Does Anyone Else NOT have a Clothes Dryer?

[Sundance]

I haven't had a dryer in 11 months. There just isn't room for one in our tiny little house (unless I get an apartment-sized stackalbe, but then I'd need to get a new washer, and I love mine too much).

We mostly survive, but I'm just looking for tips, if anyone has any.

I have a *really* long clothesline that I can put 2-3 loads on, as well as an Amish-made ginormous clothes drying rack...but I do tend to fall behind in the winter & have trouble catching up.

Last winter, I'd take 2 loads to MILs to dry when we visited every week, but I'd like to get away from that this winter (I'm sure the new rack will help, I only got that this spring).

Any advice?

[Iarwain]

I have been operating without a working dryer for years. I bought one when my old one broke but intentionally didn't hook it up for the summer. Then it became winter and I still hadn't gotten to it. Once I got through the first winter it wasn't so bad and I just kept on going.

I have indoor lines and I have two folding racks as well as large capacity outdoor lines. In the winter I wash a load every morning and evening and occasionally fit in an extra load as needed for my large family. I have a large capacity front-loader that has a high speed spin so it gets a lot of water out that way. I hang most things on the racks and stand a box fan so that it blows into the open ends of the racks and circulates air through them. Jeans and other long or difficult to dry items go on the clothesline in my laundry room because they don't dry well doubled over the bar of the drying rack.

Probably this would be a lot easier with three small kids instead of six larger ones whose clothes take up a lot more space.

[mamacat]

I currently have a dryer but did laundry for 4 adults 2 kids and a NB without one for awhile.Might get another smaller folding rack can put underwear on and socks.Would pull all shirts out of washer and put on hangers to dry even tee shirts.Towels sheets hardest but could put on indoor drying line or outside on sunny days

[Sundance]

Yes, towels and sheets are my big challenge in the winter. Our house is *really* tiny, there is just no space for much. I have a rail that I can fit 1 sheet over, & my drying rack, but that's about it.

I find I can keep caught up if I do about a load a day, so hopefully with my big drying rack this winter, I'll be able to keep up on clothes. I'll stil have to figure out towels and sheets. Maybe MIL will come in handy for those, still.

I *can* use the line in the winter, but it takes about a day and a half to dry, and most times, it's just too cold!

[Iarwain]

Sheets are hard. :yes I usually drape them over a couch or chairs before bedtime and they're generally dry by morning. Towels do OK on my drying rack with the fan. Without the fan they take forever. Target has some quick-dry bath towels that are awesome.

[Sundance]

:think My minimalism might be getting the best of me. We all only have one set of sheets, so I usually try to get them done as soon as we get up so they're dry in time to make the bed in the evening.
I wonder if they're thin enough to dry on the line in a day. I didn't try it last winter.

[Iarwain]

Yeah that would be a lot harder during the day when you're actually trying to USE the furniture! :lol

[ShangriLewis]

Do you have any vaulted ceilings? You can make a rack that you bring down and then pull a string and it goes back up and you tie it off. You don't need a really tall ceiling, just a place where no one is going to hit their head.

[Stiina]

Wash your sheets less frequently. :shifty

We do have a dryer but I try to use it very little. I was inspired when we were in Finland because hardly anyone in Europe has a dryer, and they all have tiny houses. I have a super duper clothesline but never used it in the winter. I'm never confident it will actually work.

How are you hanging things on your line? I always hang things by the corners so I can fit more on. Also, with bedsheets, on a hot day, you can hang them folded in half and they will still dry fast.

[LilySue]

I've never had a dryer, and probably never will have one, I'm an older European and they are to me a luxury good....but I notice the generation below me are embracing them with enthusiasm,and if anyone should give me one, I'd be willing to put my prejudice aside :D

Big items like sheets are a challenge in wet winter weather in a small house, sometimes I drape them over doors..........

[Sundance]

Do you have any vaulted ceilings? You can make a rack that you bring down and then pull a string and it goes back up and you tie it off. You don't need a really tall ceiling, just a place where no one is going to hit their head.

No, we have 6 ft. ceilings with a whole 8 ft. in the kitchen!!

Wash your sheets less frequently. :shifty



That's kinda' what I do :)

[Iarwain]

6 ft ceilings! My sons wouldn't even be able to stand up straight!

[twoplustwo]

I don't have any advice - but want to be in on this thread. The dryer is one of two appliances that I feel I might not need replace if it died.

I already have a folding drying rack in the master & a really large one in the guest bedroom.

In the winter I could definitely utilize more of the guest bedroom (at least when we didn't have guests).

Anyway, in case I decide to try it without - I will be following this thread for inspiration!

[librarianjojo]

My dryer isn't working for some reason now and I need to wash towels. With no outdoor drying line. And one small rack. Any tips from the pros in the next 1.5 hours will be appreciated. :heart :kiss

[amydawn]

You are always welcome to do laundry at my place on Tuesday nights:)

[Stiina]

Hang them from your shower curtain rod, tops of doors, curtain rods? Maybe you could use clothes pins to hang them from clothes hangers somehow?

[Sundance]

You are always welcome to do laundry at my place on Tuesday nights:)

I might need to do that if I can't get my diapers decent in the near future. I have brought laundry to friends' houses on Tuesday night, I just don't think it was yours.

Hang them from your shower curtain rod, tops of doors, curtain rods? Maybe you could use clothes pins to hang them from clothes hangers somehow?

Ok, this thread is making me realize how simple our house is! We don't have a tub :bag We have a stand-up shower stall, no curtains (although sheets could be a good solution!!) & a grand total of two interior doors (thankfully that includes the bathroom & our bedroom!)

I'm really hoping that my awesome drying rack will solve all of my problems this coming winter!

[Stiina]

We don't have curtain rods either, so i bought some of those expandable closet rods and hung them 3 in a row. Worked well. :tu

[librarianjojo]

In my dream fantasy world I have those drying racks that are on pulleys and go up to the ceiling. In my reality I have a really tall husband and really low ceilings and landlords who would balk. :snooty Ruining my dreams.

[sunflowermom]

We don't have a working dryer. We tend to wash the clothes then put them on clothes hangers to dry. We made a make-shift drying rack out of PVC and it stays in our bedroom when it's cold or rainy and goes outside when it's warm and sunny. We use clothespins to attach sheets to the hangers (1/2 on one hanger and the other 1/2 on another hanger) and use clothespins to attach towels to the hangers in a similar fashion. Works for us, although we have to do a load of laundry just about every day. :)

Good luck! It was great reading other ideas on this board. Thanks for posting!