Lazy Line Dry

Step 2 Clothes with plastic hangers: How to do it fast and easy

To dry shirts, pants, skirts and dresses, use plastic hangers. Take the clothes out of the washer and hang them on the hangers. Hang up the clothes on a line, rod, or hook. Ignore them for a day or so, and then check the thickest cotton item. If it's dry, they'll all be dry. You can then lift the whole batch of clothes off the line and take them to your closet, without handling them individually. If you have a particular organization system in your closet, it can be helpful to sort the clothes according to that system as you hang them, so that they are already sorted when they go in the closet.

You can either carry the clothes in a basket to where you will hang them, and put them on the hangers there, or you can put them on hangers as you take them out of the washer, and then carry the whole batch to the hanging spot. I like the latter because I enjoy spending a few minutes in my hanging spot near my apple tree in my back yard, rather than in my dark basement near the washer.

Let's compare the work involved to the work involved in using a dryer. With a dryer, you move the wet clothes from the washer into the dryer, and then, when the dryer is done, you fold or hang them. That's one "batch" step and one individual handling step. With the plastic hangers, the amount of work is the same, but the order is reversed--you handle them individually hanging them up, and then transfer them in a batch to the closet.

Comments

[redletter]

Put damp clothes on hangers, put hangers on clothes line -- great idea! My Mom loves to line-dry stuff in the nice weather. I'd like to find some kind of clip to hold each hanger on the line in breezy weather. Regular clothes pins can't handle it. Any ideas?

[WILL62]

Try large binder clips they hold 120 sheets of paper and are strong metal with folding handles. I got mine at Office Depot on sale 12 for $1.00..I use them for all kinds of stuff..

[paqrat]

I hung a small Persian rug from a door usiing the large binder clips. I used three of them and I think if I'd only used two the weight of the rug would have pulled it free of the clips. As was, a gentle tug (as when positioning the rug) was enough to dislodge it.

[snowflakey]

string a chain between two posts and hook your hangers in the links. they won't slide, won't blow off.

[paqrat]

Between two posts should work well if the posts are well sunk. I had the bright idea ( or so I thought) of using a chain strung between a pair of wall shelf brackets. Unfortunately the weight of the clothes caused the chain to pull at the shelf supports from the sides causing them to loosen and the chain to sag. The weight actually partially pulled one of the shelf brackets from the wall. I replaced the chain with a piece of alumnum pipe (conduit?) . I have been using it f or some years now but only for a place to hang already dried clothes. Since reading a couple of these instructables I think I may try using it to dry some of the clothes. Something someone may try, if they wash more than one load at a time is to hang the first load in the laundry room then put second load in dryer. In my laundry room running the dryer heats the room up considerably. Two loads of laundry dried for the cost of one.

[paqrat]

Update to the aluminum pipe hanging rod. It works beautifully. I haven't used the dryer in many months. Shirts, socks & underwear tends to dry within one day. Jeans and pants can take two. If you like your clothes all kitten fur soft then this form of drying isn't for you. Clothes definitely come out stiffer but is not uncomfortable to wear.

[i_was_like_you]

More durable than clothes line and will probably make people think twice about stealing your unmentionables.

[redletter]

D'oh, of course! Great idea.

[sara12972]

I found some 'bull dog clips' at staples that were super cheap (certain colors only... who cares about color???). They are super strong, and I can even clip the nice plastic hangers to clothesline. They also work great for reclosing non-resealing food bags..

[LowEnergy]

I have a new instructable on dealing with wind with an added tighter wire hook.

[oldbird]

Pipe foam insulation cut into small 2inch pieces over the line will keep the clothes on the line separated and stopped from bunching up. Any help?

[paqrat]

Great idea!

[LowEnergy]

Good idea--thanks.

[Grady]

Redletter If it's windy, use the wire hangars & just bend-in the hook at the time, so they can't blow off. Florida is really hot, so I wash out my uniforms at nighttime & hang them on nails on my porch. When I get up, the next morning, they-re dry & don't need ironing.

[LowEnergy]

Stay tuned for a new instructable with a system for holding hangers on a pulley-based clothesline...but that system is a little overly complex. For now some simpler ideas would be to try these plastic clamps or something similar from a local hardware store, or binder clips from at stationery store. I haven't tried either, but I imagine the plastic clamps could prevent it from blowing off, but wouldn't keep it in place on the line. The binder clips are cheaper, and could be used to clamp it in place, but are probably a little more awkward to use.

[LowEnergy]

As WhosWho points out, my ideas of plastic clamps or binder clips are pretty silly when clothespins would work better. I also like Grady's idea of bending wire hanger hooks inward. Some difficulties with that: You need to bend it back out to fit on a closet rod, and if you do that enough times eventually it will weaken and break. And the hanger might eventually rust and stain the clothes. Plastic coated hangers are an option, but the plastic is usually vinyl which doesn't have a good environmental reputation.