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Clotheslines

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Faster horses

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I still like using my clothes line, especially for sheets.. they smell so good.






It's always the simple things in life................

THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES: (If you don't know what

clothesline are, better skip this.)

1. You had to wash the clothesline before hanging any clothes - walk the

entire lengths of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.

2. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang

"whites" with "whites," and hang them first.

3. You never hung a shirt by the shoulders - always by the tail.

What would the neighbors think?

4. Wash day on a Monday! Never hang clothes on the weekend or

Sunday for Heaven's sake!

5. Hang the sheets and towels on the outside lines so you could hide

your "unmentionables" in the middle (perverts & busybodies, y'know!).

6. It didn't matter if it was sub-zero weather ... clothes would

"freeze-dry".

7. Always gather the clothespins when taking down dry clothes! Pins

left on the lines were "tacky!"

8. If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each

item did not need two clothespins, but shared one of the clothespins with

the next washed item.

9. Clothes off the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the

clothes basket, and ready to be ironed.

10. IRONED?! On Tuesday .. Well, that's a whole other subject!


A POEM

A clothesline was a news forecast
To neighbors passing by,
There were no secrets you could keep
When clothes were hung to dry.

It also was a friendly link
For neighbors always knew
If company had stopped on by
To spend a night or two.

For then you'd see the "fancy sheets"
And towels upon the line;
You'd see the "company table cloths"
With intricate designs.

The line announced a baby's birth
From folks who lived inside -
As brand new infant clothes were hung,
So carefully with pride!

The ages of the children could
So readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed,
You'd know how much they'd grown!

It also told when illness struck,
As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too
Haphazardly were strung.

It also said, "Gone on vacation now"
When lines hung limp and bare.
It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged
With not an inch to spare!

New folks in town were scorned upon
If wash was dingy and gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their brows,
And looked the other way .. . ...

But clotheslines now are of the past,
For dryers make work much less.
Now what goes on inside a home
Is anybody's guess!

I really miss that way of life.
It was a friendly sign
When neighbors knew each other best
By what hung on the line.
 
Well according to the "rules" I break alot of em...but I still like the outdoor freshness!..Guess I'm a rebel in that way..lol :wink:
 
Fun to read those again, FH. The pins live on the clothesline. I do like the outdoor fresh smell, too.

But, mine is out of commission since our little flood threat of a few weeks back. It's an umbrella style with a center pole and turns with the breeze, etc. Well the guys in their midnight fight to berm up the 20some foot stretch vulnerable to flood waters from Brave Bull creek behind our house one night when a neighbor's dam washed out along with torrential rains upstream, uprooted the clothesline a little carelessly and it will need some repairs, and the berm moved away before I can hang clothes outside. i think they would rather I just forget it at my age, but it isn't going to happen!
 

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