Hang dry your clothes --
Instead of using your energy-guzzling clothes dryer, hang up your clothes to dry either outside in warm weather, or in your laundry room in the winter and on rainy days. There are several different types of clothes lines and dryers, indoor and out so find the one that's best for you.
Indoor Clothing Drying Rack
Rig up a clothesline in your backyard, and equip your laundry room with dry racks, hangers and even a small line. Hang up your clothes to air dry as often as you can. Your clothes will dry more successfully if you wash your clothes early in the morning and leave them on the line for the entire day. If you don't like the crunchy texture of air-dried clothing, put the load in the dryer to fluff for five minutes to soften them up.When you do use your dryer, always clean the lint filter, as this can increase energy use by 30 per cent. Run loads back-to-back, as energy goes into warming up the dryer each time you begin. Avoid opening the door, as it takes 5 to 10 minutes for it to warm up to full heat again and use the cool-down cycle to take advantage of residual heat to dry your clothes.
Umbrella Outdoor Clothes dryer
Next to the refrigerator, the clothes dryer is the top energy-using appliance in the house. It cost about $100 a year to run it. Drying all your clothes naturally will save over 200 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions.
If you are erecting a clothesline outside, I would suggest placing it in the shade, if possible, so the sun won't bleach the colour from your garments. Also, this maybe a forgotten fact, but liquid fabric softener was designed to help soften line-dried clothing. That's why it's added at the end of the wash cycle.
And the best part about it, is that your laundry smells great. Is there any better feeling, going to bed at night and your sheets are all crisp and fresh from hanging outside on the line? Aaaaaahhhhhhh.
Wooden Outdoor dryer
Wash the lines off occasionally. There can be a lot of dust and particles that build up on clothes line so it's a good idea to wash the liens before you hang clean clothes on them.
Fold big items up. If you'll be hanging something big on the line such as a bed spread, you'll have to fold it up before attempting to hang it. It's better to hang it width wise than length wise.
Put all the clothes on strong clothes pins so the wind won't blow them off.
Traditional Clothes line
