Cutting the electricity bill
@thebeaddoodler (4262)
Lubbock, Texas
July 17, 2008 12:09pm CST
I've been looking for way to cut the electric bill. I absolutely love the smell of sun dried clothes, but I don't have a clothes line. The wind blows so hard here that one of the nifty portable umbrella type would not be feasible.
This morning I remembered reading in one of my herb books that rosemary used to be planted as a hedge around a garden, trimmed flat on top and used to spread clothes out to dry. Gave a nice added scent to the clothes.
I got to thinking that even though my rosemary bushes weren't trimmed flat on top they would probably do to spread towels on, so I took 4 towels out and spread them on the rosemary bushes. We'll see if the wind picks them up and sails them into the dirt.
Here's a picture of my rosemary bushes earlier in the spring, but there's nothing to give you an idea of the size. Tohgether they measure about six feet across and they're about three and one half feet high.
3 people like this
14 responses
@jonesy123 (3948)
• United States
17 Jul 08
Just put a clothes line between trees or put two posts in the ground and string it between them. The clothes do smell much better than if you would use a dryer. And it provides some much needed savings on the electricity bill and you save on dryer sheets to scent the clothes. You can use it year-round unless of course it rains;)
Looks like many of us are trying to revert to some old-fashioned approaches in order to save money.
2 people like this
@thebeaddoodler (4262)
• Lubbock, Texas
17 Jul 08
Trees??? I would love to have trees big enough to hold up a clothes line. I've got a couple that MIGHT get there sometime soon. And posts in the ground I have, but they are fence posts. . .with barbed wire strung between them. LOL Not good for hanging clothes on.
Yeah! I don't know how I can have herbs that take over everywhere, but trees just don't like my property at all! I've probably planted 20 or so trees in the past 15 years. I have 3 Siberian elms that have finally decided to grow in the last 3 years. They just stood their ground for the first 10 or 12 years. 
At least they didn't die!
At least they didn't die!
@snowy22315 (179734)
• United States
17 Jul 08
That's using your noodle. I guess you will kill two birds with one stone with that idea. I have laid things out to dry on my deck rail before. I keep forgetting to do that with the towels though. I do not have any people living close by so I dont care how it looks. I could put my sheets out there too because sheets always smell nice if they have an outside smell to them. I remember as a kid how good the laundry smelled.
2 people like this
@cutepenguin (6431)
• Canada
18 Jul 08
I usually just have things hanging in my shower. We live in an apartment so we don't have a yard. I could hang them in the balcony, but it's a tiny balcony and we don't have a rack.
Rosemary sounds so nice.
1 person likes this
@thebeaddoodler (4262)
• Lubbock, Texas
18 Jul 08
In the winter my shower/tub is always cluttered with those things that I don't want to trust to the dryer due to excessive heat. I don't know how I'd deal with not having a yard, although when we get lots of rain I'd sometimes like to try. LOL
@FlaKNMB (831)
• United States
29 Jul 08
I love this idea! (You're just full of fabulous ideas!) Because I have muscular dystrophy and my upper body is weak, I can't use a clothesline so I dry all my laundry in an electric dryer. The electric cost is higher than hanging them out to dry, but we got the dryer for #35 at an auction (so we saved some money there). I don't have any herb bushes but maybe I'll grow some just so I can try this. Would lavendar work for this idea or is the plant too soft to support linens?
@thebeaddoodler (4262)
• Lubbock, Texas
29 Jul 08
I wish I could answer you on the lavender. I can't get it to grow here. I had one plant that came back 2 years but it never got over 9 inches high and was a tiny little plant.
Bear in mind that my rosemary bushes are 14 years old and the first three or four years I cut them back almost mercilessly because I was using a lot of rosemary. The pruning make the stems very thick and woody. It may grow quicker and get sturdier in other parts of the country than it did here. Any kind of shrub that doesn't have thorns on it would work except for the scent.
@ElicBxn (63568)
• United States
20 Jul 08
Your first problem is you live in Lubbock, that's why you can't grow trees. Its also why you have the wind problems....
You might look into getting some poles for clothes line at some point.
And, to soften up the towels, after they are dry, put them for a few minutes in the dryer just to fluff them up.
1 person likes this
@ElicBxn (63568)
• United States
21 Jul 08
Actually, I've never lived in Lubbock, I live in Austin... But, I've driven thru Lubbock and have had a friend live in Amarillo - and you think LUBBOCK is bad!
I, on the other hand, HAD a clothes line in the back yard, but it had to be taken out to put in the spa porch. I never used it anyway - the dog thought clothes had to be torn off and run around the yard with.
1 person likes this
@thebeaddoodler (4262)
• Lubbock, Texas
21 Jul 08
And how long did you live in Lubbock? Only someone who's lived here could truly understand.
When we moved onto this property 15 years ago, my son was given two T poles, but I've never been able to get him to put them up. Maybe some day. His wife wanted a clothes line for bedding because they just had a small apartment size washer and dryer and it wouldn't dry the comforters. Now she has a super size one, so he only has one woman nagging him about a clothes line, so I may never get him to put it up. 
1 person likes this
@renitaperrone (547)
• United States
17 Jul 08
I hope it works out for you! I try to line dry mine when I can, but we have high humidity and lots of rain in the summer so now is not the time of year for it!
As for cutting your electric bill - have you called to see if they offer some sort of program to help reduce your bill? My company offers what they call the "on call" system, which gives them the right to occasionally interrupt your power for like a second at a time. Honestly I've been a SAHM for 7 years and never noticed them doing it. Saves me a few bucks per month. Depends on what appliances they can attach to it. But, it's worth checking into.
1 person likes this
@thebeaddoodler (4262)
• Lubbock, Texas
17 Jul 08
I belong to an electric co-op. They are member owned and have the lowest rates possible since they are a non profit company. They don't offer any thing like what you're talking about, but they put out a monthly magazine and every month there's usually an article about little ways to cut your electric bill that people just don't think about.
@thebeaddoodler (4262)
• Lubbock, Texas
17 Jul 08
National Rural Electric Association has been around since the 1940's or earlier. It's original aim was to bring electricity to rural areas (as you can see by the name). They're still going strong. Most of the time their service is not available withing city limits. I live 3 miles from the city limits so I'm elegable to use their services.
@renitaperrone (547)
• United States
17 Jul 08
An electric co-op? That is an interesting idea!
1 person likes this
@danishcanadian (28953)
• Canada
17 Jul 08
NOt having the internet at home is great, because when I am not at home, I do't have a lot o lights and stu on. I use my omputer at the cofee shop, and just turn eeything off at home before I leave.
1 person likes this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
20 Jul 08
I love that idea. I just got a new herb scented candle for the house because I love the scents so much. Thanks for the great idea.
I went to IKEA and bought a drying rack for $5 that fits in my tub. It will hold a medium size load okay but close together. It takes a while to dry but on the brighter side it cools the house off a bit. I am a firm believer that every penny counts.
@lilybug (21107)
• United States
17 Jul 08
I have a clothes line, but I rarely remember to use it. I have some rugs hanging out there right now though because if I dry them in the dryer the plastic non skid stuff comes off in the dryer.
That is one big rosemary bush. I don't think I have seen one that big before. It sounds like a good idea for you to use it though. I hope it works out well for you.
1 person likes this
@vera5d (4005)
• United States
17 Jul 08
That sounds like an interesting way to dry clothes!
We switched to a gas dryer several months ago and the savings has been unbelievable - about $30 a month! The old dryer was in bad shape (took a good 2 hours for clothes to dry & with me doing laundry at least once a day was used quite a bit!) While our gas bill is slightly higher, it's still a good savings over the electric dryer.
We also switched to those fluorescent bulbs recently and I am starting to like that they never burn out! I used to replace lightbulbs constantly, now I rarely do it & when I do replace it w/a fluorescent one :)
1 person likes this
@craftymom (71)
• United States
17 Jul 08
vera5d,
about those bulbs:
In case you don't know, every package I have seen says they are guaranteed to work for at least 2 years or you can return them to the store where you bought them.
So, be sure to keep the packages and receipts.
The last time we returned some was to Walmart and they did not want to take them back after their 90 day return policy. Just remember to stand your ground.
Also, the larger ones seem to last longer than the smaller ones (the ones that look more like regular light bulbs).
good luck with them
1 person likes this
@creative_genius (992)
•
6 Aug 08
I also don't have a clothes line- however my friend suggested taking a clothes horse out and weighing the legs down with bricks. She has done this before. I am just waiting for good enough weather to try this now! Your rosemary looks amazing, I want some! The only thing edible in my garden is rhubarb!
1 person likes this
