Air Drying versus Electric Drying

Last night I went through many articles and online resources for saving money and cutting down costs.  One of the articles suggested line drying clothes instead of using the dryer.  I thought about the amount of laundry I do on a weekly basis.  With eight people in our home, including teenage girls and a two year old, I do a LOT of laundry.  I've always just thrown everything in the dryer.  I guess I like the convenience. 

I never thought about line drying my clothes.  Honestly, I like the dryer...especially in the winter.  There is nothing more wonderful than to throw on a sweater or sweatshirt fresh from the dryer on a cold, winter morning.  My girls tend to throw their jeans in the dryer to warm them before they put them before school.

But when I consider the energy costs I know we need to make some changes.  My research led me to learning about how using a dryer is not only energy consuming, but also wears out your clothes faster, sets in stains, and shrinks the fabrics.  As I thought of this I realized that if there is one thing I need to do in this economy, it is to take good care of the clothes we have so they last as long as possible. 

I grew up with line-dried clothes.  My grandma only used her dryer in the winter.  In the summer, I remember helping her hang out the wash and gather it up again.  Even in the winter, it was not uncommon to see her laundry room cluttered with assorted things hanging around to dry.  Her clothes always smelled so fresh and were so soft.

However, it seemed to me that all the line dried clothes I've had were stiff.  My research said to use a fabric softener, and then when the clothes were dry, stick them in the dryer for a few minutes to fluff them. 

I picked up a clothes rack to dry our clothes on today.  We're going to give it a go.  It looks similar to the picture at the top.  My main fear is that it will just take forever to get clothes to dry, and with the amount of laundry I do, it won't be able to keep up.  I have a clothes line that my husband is going to install in the laundry room.  Come spring, I will have him put a clothes line up outside if I like the results of our indoor drying.  Some things may have to go in the dryer, but I'll experiment.

If this saves us some on our energy bill, then I'll think it is worth it.  Last year our energy costs were extremely high, and this year I know we won't be able to afford those same high prices.  I did get our rates reduced, but I'm still taking lots of extra measures.  This is just one more step.