Tag: laundry

Laundry time

Taken with the PlayBook

Despite the busy and hectic few days mentioned, when I saw this photo I was compelled to make time to comment.

This photo is from from last January. Yes that’s right, Faye is hanging laundry and yes, the ground is snow covered. Though a cloudy day the humidity level was probably low and as you see from the sheet slightly billowing, there was a slight breeze.

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Laundry does dry in subfreezing weather. Not 100%, but enough that a short session inside on drying racks removes all residual moisture. I did not believe it until I witnessed it.

We hang laundry because we do not have a dryer, which must seem amazingly primitive to some people. Even when our small town had a laundromat we used the ‘solar and wind powered dryer’. Even if we did have one (and it would be nice), we’d still hang laundry. Hanging laundry smells fresher. It endures less wear and tear. It costs far, far less money. There are also two somewhat overlooked attributes to hanging laundry.

One is that is that you pay a little more attention to the weather. ‘Do I have an opportunity to get laundry done tomorrow, before that chance of rain?’ Related to that, you have to get outside. To get off the couch, to be active, to live in our real world of warmth, cold, sun, clouds, wind, no wind.

I must confess. Faye takes responsibility for doing laundry, which means that she’s the one much more often than not who is hanging, un-hanging. I’m very, very grateful and appreciative that she does it. And am reminded when these chores fall on me how very blessed I am to have a partner to take on this responsibility.

Folding towels

Faye is very detail oriented and organized in many ways. One of those ways is folding laundry, like towels. I have been the recipient of some good-natured hectoring on this topic.

How I folded towels when I was on my own is a detail lost in the mists of time; I think I folded in half lengthwise, half lengthwise again, then half widthwise. My towel folding talent and acumen were gently and humourously derided. Towels folded thus did not fit neatly into our bathroom cabinet. This was documented.

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If I recall correctly Faye learned to fold towels in 4-H: Fold in thirds lengthwise then fold in thirds widthwise. This is how they are supposed to be folded in our household. Hand towels and washcloths are a topic outside the range of this post; suffice it to say they have their own rules.

I have had a spot of trouble getting with the program. Say, years worth of trouble. After a while – say about six years – I began getting close. They were often re-folded but hey, I was getting close.

This summer, after seven years, something seemed to click. I was taking laundry off the clothesline and folding it a few weeks ago. As I folded towels Faye watched and said something along the lines of ‘Whoa dude I think you got it.’

And they say old dogs can’t learn new tricks. Behold.

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Faye, thank you for your years of patience, tolerance, and forbearance. Perhaps one day I’ll learn – not master, simply learn – how to fold sheets and pillowcases.

It does dry

It does dry

We hang the laundry in all temperatures unless it’s precipitating. Yesterday was sunny with low humidity and even with a -10 temperature, this laundry got mostly dry.