2 years ago, I didn't care much about the environment. I didn't litter, I recycled when convienent, and I didn't deliberatly waste water, electricity, or food. I knew people in college who were environmentalists, and they were a bit kooky to me. Fanatical. Obsessive. I was more laid back than these people, I figured. More normal. Then I had a baby.Actually, things changed when I got pregnant.
All of a sudden, I had a little life inside me that was directly impacted by what I breathed, ate, and drank. This person had no choice in the matter. I became a bit paranoid. If someone dare smoke next to me at an outdoor eating establishment, I would coolly glare at them, then say something loudly to my husband about the baby being hurt by their tobacco usage, their insensitive tobacco usage around a pregnant woman. Then I would move, holding my belly (even when just a few weeks pregnant, I would hold it for emphasis) and go to another table, or inside. Pity the person who made a cheese dip at the church potluck. Did it have soft cheese in it? Dangerous for the baby. Lunch meat? Nope. Hot dogs? Nitrates! I think I was pretty scary, and definitely very nervous.
Once my beautiful daughter Maryam was born, my world turned upside down, as did my lifestyle. We started out using cloth diapers, and when it was warm enough I began to hang them up outside to dry. Soon I was hanging all my family's clothing outside (except my underwear - their underwear was out flapping for the neighbors to comment on, but mine went into the dryer). My clothesline was an act of rebellion. My cranky neighborhood association doesn't allow it. But I was president at the time (a very cranky president), and the neighbors have an illegal pool, so I felt strangely justified. It felt good to not run the dryer on a 89 degree day. There is something soothing about hanging up clothes, and seeing your husband's boxer shorts flapping in the wind.My poor clothesline is just a line strung up across the corner of my fence. The dog has taken to pooping under it, which I try not to take personally. But it is my little piece of earthiness which I really do enjoy, even when a storm comes up and soaks everything. I pretend it's God's final rinse, making them softer. That way I don't curse.
I think the amount of money that I save with using the clothesline is pretty small. I do it because it seems so wasteful to run the dryer when the sun does such a great job of it. It also encourages my family to wear their jeans more than one day. Jeans off a clothesline are crunchy, and soften out with wearing. More wearing means less washing, which is good for a somewhat lazy earth mama like me. Luckily underware does not get better the more you wear it without washing. It took a lot of discussion to convince my stepsons that underware should be changed on a daily basis. There are so many things I need to teach these youngons.We never hung out clothes when I was growing up. I actually had to do research on how to hang up clothes on a line (most importantly, hang shirts up side down and inside out). This summer, the boys are helping me with hanging out and taking down laundry, and I hope that they're learning some stuff, like how much laundry they go through in a week. I also hope they learn that it's not that much more difficult to hang clothes out, and that they smell wonderful, and not to hang them out before dad mows the lawn. And to watch where they step, because the dog likes to poop in the shade of their boxers.
All of a sudden, I had a little life inside me that was directly impacted by what I breathed, ate, and drank. This person had no choice in the matter. I became a bit paranoid. If someone dare smoke next to me at an outdoor eating establishment, I would coolly glare at them, then say something loudly to my husband about the baby being hurt by their tobacco usage, their insensitive tobacco usage around a pregnant woman. Then I would move, holding my belly (even when just a few weeks pregnant, I would hold it for emphasis) and go to another table, or inside. Pity the person who made a cheese dip at the church potluck. Did it have soft cheese in it? Dangerous for the baby. Lunch meat? Nope. Hot dogs? Nitrates! I think I was pretty scary, and definitely very nervous.
Once my beautiful daughter Maryam was born, my world turned upside down, as did my lifestyle. We started out using cloth diapers, and when it was warm enough I began to hang them up outside to dry. Soon I was hanging all my family's clothing outside (except my underwear - their underwear was out flapping for the neighbors to comment on, but mine went into the dryer). My clothesline was an act of rebellion. My cranky neighborhood association doesn't allow it. But I was president at the time (a very cranky president), and the neighbors have an illegal pool, so I felt strangely justified. It felt good to not run the dryer on a 89 degree day. There is something soothing about hanging up clothes, and seeing your husband's boxer shorts flapping in the wind.My poor clothesline is just a line strung up across the corner of my fence. The dog has taken to pooping under it, which I try not to take personally. But it is my little piece of earthiness which I really do enjoy, even when a storm comes up and soaks everything. I pretend it's God's final rinse, making them softer. That way I don't curse.
I think the amount of money that I save with using the clothesline is pretty small. I do it because it seems so wasteful to run the dryer when the sun does such a great job of it. It also encourages my family to wear their jeans more than one day. Jeans off a clothesline are crunchy, and soften out with wearing. More wearing means less washing, which is good for a somewhat lazy earth mama like me. Luckily underware does not get better the more you wear it without washing. It took a lot of discussion to convince my stepsons that underware should be changed on a daily basis. There are so many things I need to teach these youngons.We never hung out clothes when I was growing up. I actually had to do research on how to hang up clothes on a line (most importantly, hang shirts up side down and inside out). This summer, the boys are helping me with hanging out and taking down laundry, and I hope that they're learning some stuff, like how much laundry they go through in a week. I also hope they learn that it's not that much more difficult to hang clothes out, and that they smell wonderful, and not to hang them out before dad mows the lawn. And to watch where they step, because the dog likes to poop in the shade of their boxers.
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