August's challenge is No Dryer Month. We will be committing not to use our dryer at all for an entire month. Will you join us?
Did you know that...
- Dryers are among the top 3 energy consumers in most homes, along with the fridge and the water heater?
- Line-dried clothing puts less stress on clothing, causing it to last longer?
- Line-dried bedsheets smell heavenly?
- The suns rays actually kill germs and whiten whites?
If you're planning to take the plunge with us, I've made a banner (it's 300 x 300px) for you to display on your own blog. Just cut and paste the code below.
<a href="http://theyearofless.blogspot.ca/2012/07/announcing-august-challenge-no-dryer.html"target="”_blank”"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaKhciVj_-nKJS7s-ITPAyy3Apla-amR-ork6tg3olOGAhttVh7BMvS-zIWvKQ-dunh09qeFPkbbsfcozsVu5Z4ZpCPvdzeZF-PeN5juyCyDh5llCmEgI3DuAjB0g3-Qi3OKlrJeDERxY/s300/no%2520dryer%2520month%2520300px.jpg" /></a>
Or you can let all of your friends on facebook know that you are taking the challenge by visiting this photo that I've uploaded to our facebook page and clicking the "share" button!
Thanks so much for taking this challenge together with us! We can't wait!
We are doing one small thing every day for a year to create a simpler, quieter, more intentional life. Take a moment to read all About Us, check out The Rules of our year long project and sign up for our RSS feed or "like" us on facebook so that you can follow our journey to radical simplicity!
I am really excited about this challenge. I have been working on my hubby to get him to build me a clothesline and this week he finally agreed!
ReplyDeleteI am excited to hear how to make my towels non-crunchy :) I dry my clothes outside, but usually throw them in the dryer for about 10 minutes just to fluff them a bit. I would love to not have to use the dryer at all!
ReplyDeleteI love your blog and just gave you a shout out on my blog: http://25thingstodobefore25.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteKeep posting... I can't wait to read long throughout the year! -Jennifer
Would like to take the challenge. However, I'm wondering how to dry our clothes outside when it rains almost every day and never gets above 60 degrees where I live?
ReplyDeleteYou can buy drying racks and dry your clothes inside your home over night
DeleteWe just moved July 1st and our new places is a coin-op dryer so we've been dryer free all month of July. I could definitely use some tips. So far I love it, but I definitely want the motivation to continue.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm linked up! http://hugsandstrawberries.wordpress.com/
ReplyDeleteI don't own a dryer! I have 4 laundromats in walking distance (and have used their wash and dry for an intervention for someone else... grief stopped their laundry habits). I find it easy enough in my one bed apartment for just me. I just can't be 'ok' with the power consumption part!
ReplyDeleteI love crunchy towels - they dry so much better! That's right, no fabric softener for this girl!
never used fabric softener and don't miss it :-) In fact whenever I stay in a house of someone who does use it, I don't see what the fuss is about.
DeleteI love crunchy line-dried towels too!
DeleteDo you have any tips on keeping grass fleas from jumping onto the clothes? We use my in-laws line and their grass is infested. My toddler gets a horrible rash from the bites! I'd LOVE to use the line again but, alas, until they are willing to treat their lawn I am stuck.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I live in a third floor apartment with a small deck. What would you recommend for hang drying my clothes? :)
ReplyDeleteNorth Americans and their dryers huh??!
ReplyDeleteI haven't got one, it does help that we live in a great climate down under in New Zealand, but even now it's the wet winter and I line dry in my garage and when the fire is on at night I finish them off on a nearby clothes airer ! All the best with your challenge, I guess we all have our challenges !!!
I've never seen a dryer, but somehow my laudry gets dry anyway. I live in northern Italy, where summers are crazy hot and winters really damp and cold (last February we had a huge snowfall resulting in 80cm of snow in the city), and no-one here uses a dryer. We usually line dry outside when the weather is good (I live in a small apartment, so I use a standing line dryer and I put it on the balcony), or inside when it is not (the same standing line dryer can stay in my living room while the laundry gets dry). I am truly fascinated by this habit you North Americans have. It really seems something easy to give up with, but of course I think this because I never used a dryer and line drying is the only way I know to dry my laudry. This all really falls under the consumistic culture and the unuseful needs it makes us believe to have. I'll be following you challenges, and see if I can simplify my habits as well.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your summer,
Anna
My family doesn't own a dryer (or a washing machine). We got to the laundry mat 2-4 times a month. I hand wash cloth diapers and some of the baby's clothes in a bucket and then hang them on clothes hangers on the shower curtain bar. We kind of have to use the dryers when we go to the laundry mat though because we live in an apartment and there isn't enough space to hang all the laundry. Wish we could have a clothes line, but we don't have a yard or a balcony.
ReplyDeleteI am in awe of you. We cloth diaper and I couldn't imagine handwashing them!
DeleteCan you give any tips on what to do if your backyard is full of dirt. I know it sounds funny but my backyard isn't finished (and wont be anytime soon) and I'm worried that the dust will get all over the clothes. Especially since it's been windy here. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteoh my goesh, its winter here so this will be a real challenge for our family ... bring it on i say!
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome! I have a dryer, but I rarely use it anymore. In December, my husband built me a clothesline in our laundry/utility room in our basement with some 2x4s hanging down from the rafters. That plus a cheap drying rack from the discount store is the perfect amount to hold a full load of laundry. I love it! It actually makes laundry so much less stressful because I don't have to wait for the dryer to finish to get a load done. I wash one load a day, and it takes about 24 hours to dry. Then I just take that down, replace it with the wet load, and fold and put away the dry one. On warm sunny days, I hang on our deck. I definitely think our clothes are staying nicer, especially the kids clothes since I always seem to miss stains the first time around. They don't get baked in the dryer, losing all hope of getting them out! I was really surprised at the difference in our electricity consumption too!
ReplyDeleteThis will be easy for me:). We don't have a dryer. I can't imagine having one in our appartment. I don't use fabric softener either.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the soft towels tip.
Ieva
My husband and I have been dryer-free for a month. We have used an assortment of drying racks, string, clamps, and (finally!) clothes line strung between two trees. Our clothes dry faster on the clothes line than they ever did in a dryer. In the winter, we put our clothes on drying racks near the heating vents.
ReplyDeleteI went to the hardwars store and priced drying racks & clothes lines today. :(
ReplyDelete~M~
oops! that was suppose to be .. :)
ReplyDeletehaha...I thought you were sad about the price of drying racks! By the way, if you live anywhere near an IKEA they sell some very reasonably priced drying racks! http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/categories/departments/laundry/20602/
DeleteHaha!! I suppose the sad face would have worked then b/c they are a bit pricy! Ufortunately the nearest IKEA is hours away. I'll figure something out.. I have a couple days still. ;)
Delete~M~
I'm another one without a dryer. It really is not hard to live without one - you just make it work. I would imagine it is harder if it is sitting there, tempting you! Even with two in cloth nappies we didn't need one - but it seems to me that many Americans do a lot more washing such as changing towels after one use etc or have a washing day still. I just do one load a day, five or six days a week - sometimes in the summer I do two loads a day and wash the bedding etc - and it is easy to dry one load a day on the line or on racks inside.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe how reliant you guys are on your driers. In the UK, we love to hang out our washing on a line. The smell is indeed heavenly. Once you try this there is no going back. And living in an apartment is no excuse. Years ago, my Gran(ma) lived in an "apartment" and she used one of these in her kitchen to hang the clothes. It was lowered by rope to allow you to put your clothes over it and it was then hoisted back up to the ceiling to allow the stuff to dry
ReplyDeletehttp://uk.ebid.net/for-sale/black-or-white-victorian-pulley-operated-clothes-airer-60758224.htm?from=googleshop_uk
You won't get that outside smell but it was effective in drying the clothes and bedsheets. There is always another option. I can't wait to try your year of less
I have to agree with you, Lynne! I had a bit of a chuckle at a challenge to not use a dryer in summer. We live in Australia, and I use my dryer extremely rarely, even in winter. I can see how it could be different in a small apartment, however. A clothes line is pretty much a standard item in every Aussie backyard - the Hills Hoist (google it!) is an awesome Aussie invention! :)
DeleteHaving said that, I'm looking forward to seeing what the other challenges will be!
We are military stationed in Germany and electricity is EXPENSIVE here. I used our dryer for 6 months after we moved in (middle of the worst winter EVER). When spring rolled around I bought two of the drying racks for our clothes and did pretty good about no dryer. A few months ago I finally convinced my husband into buying me a big umbrella ground rack for the back yard. I've used the dryer all of maybe 3 times since May. As soon as it was in the yard I pledged no dryer summer and I'm quite proud of my only 3 uses.
ReplyDeleteOh and whoever said they liked stiff towels, I totally agree with you on how they dry better. And fabric softener is an expensive waste of money, just add some vinegar to the rinse cycle and its the same thing; the clothes wont smell either.
I hung my first clothesline after reading your laundry routine post on your other blog and am loving line-drying! I tried three loads of towels line dried and got the crunch every time so I am looking forward to your tips to avoiding that. I've been line-drying everything except towels and burp cloths since that post. I also made my own Oxyclean spray. Thank you!
ReplyDelete-Sandy
Our dryer broke a few months ago (probably from lack of love! lol) and I was actually relieved we wouldn't have to bring it when we move!
ReplyDeleteYou can not beat the smell of sunshine on line dried sheets! I wouldn't have it any other way!
I love your ideas! I will try and do some of it as not all in achievable for me unfortunately but a month without a dryer is easy peasy for me! I have one, I only use it 4 times a month tops! I can do this!!!
ReplyDeleteI love this blog, and have gotten rid of my paper towels and planning to get to the thrift store in the next couple days for napkins. I tried hanging my clothes inside- sO humid here in the south to hang anything outdoors. But all my clothes ended up smelling musty, any tips?
ReplyDeleteWhat is really funny is that I have been using my dryer less and hanging the clothes on the line then my dryer broke and I am refusing to buy a new one at this point.
ReplyDeleteI would love to not use the dryer, but I have NO yard to stretch an outdoor clothesline so I won't get that wonderful smell. But the biggest issue is that I work in an office outside my home. I can't go to work in line-dried, wrinkled clothes and just "wait for the wrinkles to work themselves out". I tried it and spent more time, energy and sweat with the iron than with the dryer. Any ideas?
ReplyDeletehave you tried the spray on wrinkle releasers?
DeleteI haven't had a dryer in 2 years, I live in a tiny town in western Kentucky and use my clothesline daily, year round. In the summer I wash at least one load every day and during the winter I use drying racks in the basement and wait for a nice day to wash big things like sheets. If the sky is clear, I hang out laundry, winter or summer. It takes longer to dry when it is cold, but they will dry.
ReplyDeleteHow do you all keep undergarments from stretching out?
ReplyDeleteI have not had a dryer for 4 years. My 3 children have learned to plan ahead if they have something special they want to wear on a certain day. We can always go to a nearby laundromat to use the dryers in an 'emergency'. I live in Michigan. I use a clothesline during spring, summer, and autumn, and use a clothesline and dowel dryers in the basement during winter. In a pinch, I hang wet clothes on the shower rod and use a space heater (with a safety shut off) in my smaller bathroom.
ReplyDelete