For the twenty-odd years that I’ve been doing my laundry, the weather has never factored into my decision to do laundry. That reality changed in July once we got our washing machine.
Before my current outdoor laundry adventures, I was used to hanging clothes on a line when I lived with my parents. My mother didn’t see the point in using the dryer in the summer when we were trying to keep the house cool, so she had my father put up a clothesline in our backyard that we used in the summer.
We don’t have a dryer since we live in a tropical place. The sun is a tremendous natural dryer. Since the cleaned clothes hang outside, I learned to check my phone before starting the laundry.
I’d already been caught unaware and had to rush home and take things off the line because it had started to rain. I’ve had to leave blankets outside for two days because they got drenched by rainfall. And yes, I said blankets; I’m not talking duvets, but I can’t sleep without a cover.
I’m learning you had to secure your stuff properly with the clothespins, especially when it’s a windy day. The wind is great for drying the laundry quicker, but you may lose some items if you don’t pin those puppies properly.
Once you’ve got a handle on the elements, you’ve got to prepare yourself for the bugs. Some ants bite, so you’ve got to watch you don’t step into an ant hill. Before heading to hang the laundry, I arm myself with bug repellant since mosquitoes and I have a love/hate relationship: they love my blood, and I wouldn’t say I like how their bites itch, especially at night.
I’m feeling pretty good about my laundry routine. The weather app doesn’t always get it right, but I’ve learned to go with it because, like Annie said, “the sun will come out tomorrow.” 😉