Frugal Laundry Practices: Hang Drying

On other frugal and homesteading blogs, it's nice to see that I'm not the only one who air dries laundry year-round.  For years now, I've been hang-drying our clothes instead of using our dryer.  Propane is expensive (our rarely-used dryer is gas), but there are many other reasons to air dry besides conserving energy and saving money... less shrinkage, less wear and tear, much less fading, no static cling, and stains aren't set.

Sun and breezes are free resources!  Clothes dry quickly and smell great.  In winter, we use a ladder and conduit pipe setup that can easily be put away when not in use.  With our forced air furnace, the laundry dries within hours and adds a nice scent to the air.  And hopefully the wet clothes add a little moisture to the air as well.

Temp laundry set-up in an extra room.

Whereas I've seen others using racks, I use hangers.  A few sharp snaps before hanging helps get out wrinkles.  Another benefit of being on a hanger is that for some clothes like shirts – once dry, you just move them to the closet.  No pinch marks from clothes pins, no creases.

When shopping I always ask for the hangers and any extra if they wouldn't mind.  Almost all the time, I get free hangers to take home.  These types of store hangers with the turnable hooks are great for hang drying pants and shirts.