CLOTHESLINES:. Oldie but Good.
Clothesline
THIS IS FUNNY AND QUITE TRUE…WE ARE PROBABLY THE LAST GENERATION THAT WILL REMEMBER WHAT A CLOTHESLINE WAS
Great memories for some of us!
It’s the poem at the end that’s the best!!!
Remembering Mom’s Clothesline
There is one thing that’s left out.
We had a long wooden pole (clothes pole) that was used to push the clotheslines up
so that longer items (sheets/pants/etc.) didn’t brush the ground and get dirty.
I can hear my mother now…
THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES:
(If you don’t even know what clotheslines are, better skip this.)
1. You had to hang the socks by the toes… NOT the top.
2. You hung pants by the BOTTOM/cuffs… NOT the waistbands.
3. You had to WASH the clothesline(s) before hanging any clothes –
walk the entire length of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.
4. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang “whites” with “whites,”
and hang them first.
5. You NEVER hung a shirt by the shoulders – always by the tail!
What would the neighbors think?
6. Wash day on a Monday! NEVER hang clothes on the weekend,
or on Sunday, for Heaven’s sake!
7. Hang the sheets and towels on the OUTSIDE lines so you could
hide your “unmentionables” in the middle (perverts & busybodies, y’know!)
8. It didn’t matter if it was sub-zero weather.. clothes would “freeze-dry.”
9. ALWAYS gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes!
Pins left on the lines were “tacky”!
10. If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item
did not need two clothes pins, but shared one of the clothes pins with the next washed item.
11. Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes basket,
and ready to be ironed.
And now a POEM…
A clothesline was a news forecast, To neighbors passing by,
There were no secrets you could keep, When clothes were hung to dry.
It also was a friendly link, For neighbors always knew
If company had stopped on by, To spend a night or two.
For then you’d see the “fancy sheets”, And towels upon the line;
You’d see the “company table cloths”, With intricate designs.
The line announced a baby’s birth, From folks who lived inside,
As brand new infant clothes were hung, So carefully with pride!
The ages of the children could, So readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed, You’d know how much they’d grown!
It also told when illness struck, As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe too, Haphazardly were strung.
It also said, “On vacation now”, When lines hung limp and bare.
It told, “We’re back!” when full lines sagged, With not an inch to spare!
New folks in town were scorned upon, If wash was dingy and gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their brows, And looked the other way.
But clotheslines now are of the past, For dryers make work much less.
Now what goes on inside a home, Is anybody’s guess!
I really miss that way of life, It was a friendly sign
When neighbors knew each other best… By what hung on the line. 😀 😀
I loved this blog and poem Shadow. Made me smile at the memories.
And what a lovely smell the clothes and sheets had after blowing in the air, and then getting into bed with crisp fresh linen. Mmmmm 😀 😀
I’m so glad you liked it Polly and for you it bought some happy memories back. I know its an old one but i think the oldies are the best. Thanks for your comment. 😀
I also like your blog, think I must be old fashioned I have a clothes line that goes down the garden, most of the things mentioned in the blog I also do apart form no 6 I do hang washing on a weekend and no 7 I don’t usually put smalls or not so small on the line.
I remember so well the long clothes line in moms backyard with the prop in the middle to keep it straight, Mondays were always wash days, never on Sundays was washing or sewing allowed. good memories.
remember clotheslines well we also had a wash house in or back and my mother used to fire it up to heat the boiler for the days washing
I have move that pole many times,, when the wind blows so does pole.. lol.. Lou
loved your poem shadow..i still have a clothes line and put my clothes out when I wash..mother wouldn’t let us wash on new years day either.as we might wash one of the family away..silly superstition but I still don’t wash on new year..just in case
Thanks everyone for your comments 😀 I loved reading your different memories of the clothes line and some made me laugh out loud so thanks for that. I am sorry i cant reply individually but my post takes so long to go through, i’m scared i will do multiple replies, which i have done in the past!. But i did want to thank you for your memories. 😀
Thank you for a good blog. We had a clothesline and I don’t know how we ever managed to get the clothes during winter and spring. I remember frozen clothes vaguely. My mother was amazing. Washing was hard work back in the day.
3/12/2014. Still use mine ! , nothing better than bringing in fresh bedding from the line !. We are in the countryside, so its one of the things I enjoy, but probably the one and only clothes line user on a lane of about 35 houses. But I dont blame mums who today juggle working and raising families !.
Still have clothes lines – one outside and one under the patio. Down under we also have a thing called Hills Hoist – can be cranked up and down and when in the up position, rotates in the wind.