Austerity without Anxiety: Maybe it’s because I’m retired

Two clotheslines stretch across my back deck and if you ever come to visit, remember to duck. Especially if my hockey shin pads are on the line. You’ll get quite the whack on the forehead!


Even in the winter, I hang up my clothes to dry. (I have three lines in the basement for rainy day or cold weather). I don’t ever think about using the electric dryer. Maybe it’s because I’m retired and have the extra 10 minutes it takes to hang up my clothes.

Maybe it’s because ‘hanging up’ is in my genes. My mother’s line stretched from the back door of the house to the barn and, as a teen, I got used to retrieving and thawing out my jeans before school started during winter months.


["Clean, and not frozen.": photo and cartoon by GH]

Whatever the case, using lines is a healthy habit, saves me more than pennies a day (the electric dryer is one of North America’s greediest home hydro users, and one of the easiest to avoid) and by the time my clothes are dry most of the wrinkles are gone.

Iron? What’s an iron?

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