Step Into the Laundry Room
The problem with working in airplane hangars is that they’re never all that pretty. That’s why I got Martin to switch gears and come help me with a project upstairs in the house before we take off for a change of scenery.
Wait a second. I guess this project isn’t entirely pretty either. But it’s behind the bathtub. And I love that tall person tub.
Our washing machine and dryer were an Ebay score. They are both… wait for it… German appliances. I thought of living dryer free like we did in Germany and the tire house. I’ll be honest, though. The thought was fleeting. I felt like I could better spend my hours of “hausfrau chores” focusing on things besides hanging wet clothes and doing all that ironing. I mean, we just have so much cleaning and labor that we need to do at the airport.
So welcome to our lives, little dryer. What do you think about dryers? Love ‘em or leave ‘em?
All the blue painter’s tape represent metal shelving and drawers we plan on installing. The verdict is still out on how to handle the ironing board. But that box with my skates or our tent rolled up beside the ironing board? They’re ready to stop being relocated every time the mop comes to visit.
Have a great weekend, everybody! We’ll be packing, cleaning, and preparing for this:
We’ve got the January giveaway coming your way on Monday. There’s something fun on Tuesday. And if everything goes to plan, I’ll be writing to you from a whole new angle on Wednesday.
I’ll see you on the other side!
First let’s chat. Do you use a dryer? Would you ever change that fact?
When our dryer broke beyond a repair that I could do and that was costly, I lived without one for six months. It was in spring and summer, so it worked out fine and I didn’t really miss it all that much. I used a clothesline, drying racks in the basement, and plastic hangers for my husband’s dress shirts. In the fall, I finally gave in and bought a new dryer. It seems to work more efficiently than my old one, but before that I had to buy a new washer, which has an option for an extra spin cycle, so things could be coming out of the washer dryer to begin with. I use the dryer to get things semi-dry and then put on the racks/hangers. Socks and underwear don’t go in the dryer. Dryers use so much energy, I try to use mine sparingly. Also, I try not to buy new clothes too often, so air-drying is much less wear and tear on my clothes.
I live in the PNW with my family of four (including one teen towel-hog)…and I LOVE our dryer! Use it all the time. Literally. However, in the summer (and with lots of reminders about reusing towels), I do take the time to hang the laundry outdoors. I like the smell, I like the energy savings, I even like the scratchiness (and I very rarely iron–almost never).
I can’t imagine living without a dryer in the winter, in our small home. I feel like laundry would be everywhere. Our home is also so well insulated that the heat doesn’t come on much, and I think moisture build-up could become a problem (not to mention slowing the drying process).
That said, my husband is from southern France, where dryers are unheard of. It is a little warmer and drier there. However, he remembers living in a student dorm in Germany, where it wasn’t a warm dry climate, and there was a giant covered clothes hanging pavilion on the roof of his dorm!
Dry + warm + and not insane amounts of wind. I think that’s the perfect combo for going without a dryer. (Sounds like a nice place to be about now…!)
I have a dryer, but I don’t use it all the time. We just recently returned to the US after 6.5 years in Germany.
I hang about 90% of my clothes on the indoor spinny type clothesline that I brought back with me, using the dryer for sheets, towels, socks, & pajamas. Once summer hits, I will hang sheets outside too (as we are in Tennessee).
I hardly iron anything, as most wrinkles come out as everything dries. I do miss my front load washer though, & hope to return to that wonderful land in the near future.
Can you stack the washer & dryer? It could give you more floor space to arrange your cabinets differently. Just a thought! :)
Welcome back, Amanda!
Yes, the washer and dryer do stack. Believe it or not, I was actually rather specific in wanting them side-by-side, though. This way we’ll have a flat surface for folding clothes. You know – once the shelving is in so everything doesn’t have to be stored *on* the machines.
We don’t have a dryer. Our apartment building has an attic room where you can hang things up, which works great in the summer–hang them up in the morning, dry by the evening, maybe next day at the latest. The winter is a bit of a problem. Things take so long to dry that they have a slightly funky smell so we put them on a drying rack in the apartment. I feel it helps combat the really dry air from our heating. I’ve lived before with a dryer and I don’t think I’d go back to having a dryer. I really feel like my clothes last longer and the color keeps better.
My dryer is a true blessing.
I don’t use a dryer, it’s so arid here in CO. Clothes eventually dry, even in winter or on the rare :-( rainy day I can hang them indoors. We have a post- doc from Japan and he ask me the other day why most people in the US use dryers.
I have and use a dryer, but I think I could certainly learn to live without one. I already line dry underwear, socks (mostly Smartwool), tech fabric, and just about anything that isn’t cotton. I think most of my clothes stay in good condition longer if I don’t dry them. A HE washer that spins clothes well makes all the difference in how fast things dry. That said, it’s very convenient to be able to dry things like sheets, towels, and jeans quickly. I usually wash sheets and put them back on the bed, which can be difficult to do in a day’s time without a dryer. Regardless, for a small household in a moderate climate I consider a dryer to be a luxury, not a necessity.
I do not have a dryer, and my dad thinks that I am crazy! Really, it doesn’t take very long to hang up my clothes – maybe just a few minutes.
I choose not to get a dryer when I purchased my washer a few years back for several reasons:
1. we didnt’t have room in our apartment for a washer and dryer
2. I do not like the smells that come from a dryer (crazy because some people love this smell..)
3. I live in a dry climate so I thought it would be silly to use electricity to dry my clothes when they would dry on their own in just a few hours
4. They use too much electricity
I’ve had a dryer for 30+ years… but growing up we hung our clothes outside on a clothesline. I didn’t even have a dryer when my girls were babies & used cloth diapers. Living near the beach, one would think the beach is always warm – well, that’s not true. We get coastal fog (called June gloom) so our laundry often had to be brought in the house at the end of the day in various states of “dampness” – then I would finish drying everything on the backs of chairs, my wooden drying rack, hangers, etc.
I couldn’t live without my dryer now… working long days… and not owning a lot of clothes, I wash a load of laundry at least every other day. I DO miss the smell of warm sun-dried sheets & that crispy feeling to the towels.
Great question though. I’m amazed how many people don’t have dryers. Oh, I now live in a condo & we are not allowed to hand clothes outside.
You’re probably not too into Ikea’s products, but what about using a “Billy” type shelf unit with doors next to the dryer? I recently saw a post of someone who used two shelves next to each other with the last shelf turned sideways. On the side, there was then a mirror. I also wonder about putting a curtain hanging in front of the dryer/washer/shelving; so it separates the space from the pretty bathroom. Storage and Laundry isn’t so pretty-looking.
We do not have a dryer, but we live in Austria. :) If we lived in the States, we would have a dryer. Even though my husband thinks they are an energy-sucker/money-waster, I still like the feel of soft sheets and towels; and I’m amazed at how much quicker it is to do laundry when I am Stateside. Overseas, it takes all week. Stateside, approx. 2 days.
I have a dryer and use it for 50% of the clothes. Hanging underwear and socks on a line drives me insane :-) so I dry those, although in the summer I do take the time to hang them outside. We live in the northeast. During the winter I would need to hang clothes in the basement and truly dislike the slightly must smell they acquire, so I do use the dryer more in the winter. I could run a dehumidifier to get rid of that yucky smell, but then the rest of the house would be dry and I’d be using tons more electricity.
We have a dryer and use it for 85% of things. I hang dry my husband’s synthetic workout clothes to prevent static (we don’t use those icky fabric softeners.) Plus, synthetics don’t hold much water anyway. I think I could learn to compensate for no dryer but it would mean having to do smaller wash loads more often due to the increased drying time needed in our damp Pacific Northwest air. My 2.5 year old and (and husband if I’m being really honest) make for lots of dirty laundry around here.
I live in the humid south and use a drier for everything! I hate to iron, and with a family of nine, the drier is a time saver.
Here’s what I would do: http://pinterest.com/pin/92323861081474649/
I have always had a dryer since I live in apt. bldgs. No where to hang them.
With three little kids a drier in our house is an essential item. Without it there’d be lots of poorly clad bodies running around I think – there isn’t room to hang two loads of washing a day!! :)