The art and benefits of clotheslines!

Saw this post today and wanted to share it with you all...

{taken from Mille Fiori post}

Mille Fiori Spa: The art and benefits of clotheslines!: HANG DRYING Laundry Facts Average Annual Household Savings of more than $100/year.

{source}

We only have a washer/dryer in one at the flat we're renting and I think I've only used the dryer function once.. because I needed space on the clothes horse (what do you guys call em?? laundry rack?? those things that fold up and extend up that you hang washing on??) and the socks I was pulling off didn't feel totally dry, so I threw them in the dryer for about 15mins... damp socks are not pleasant!

Other than that I never use the dryer.. and I actually haven't had a dryer in the last two flats I've lived in... they don't seem to be huge in flats here.. probably because they rack up a massive power bill!

My mum's always air dried laundry apart from sometimes putting towels in the dryer for 5 mins to soften them up.. and sometimes in Winter she'd put my clothes in the drier in the morning so they would be warm for me to put on when I got dressed.. (this happened very rarely... but it's sooooo nice!!!) She doesn't even have a tumble dryer at her house anymore...

The only time I used driers a lot was when I lived in staff housing in Whistler, as there wasn't really anywhere to hang laundry... and in my flats in Victoria... because... well... using the dryer just seems to be "the way"... and basement flats aren't the most conducive places to try and air dry laundry! As well when I lived at the hostel in Edinburgh.. as again... not exactly a lot of room to hang laundry when you share a room with 5 other people!!

Anywhos... I strongly advocate air drying laundry! I also dislike "Bounce sheets"... pop into a homeware store and pick up some dryer balls! They pay for themselves and does not create rubbish each time you put a load of drying on... if you can't give up the habit!! I just think the dryer is a destroyer of clothes! I completely agree that they last twice as long if you air dry!

I also agree that clotheslines can definitely be arty! And for someone with slightly voyeuristic tendencies like me.. (I can't help looking into people's ground floor windows when I walk past.. can you??!!) it's always interesting to see other people's laundry... don't you think??

Are you totally dependent on your dryer?? Do you have a clothesline?? Do you use a "clothes horse"?? Do you find that the dryer eats your clothes?? Or would you loathe to see people's laundry in the open??

Earth Hour 2011 - Yahtzee by Candlelight

So, some of you may or may not know that it was Earth Hour at 8.30pm on Saturday night (your local time).. It was an initiative started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia and has since taken off around the Globe. The idea being that if everyone switched their lights off for an hour between 8.30 - 9.30, even just one night a year, we would be saving the world lots of energy.... with the idea of course, that you are supposed to carry that sentiment into your daily routine.. switch the light off when you leave the room etc etc.

Lights out for Earth Hour!

I had previously never taken part as I was usually at work.. but this year, the mister and I were home, so we thought we'd take part... we decided to switch off the tv & our laptops as well as the lights & play Yahtzee by candlelight..

Ready! (Can you spot all our monkey friends?)

Yahtzee is a game I remember from childhood, but not one I had played a lot.. In Taiwan, some street vendors, usually the ones selling sausages would have a big bowl with 5 die in it.. if you could roll a "yahtzee" in one try, then you got the sausage for free!

Anyway, I rediscovered the game while at a hostel in Seattle a few years ago, there were groups of us sat around the living room/dining area and someone pulled out a handful of dice and asked if anyone wanted to join in for Yahtzee... curious, most people gathered around, a scorecard was hastily drawn up, the "rules" explained and off we went! It's such a simple game, requiring only 5 die, pen & paper, a bit of strategy, a bit of luck and provides loads of entertainment! It's easy enough to explain across language barriers as well, which is always a good thing! You could essentially play on your own or with just one other person rather than needing a group to play.. and it has a relatively short game cycle, which is good for those of us with relatively short attention spans!

Are there any games you play at home?? What are your favourite games??

Oh wait.. this is supposed to be about Earth Hour... Here are some other ways I try to help the planet: always having a fold up shopping bag in my handbag, so if I buy things, I don't need to take a plastic bag from the store... We also always take our own grocery bags when we go shopping.. We recycle all our paper, cardboard, glass, cans, tins and recylable plastics.. I take a lot of clothing to charity stores and thrift a lot of my clothes too.. the mister walks to and from work and I take the bus and walk..  I have to admit tho, I walk a lot less since meeting the mister because he has a car... but hopefully once the weather gets warmer, we will start walking more places rather than taking the car all the time!!

Do you do anything to help the planet?? Did you partake in Earth Hour?? What did you do, if you did??