Today kicks off International Clothesline Week - do your part to be green!!!!

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Before there was ever such a thing as International Clothesline Week, do you remember as a kid seeing your mother hang the clothes on the clothesline and a few hours later helping her to take them down and smelling the freshness of each piece? This brings back so many memories for me!!!! I'm glad my mom did this because she taught me that nothing beats the smell of fresh laundry, especially when you are laying in bed!!!!I don't do this as much in the winter because I don't like frozen clothes, but I am investing in indoor racks so I can put them in my sunroon this year. Now many people ONLY use dryers ... lots of dryers!Over 75% of our households have a clothes dryer drawing huge amounts of energy! If every household participated for even one day it would save us a huge amount of energy which translates into a huge dollar savings. More importantly that translates into less charcoal pollutants and thus less health consequences associated with coal driven electricity. As a global community, if we could all hang our clothes to dry, it will mean healthier mentalities, healthier relationships and a healthier earth. And that's just one day; how about a week, a year, a lifetime??For at least one week, International Clothesline Week encourages the public to hang clothes to dry instead of using their electric or gas dryer. If you can, make it a lifetime practice. Like a new years resolution make it the beginning of a new “healthy” habit. If you already do hang your clothes, commit to encouraging at least one other person, IN THE WORLD, to hang their clothes and/or commit to doing something else for the environment. Clothesline: In lieu of having a traditional clothesline (you know, the one with two pulleys, one on each end) you could create an indoor clothesline installation, temporarily using a piece of rope and tie it between two solid structures. Where to hang your clothes: OUTSIDE on a clothesline would be best and you can also use: a clothes rack, a chair, your back porch, your unused treadmill, etc. I invested in a clothestree from Lowes that is easily put into the ground, with a little concrete and then we take it down when we are not using it. The Mission is to have all humans of this earth collectively save energy by hanging clothes to dry as often as possible for the environment. Things to consider when hanging clothes to dry:saves up to 10% of residential energy; Running a dryer 20 hours a month will cost you on average 100 kilowatt hours. A clothesline's operating costs are zero!! less need for nuclear energy or coal energy less emissions which saves our health, literally less deaths and saves the earth using solar and wind power - free clothes smell better (like sun and air) clothes feel better clothes will last much longer (less wear and tear from the heat and tumbling of the dryer) clothes don't wrinkle – no need to use electric iron, another savings no need to wait for the dryer to finish don't have to empty the lint tray improve relationships; working together for the greater good builds friendships and love… (my girls often help me and this is when we have our little "girl" talks!can be therapeutic – the time it takes to hang the clothes can be time of reflection of you, family, earth, etc. burn calories - because you're exercising many muscles you burn about 45 calories every 15 minutes.