Tuesday, March 13, 2012

One of the best things in Life...



is line dried sheets. From April, or, for this year, from March, to October I line dry our sheets. There is nothing like stretching out flat on sweet smelling sheets after a hard day of (in rough chronological order)
Watering the herb garden and vegetable beds
Going to the Farmer's Market
Harvesting herbs and vegetables
Mowing the lawn
Hanging out by the pond, reading under a tree during the hottest hours of the day.
Enjoying a nice grill out on my parent's back porch
Walking one of the dogs at the club
Sitting on our front porch, with Andrew beside me and writing in my journal.
Taking a nice long shower or bath using a line up of favorite homemade scrubs, facials, soaps and shampoos.
If weather permits and I can crawl into bed with the window open, even better.

If you have never line dried sheets outside, I recommend it. Yes, they are a little scratchy, but it's the good kind of scratchy, that's the only way I can explain it. The smell of sunshine and fresh air can lighten up my soul in ways nothing else can. Hang the sheets out on a day you know you will be doing lots of stuff outside and once you finally pull the covers up, stretch your toes toward the end of the bed and sigh with the satisfaction of a great day. That's what I do anyway.

Some Tips:
Always wet some paper towels or a cleaning rag with water and wrap around the whole line and walk up and down the line to clean off any residual dirt/dust.

Take the sheets down while the sun is still fairly well up from the horizon before the dew sets in on the sheets.

Don't worry about a bird bombing your sheets, in all the years I've done this, I just had that happen once, and my parents clothesline is surrounded by lots of trees birds hang out in.

For extra indulgence:
Be on the hunt for vintage pillowcases at antique shops, auctions, and online (etsy is a great source) vintage embroidered pillowcases are like little pieces of art with flowers, kittens and other natural elements. The cotton used in vintage pillowcases is much thicker, I don't know if it's thread count per se, or just how they used to make them, but you'll notice that vintage pillowcases in good condition are incredibly more luxurious than store bought. AND you are reusing instead of new-consuming. Here is a sample of some vintage cases I have.

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