I use old T tops & cut off jeans, I was leaving the pants long but didn't like wet knees so cut them off & let them "fringe" on their own, neighbors actually have complimented me on the cute shorts( they are couple of inches above the knee, nothing like going up a ladder to paint & having shorts too short, I prefer modesty! Today's work if it gets warm enough is to put last 3 pieces of sod down after having dug up front yard for pipes. Rest of sod stayed in 1 piece. These will be filling in bare areas of yard. Since we have had some good rains it will be mucky & my dirt is the rich black stuff which I like, DD has clay that sticks like glue, ugh! So instead of a light colored top I will wear a dark green old top as it will get grass & dirt on it. One pair of shorts, I hemmed the bottoms on years ago, I've actually pulled out of rag bag 3 times in last 20 years. I wear them a lot because they feel so good on!! They don't seem to stain either. Old tops make great dust cloths. Jan

measure twice, I live in northern NY and I use my clothesline almost all year, even in the depths of winter. Here's my set up: I dislike the look of a rigged clothes hanging off a house so I've moved my drying yard behind my barn which allowed me to choose a particularly good site in view of breeze, lack of early dewfall and sun. I live in a very rural area so privacy is not too big a deal, though I confess to having scarpered out on occasion in my jammies to snatch something I needed to wear that day off the line. For actual clotheslines I have a combination of long lines set up with T- pole supports and those revolving umbrella-style (or Aussie-style) things. Each has it's advantages. Since I do a bit more than thirty loads per week I have a lot of line length, which is critical for successful drying in the cold, short days of January. I have one pair of T-poles (with six lines) running north and south and a double section (three poles with six lines) running east and west. In the winter that south facing line is critical, but as a rule my wind is from the southwest. These two runs of straight lines are at right angles to each other on the west forming a little courtyard with two umbrella things within the angle. The whole area is about 40 by 30 feet. I keep a bench and a folding table out there during the warm weather. The surface of the yard is turf and stays nice and clean for the occasional dropped item even in mud season. To support the poles (and I recommend the more expensive ones that can be found on the web over the cheaper hardware store ones) and the center stakes of the umbrella dryers I have pounded in metal stakes which fit inside the uprights. Over the vertical posts I have installed part of my collection of old stone millstones. I live in an area where they were used extensively in the 19th century so they can be found in barns - in fact they were sometimes used here as foundations in cheap, somewhat transitory farm buildings. I realize that in some areas they cost a bomb, but perhaps not where you live. Mine are generally about 16" thick and about 2 or 3 feet in diameter. They do a terrific job of stabilizing the vertical posts while permitting me (if I ever needed or wanted to) disassemble and move the whole yard, whereas sinking them into buried concrete blobs would not. You could cast lookalikes for yourself, and treat them to so they'd grow lovely lichens like mine have done. For clotheslines I preferred the plastic coated wire as it seems to last the best. You can buy line tensioners but I find it pretty easy to adjust them manually and the do expand and contract noticeably with the changes in temps and with prolonged use on were breezy days. Diamond makes the best wooden clothespins, IMO, espcially the kind with two bars on the tips. Since I dry in all seaons and wash nearly everyday I find that I almost always have laundry drying. In the winter I use special ice-fisherman's gloves to keep my pinkies warm. I often leave my stuff hanging out overnight (I usually do a last load or two in the evening and except in extraordinarliy frigid weather it's dry by mid-morning.) I don't find it inconvenient to carry the laundry out to the line; in fact I kind of look forward to it as it gets me out of the house; it gives me a chance to gauge the day. I have often seem (or heard) unusual birds while I am quietly working on the laundry. In the early winter, just at dusk I see the (rare for my area) short-ear owls coursing on my meadow. Late evening hanging-outs in the spring give me the buzzy peeent of woodcocks calling. I wouldn't be truthful however, if I didn't report that this winter while I was nursing a torn rotator cuff I did resort to pulling the laundry on a little wagon because carrying wide laundry baskets was out. Today was the first day in nearly six months that I was able to carry them instead of pulling. Using the wagon my old-age plan, but trotting out to hang my clothes 450 feet from my house is what will ward off senior-itis, at least I hope so. (At close to 60, it's not that far away!) But the best part of line drying is the sensual quality of air-dried clothes. Nothing beats it! Molly~

HI from the UK - great drying weather today. About 20 years ago I bought a cheap umbrella type dryer & only replaced it last year. As the children have flown the nest I bought a smaller one & the cheapest I could find. It fold down easily, with a catch rather like an umbrella - keep it simple there will be less to go wrong. Mine is on the patio - an advantage of this is also that LAUNDRY DRIES MORE QUICKLY as heat reflects from concrete better than from grass. I bought a neat cover for when it's not in use - it's worth investing in a good quality cover as the cheaper one can split. Sunday was our fabulous English village's open Garden Day spent visiting neighbours gorgeous backyards to see their foxgloves, fab roses, clematis's, lavender, ginko trees, hollyhocks .... I could go on and ........ Yes, they all had outside drying facilities and, no, we do not live in a shabby area but in what is in the top 5 best places to live in England (according to a recent national TV programme). There is no snobbishness here about having common sense and, where possible, using good old sunshine to dry your laundry. Indeed people using a dryer in fair weather would be considered a bit "soft" and having more money than sense by most people over here. Don't be fooled into thinking hanging out laundry is difficult - just check the weather - throw it on the line or umbrella type dryer (OK be a bit tidy with things that need ironing)- let it dry - bring it in. You know you can do it --- like millions of very busy people do all over the world and think of the lovely plants you can buy with those $$$$ saved! (sorry if you already hang out - grandmothers - eggs)& yes I know for peole with allergies drying outside is impractical. Bye for now from across the pond

A new Goodwill opened up in Pierre. They built a big new building. Yesterday was the first time I was in it. It has been open for 2 weeks now I think. There weren't very many people in there. I probably won't be going back either. I know they brought loads of stuff in here that didn't sell any place else. They have racks and racks of clothes. I had found a couple of tshirts, but I held them up and you could see through them. So I put them back. all of there odds and ends stuff is on top of the clothes racks. I am short and I am not going to try to look at stuff that is not even organized. Looked like it was just thrown up there. Hardly anything was marked and if it was it was overpriced. I wanted to use the bathroom but I couldn't find one. There was one door that was marked employees only. I am sure that was probably it. If they built that big of a building you would have thought they would put a bathroom in it. A lot of the clothes looked old. Even the games looked old. There were a lot of ashtrays too. I can't even think of anyone even wanting to buy an ashtray. I haven't seen one for years. Maybe I was too picky I don't know. I will go to the other thrift store. All the clothes are clean and newer. I have bought sets of sheets there for 4.00 and they have them marked if they are deep pockets or not. It may not be as big put I think it is cheaper and the quality is better. Their help is all volunteer and the money goes to help the needy. I have heard that Goodwill gives very little to charity. I can't remember what their sign says. I know one part says something about employing people. I heard on the radio one day they had 13 employees and were looking for 2 more. WOW so they must each get a few hours a week.