Adorn your backyard with an old-fashioned clothesline, made from 4×4 posts and cotton rope; everything you need to build the country laundry icon. -Full directions with hardware list-
For more information, please visit best clothesline.
Part of the Old-Fashioned Summer Blog Hop with friends*
Call me old-fashioned, but there is nothing more comforting than a bed fitted in crisp line-dried sheets.I always wanted a clothesline adorning a country farmhouse backyard, simple linens and blue jeans swaying in the breeze.
BUT J.R. (my husband) did not share the same sentiment. He would rather NOT have another thing to mow around (or under) on our property. So this little dream detail was pushed further down the honey-do list.
A year or more passes, I insisted I wanted a clothesline for my 34th birthday. (I also asked for a pressure canner; A girl with big homesteading wishes lol)
So we bought all the materials (despite his resistance) and built the outdoor clothesline in its entirety in two days. By day 3, I was hanging every piece of laundry I could get clean on those cotton ropes.
By day 6, I had every linen in our house clean. Empty laundry hampers, y&#;all! There was so much clean laundry it didn&#;t fit in our closets. &#; Naturally, J.R. wondered where all those shirts came from, and decided he liked the clothesline after all.
Moral of the story; birthday gifts can be DIY projects. Husbands don&#;t know what they like. And a clothesline will undeniably add an old-fashioned nostalgia to your yard AND lifestyle. WORTH IT!
Denim Jeans dried on a clothesline will literally stand on their own. They will dry so &#;crisp,&#; you will question if they are made of splintered wood. Ironically, J.R. says this is exactly how he likes jeans. Stiff and uncomfortable for the win. Whatever you like, honey.
Towels&#;white fluffy towels are not possible on a clothesline. They will be crunchy, ready to abrasively exfoliate (and dry) all of yourself. I can say I value this trait in a wash cloth. I no longer need face scrubs. hehe.
To combat the few crunchy clothes, you can always toss the dry clothes into the electric dryer for a few minutes to soften them. Yes, I know this just added another step. BUT it&#;s worth it. The towels will smell fresh line-dried, but regain softness. Trust the process! Or have crunchy towels, up to you.
Sometimes you will have to flick away bugs, tiny beetles or maybe a june bug. But no fear. Just give everything a shake before you toss them into the basket. Hey, bugs like the new backyard addition too.
Last downfall, clotheslines are dependent on the weather. You must watch for rain, and be ready to run out there if a pop-up shower arrives. Clotheslines are also very seasonal. Late Spring after pollen has subsided through Fall are your ideal times for drying clothing outside.
Have you ever considered installing a clothesline in your backyard? Keep scrolling for the complete DIY tutorial: How to build an old-fashioned post & rope country clothesline. Note: J.R. will demonstrate most of the steps. I will let you determine whether he is enjoying building my birthday gift.
4
8'
4×4 posts, ground-contact treated lumber
Cut List: 2- keep 8' long; 1- cut into 2, 4' lengths; 1- cut into 4, 2' lengths (45 degree ends)
6
eye bolts
3
turnbuckles
4
8-10"
screws
16
3"
decking screws
2-4
bags
quikrete
100'
feet
clothesline rope
Gather hardware and materials.
Mark the distance of your clothesline. We spaced our posts 25&#; apart.
Dig two posts holes at the designated locations, approximately 2&#;4&#; deep. The ideal height of the finished post (with cross beam is 6&#; tall. Dig accordingly.
Set 8&#; post in the center of the hole.
Fill around post with quikrete, use the recommendation on the bag for amount.
Using a level, be sure post is straight and plumb. Add water to hole. Allow quikrete to set up, following the bag directions.
Repeat for second post.
While Quikrete is setting up, cut remaining posts according to cut list. Cut List: Cut one 4×4 into 2, 4' lengths; Cut other 4×4 into 4, 2' lengths (with 45 degree ends)
From your cut list, select the 2, 4&#; cross beams.
Add a decorative corner to the bottom ends of each cross beam by cutting a 45 degree angle, approximately 1.5&#; x 1.5&#;.
Determine the spacing of your lines. We chose to do 3 lines, outside lines spaced 6.5&#; from the ends, middle rope on center.
Drill the line locations according to the eye bolt diameter. Add eye bolts and loosely tighten. (We will firm them down later.)
Set the cross beam center on top of your upright posts.
Attach them to the upright post with 2, 8-10&#; screws.
Repeat on second post.
Next, attach the angled support beams (the 2&#; 45 degree posts, from the cut list).
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Attach them using 2 decking screws, top and bottom.
Paint or stain your posts as desired. I used 1 coat of Zinsser primer and 2 coats of outdoor paint, in Sherwin Williams Pure White.
Unroll the clothesline rope, tying one secure knot at one eye bolt&#;we used a poacher&#;s knot. Advice: research a good knot on youtube and tie accordingly.
Here is where it gets tricky. Getting adequate tension on the rope. Pull the rope as tight as you can and tie it to the opposite eyebolt. Hang something heavy on the line (I used a quilt).
Then PULL the line at one end to determine the slack in your line. We had approximately 1.5&#; of slack. Cut the line now, noting the amount of slack.
Tie the turn-buckle on the line where the slack was determined. Use the same knot you used on the eyebolts.
Hook the turnbuckle on the eyebolt.
Now, you may think that is sufficient tension. But it isn&#;t. We need to keep tightening.
Now, tighten the eyebolts into the cross beam as deep as they will go. Sink them, both ends.
Then, tighten the turnbuckles. Your line needs to be extremely taut.
Test the tension now with that same quilt.
If you still have slack, try continuing to tighten the turnbuckles. If that isn&#;t enough, repeat steps 20-26. You may need to cut more of your line to remove the remaining slack.
Overtime, the ropes will loosen and break down. Tighten them or replace as necessary.
Cost:
$100
Carry a pretty wicker laundry basket: Amish Large Laundry Basket, Water Hyacinth Basket, Jumbo Oval Wicker Basket, Round Wicker Basket.
Grab your clothespins: Wooden Peg Clothespins (vintage inspired), Wooden Clamp-Style Clothespins, Wire Clothespins
Use a Canvas Clothespin bag to keep track of all your pins.
Wear a Cross Back Apron to immerse yourself in the country lifestyle. And just feel special.
Add these to your cart to simplify the process-
Feel free to save images for later on Pinterest, and follow me on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
And be sure to check out more old-timey summer inspo from friends below!
The Tattered Pew | Eleanor Rose Home | Midwest Life and Style | Green Valley Gable | Our Tiny Nest Blog | White & Wood Grain
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A good, sturdy clothesline saves so much time and money, while a poorly-built one can be an endless source of frustration. Here are some tips for building a clothesline right the first time!
Over the years, I've had many, many different clotheslines. From store-bought swiveling contraptions to hastily-built flunkies. From lines strung between trees, to the sturdy structure I have now.
As I was joyfully hanging out a load of towels the other day, it hit me that having a great clothesline is one of those things that's easy to take for granted if you've got one, but can be a huge frustration if you don't.
For anyone who goes through lots of laundry, and wants (or needs) to dry their clothes without electricity, having a truly sturdy and well-built clothesline is a game-changer.
If you happen to have tree trunks spaced nicely, in a sunny location, it's hard to beat that for both sturdiness and old-timey esthetic. I once had a lovely situation like this at a beach house I rented during the off-season on Martha's Vineyard. My clothes smelled like sunshine and the sea, and drying laundry on the line was truly a pleasure.
For those of us not currently blessed with this magical tree-and-sunshine scenario though, I have some tips from my long and varied experience with clotheslines, for building a setup that truly saves time, money, and energy, and that's a joy to use.
For this busy mother of two little mud monsters, that means having enough feet of line to handle at least two full loads of laundry at a time. Even in the fall and winter when we're not getting so dirty in the garden, I find it very helpful to be able to fit two full loads of laundry on the line.
Over the years, I've found that 40' per load of laundry is a pretty good rule of thumb. (Keep in mind that a load with twin sheets, for example, takes more space than a load of adult-sized pants or overalls.)
That means that for my family, a clothesline with end posts 20' apart, holding 4 lines spaced about 6" apart, works very well for drying up to two loads of laundry at a time.
Figuring on 40 feet of clothesline per load of laundry is a good rule of thumb.
Our clothesline is built using 4" square posts, and 2"x"4"s. You don't want to go any lighter than this. Keep in mind that there's going to be quite a lot of weight pulling on the lines between the arms of your clothesline.
There are MANY construction plans out there for clotheslines. I suggest opting for a style that uses a solid piece of wood to create the arms, fitted behind the vertical posts (like this one).
In my opinion, arms that are formed from separate pieces of wood and nailed to the sides of the vertical posts, simply are not as sturdy as those made from a single cross-beam anchored behind the vertical post.
I also feel that cross-beams nailed to the tops of the verticals are not as sturdy as those anchored behind them, since the main pressure the arms need to withstand is an inward pull, from the weight of clothing on the lines, rather than a downward one.
To help reduce decomposition of the wood, I chose to paint my clothesline, including the full length of the timbers below the soil line. Building the whole clothesline with pressure treated or composite wood would be another option.
In recent years, there's also been a resurgence among online homesteading groups in the recommendation of charring as a way of treating the portions of the posts that will be underground. Interestingly though, most studies have shown charring to actually reduce the longevity of the subterranean wood, rather than having the desired effect.
Pin
This little guy was SO proud to freshen up the clothesline with a new coat of paint.Keep in mind that I dish out this advice as someone who lives in Maine, where the ground undergoes extreme freeze and thaw cycles every year.
In dryer, warmer climates, securing clothesline posts with concrete may not be so necessary. But here in Maine, where the ground freezes, thaws, and gets pretty saturated with water every spring, it's an absolute necessity.
Use 10' vertical beams, so that you can sink 3-4' of that depth under ground. Your clothesline is going to withstand much more pressure than pretty much any fence, so don't sink it less deeply than you would a primary fence post.
I recommend also using a full bag of fast-setting Quickrete to strongly set each post. The relatively small investment of time and money that goes into setting the posts with concrete will prove more than worthwhile when you have a sturdy, two-loads-of-laundry clothesline that doesn't need to be "firmed up" every spring. This step is not one to skip.
Not everyone has a sunny property, and sometimes there's just nothing you can do about that. I also understand that you might not want to give precious sunny space over to laundry, if much of your lot is shaded.
That said, clothing just dries faster in the sun. It also has a bleaching effect on laundry, which is something I appreciate since I'm terribly allergic to actual bleach.
If drying laundry as quickly as possible is a goal, aim for placing your clothesline in an area that gets at least partial sun in the middle of each day.
I've found it really helpful to string my lines as high as I can reach without strain. Even well-tautened clothesline is going to stretch and sag a little bit with the weight of laundry. You want to be able to dry your sheets without having to fold them up more than once.
Pants dry faster if they're hung from the hem or waistband, than if they have to be folded over so they won't touch the ground.
Having a line as high as you can comfortably reach, is a good strategy for helping your laundry to dry as quickly as possible.
When I exclusively use a clothesline and not an electric dryer for drying our clothing, I estimate that it saves about $40 per month on our electric bill.
I would have to put a meter on my dryer (and I don't currently have a working dryer), to come up with an accurate and exact number.
BUT, I can say this. In the 7 years I've been living on our homestead, more than 14 months of that time have been spent without a dryer, and I pay very close attention to our electric usage--so that estimate is a pretty good one.
Is clothesline one word or two? In the United States, it's generally spelled as one word: clothesline. Most English language dictionaries list it this way. An exception to this is the Oxford English Dictionary, which lists it as two words: clothes line. It seems that the two word usage may be more common in the UK, while the single word spelling is otherwise standard.
In my opinion, the vinyl-coated wire or PVC options are best for clotheslines. If you regularly hang heavy items, and it's important that your clothesline stretch as little as possible, the vinyl-coated wire would be your best bet.
For longevity, I prefer the regular white PVC clothesline. I find that it lasts for many years, doesn't stretch excessively, and (most importantly to me) doesn't harbor bugs' eggs, mold or mildew, like cotton clotheslines.
When it comes to clothespins, you can choose from plastic, metal, or wood, and they come in quite a variety of styles.
Personally, I like using wooden spring-style clothespins. Some are much, much better than others. I haven't been able to justify buying some of the really expensive clothespins out there, though I can understand why folks would.
As a rule, the inexpensive wooden clothespins I've bought at the hardware store or feed store always tend to have pretty wimpy springs, and don't grip clothing as securely as I'd like.
I recently bought this 200 pack of wooden clothespins, and they have springs that are noticeably stronger than any others I've bought in recent years. As long as they don't change manufacturers, these are a good and economical choice, in my opinion.
Those are my best tips for creating a good, high-use, clothesline setup. After many years of using many different types of clotheslines, I've become pretty opinionated about them, as you can tell!
I hope these tips serve you well! If you also have strong opinions about clotheslines and have tips you'd like to share, please feel free to add them in the comments below. Questions I haven't answered? Drop those in the comments too, and I'll try to help!
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