[Linda] Question… can you dry sheets and clothes on a line in the cold of winter? I think I remember my mom doing this?
[Natalie] I have heard about this but don’t know the details. I think maybe they ironed them when they brought them in?
[Mick] I’ve never done it (we only line-dry in the spring, summer, and fall), but it can be done. The clothes actually freeze-dry, from what I understand. I’ll dig around and see if I can find any information. Linda, here’s a good, short video on drying clothes outside in winter:
P.S. – The guy in the above video also wrote an article on the subject:
P.P.S. – Here’s another good article. Please be sure to read the comments; there’s a lot of good information there, too:
[Donna] My mother dried everything in the dead of winter. The time comes when you have to.
[Mick] Donna, that’s cool that you remember your mom doing that. I know that my grandmother linedried outdoors in winter because the farm where my mom grew up didn’t have electricity until she was 17 (1955).
[Donna] I remember because I used to bring them in. Stiff as boards.
[Jacquie] Oh my, yes. But you will have hands so cold that it takes an hour to recover! But I have done it and expect to do it again before too long.
[Mick] When hanging laundry outside in the winter, I wonder if it would help to wear those coated garden gloves that keep your hands dry while still allowing a good bit of dexterity in your hands? Maybe something like this (I have these gloves, and they work great in the garden when the ground is wet and cold, like when I’m pulling beets and carrots in damp soil on chilly mid-autumn days):
The Original Gripper Mud Gloves >
[Marilyn] We had to hang laundry outside in winter when I was a kid in Montana. Yes, your hands get so cold that they burn. We got something like these to be able to hang sheets in the basement/garage during the winter for that purpose:
And this; there are different ones available:
If you search the CORAC website, there is information on doing laundry off-grid under the Sustainability tab. The loads of laundry will most likely be a lot smaller. People will have chore clothes and church clothes. Laundry will be a BIG undertaking. If you haven’t practiced, I’d encourage you to see what it’s like.
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