I have a new solar and wind powered clothes dryer, and I love it. I remember very well helping my grandmother do the laundry using her wringer washer and a large double concrete sink. The washer was powered by electricity, but after the wash cycle we were required to feed the clothing through a wringer and into the rinse water, where we stirred it around with a long wooden rod. Next the clothes were fed through another wringer into the second tub of water which grandma had added bluing to. This was to make the whites brighter. I loved stirring the clothes in the bluing water. Then it all went through another wringer into a laundry basket. Grandma warned me often not to get my hands too close to the wringer, lest my fingers get caught. I imagined them being painfully flattened, so I always kept them at a safe distance while I was carefully feeding the fabric in. We would carry the basket of clean clothes out to the back yard and hang them on the clothesline. The wind and sunshine dried them while we ate lunch and did other chores around the house. I was always glad when there was a decent breeze so that my clothes did not have that stiff, crispy feeling when we took them off the line. This was before the days of permanent pressed fabric, so grandma had to iron pretty much everything. Often she would sprinkle the clothes with water, roll them up and put them in the freezer until she was ready to iron them.
I truly enjoy hanging the clothes outside. I hang my undergarments on the middle line so that they are hidden by the t-shirts, pants, and linens. That way the neighbors cannot gawk at my unmentionables. I hang t-shirts from the bottom, ensuring that there are no weird creases on the shoulders. I use one clothespin where two garments meet, otherwise I can quickly run out of them. As I hang the different fabrics I imagine that I am creating a work of art that the whole neighborhood can enjoy for the day. Sometimes I group colors in a coordinating fashion, other times my wash looks like a wild imitation of a Picasso painting. The smell of freshly washed and line dried sheets are such a sensory pleasure at the end of the day.
Our dependence on fossil fuels has enslaved us for far too long. We are at the mercy of the companies who profit from our reliance on electricity and gas. Most of us live in areas where there is only one choice for our utility services, so there is no competition for our business. Our only defense is to use less, or use none at all. I've often thought that the Amish have had it right all along. If we could all become at least a little more like this group of people who have eschewed these "modern" conveniences, we would be doing ourselves and the planet a huge favor.
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