Originally Posted by true4uca
Rules for Clotheslines -- You'll love this......
You have to be a certain age to appreciate this. I can hear my mother now.
My mother would have loved this! Do you remember?
THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES: (If you don't know what clotheslines 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".(I so remember this)
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!
For one thing, I am the only one on our block with a clothes line - six lines (one is being used for the line for the dog run). I hang up clothes according to color (white, colored), I hide the scrub rags in the middle line someplace, I hang out sheets to be freeze dried in the dead of winter! I also hang out my husband's hankies (how many husbands still use hankies). I try to hang out the blankets and pillows also either on a nice sunny warm day or a really cold icy sunny day!!! The only thing I don't hang out is terry towels. Number 9 has the ironing ready for another day - not me - I have my iron and ironing board out on the patio and as the clothes dry, I iron them. Everything done in one day! I hope I still qualify for being an authentic clothes line lady!!!!! Edie