if I didn't report that this winter while I was nursing a torn rotator cuff I did resort to pulling the laundry on a little wagon because carrying wide laundry baskets was out. Today was the first day in nearly six months that I was able to carry them instead of pulling. Using the wagon my old-age plan, but trotting out to hang my clothes 450 feet from my house is what will ward off senior-itis, at least I hope so. (At close to 60, it's not that far away!) But the best part of line drying is the sensual quality of air-dried clothes. Nothing beats it! Molly~

I once had a flood in my basement when my clothes washer overflowed . Took me about four hours to drag everything out to the garbage. And that's what a lot of it was all along-just garbage. Brown paper bags I was saving, ratty old towels, stuff like that. The basement looked beautiful after I mopped up the water, and the lineoleum floor got washed in the process.

Three things to do last evening: we have a federal election coming up and the TV debate was on last night ... and there was a meeting with a mining company in which I've had some shares for several years as presenters ... plus church council was meeting. Have any of you figured how to be three places at once? Wednesday afternoon, and I didn't remove any clothing from the line prior to leaving, this morning (but took in a few, last evening when I returned home, rather late). The guys doing e-file did some income tax return business this morning, but I, preparing paper-based returns, sat and twiddled my thumbs (actually, had some paper work and reading to do). Many people want their refund back ... right ... away! Preparing a flyer showing how some income-earners could have had an increase of over 50% in tax-free income from a certain type of investments during this Prime Minister's term of office from about $28 - 30,000. to over $46,000. ... a diffeent method of calculation having been provided for. While the basic ones, slightly under $10,000., went up about 3%. Took some returns to the tax office, got some gas and soon will be home to take in the last of the two washes and hang out the one left in the washer. I hope that you're all having a great week. Just had this page taken over by a lady with a beautiful smile ... trying to sell me beauty products! Imagine! Took me a while to find the "X marks the spot" thing! ole joyfilled (until a couple of minutes ago)