Clotheslines have more appeal than just natural drying

I have a new toy. I like to hang my laundry outside whenever the weather permits. And, if I’m honest, I have to admit it’s not just because it’s better for the clothes and linens and saves electricity. Those are both excellent reasons. But the primary reason I like to let my laundry dry outside is that everything smells so wonderfully fresh when it dries in the sun. Especially the sheets and pillowcases. When we first moved into this house - deliberately downsizing to a city cottage from a big house in the country - I put up a temporary line in the backyard and it worked fine. The only problem was that it had to be moved whenever I wasn’t doing laundry or when it was time to mow the lawn. Because my backyard is so small, it’s been hard to find a solution that would let me have my clothesline and still have room to navigate in a small area. The answer, as is so often the case, required just a little give and take. Often, when I travel, hotels will have a retractable clothesline over the tub. Perfect for swimsuits or hand-washed delicates. It’s the ideal solution for a tight space like my backyard. Secureline retractable clothesline are exactly like those small hotel lines, only sturdier and suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. They retail for under $20 (I found one on Amazon for around $10) and allow homeowners like me to have a clothesline only when I need it. When there’s no laundry to dry it stays coiled out of the way. This has been a long wet spring. There haven’t been too many days with enough hot sunshine to dry things outdoors. There’s hasn’t been much sunshine at all. But recently the sun stayed around long enough to get the job done. I washed the white cotton coverlet I keep at the foot of the bed and a pair of vintage shams and let them dance in the late spring breeze. It was better for the fibers of the fabric. And it did save electricity. And I was able to put the clothesline away until the next sunny day. But, best of all, at the end of the day I folded the fragrance of sunshine and fresh air into each piece.