Viva La Clothesline!

So far this week in Sustainability, you bought local produce, started vermicomposting and now what's the next task that we tend to do endlessly? Yes! Laundry! Let's start to green our laundry, shall we? Project Laundry List promotes the most fun, sensible and helpful ways to save energy and lessen our global impact by reminding us of the beauty and simplicity of the Clothesline.

Project Laundry List's message is simple, "it's a positive approach to change,  empowering by giving people something important that they can do during their daily routine...and we make it fun!" PLL has awarded merit to it's Heroes like Jimmy Carter, actress Darryl Hannah and Canadian mayor Phyllis Morris. But communities around the nation ban the use of clotheslines. So PLL asks us to get involved to help end the ban.

Drying clothes in an electric or gas dryer consumes 6-10% of yearly residential energy use. When we use the warmth of the Sun, we save energy and carbon emissions from the use of the appliance and from coal-fire plants. Washing your clothes in cold water, turning down the water heater thermostat to 120 degrees, wrapping a thermal blanket around the water heater and filling your washer to full capacity are a few green things to that you can do. Great tip is to add 1/2 cup vinegar to the rinse cycle to reduce wrinkles and soften clothes drying on the line.

Mrs. Meyers offers the perfect compliment to drying your clothes on a clothesline. Mrs. Meyers is the best biodegradable cleaning products ever! We only use Mrs. Meyers in my home. Her Clean Day collection is made up of 17 hard-working home cleaners and five laundry products that embody simplicity, common sense and the refreshing power of aromatherapy. These hard-working, yet gentle, cleaning agents provide a delicious fragrance that freshens your entire home.  And the best part, Mrs. Meyers is coming to town! She will be live and in person at the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival Oct. 13-14th. Stop by, say hello and receive some great samples to try in your next load of laundry.

Okay, one last thing to try to totally green your laundry and be ultra sustainable. Have you heard of creating your own wetland using your greywater? Just think, you can use the greywater from you laundry, sink and shower to create a mini wetland right there in your home, apartment or back yard! Greywater Guerillas will show you how. Greywater Guerrillas is this great site I found that is totally inspiring. It promotes sustainable living through creating greywater systems like eco-toilets, ponds and wetlands that are easily created in an apartment living situation. Sarah Shourd writes this after moving from a communal household to an apartment, "in one year, we have raised-bed gardens in the backyard, rain catchment, compost, a clothes line and greywater from the sink and shower that we use to flush the toilet and water the garden. Our landlord is amazed by how low the water bill is!"

As we move through Fall you may be wondering how can I hang my clothes outside during the winter? Sublimation helps dry clothes in cold temperatures and cloudy days. So start practicing now, save lots of energy and join the fun on National Hang Out Day April 19, 2008! Viva la Clothesline!

Comments

[Dave Boyce]

I'm a reporter for a small weekly newspaper in the SF Bay Area.

I don't know where you're located, but do you know of any contacts in California who are working toward a "right-to-dry" initiative such as reportedly passed in Vermont recently?

Please write or, if necessary, call at 650-854-2690, ext. 210.

I am writing this story this week so I need to talk with people in California ASAP.

Thanks very much. - Dave Boyce