Clotheslines - Rules for Proper Use and a Poem
Sep 14, 2013 13:12:50 #
For us old timers that actually remember clotheslines...
Phil
THIS IS FUNNY AND QUITE TRUE...WE ARE PROBABLY THE LAST GENERATION THAT WILL REMEMBER WHAT A CLOTHESLINE WAS.
Great memories for some of us! It's the poem at the end that's the best!!! Remembering Mom's Clothesline there is one thing that's left out. We had a long wooden pole (clothes pole) that was used to push the clotheslines up so that longer items (sheets/pants/etc.) didn't brush the ground and get dirty. I can hear my Mother now...
THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES:
(If you don't even know what clotheslines are, you should skip this.)
1. You had to hang the socks by the toes... NOT the top.
2. You hung pants by the BOTTOM/cuffs... NOT the waistbands.
3. You had to WASH the clothesline(s) before hanging any clothes - walk the entire length of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.
4. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang "whites" with "whites," and hang them first.
5. You NEVER hung a shirt by the shoulders - always by the tail! What would the neighbors think?
6. Wash day on a Monday! NEVER hang clothes on the weekend, or on Sunday, for Heaven's sake!
7. Hang the sheets and towels on the OUTSIDE lines so you could hide your "unmentionables" in the middle (perverts & busybodies, ya' know!)
8. It didn't matter if it was sub-zero weather... clothes would" freeze-dry.
9. ALWAYS gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes! Pins left on the lines were "tacky"!
10. If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item did not need two clothes pins, but shared one of the clothes pins with the next washed item.
11. Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes basket, and ready to be ironed.
12. IRONED??!! Well, that's another subject!
And now a POEM...
A clothesline was a news forecast,
To neighbors passing by,
there were no secrets you could keep,
When clothes were hung to dry.
It also was a friendly link,
For neighbors always knew
If company had stopped on by,
To spend a night or two.
For then you'd see the "fancy sheets",
And towels upon the line;
You'd see the "company table cloths",
With intricate designs.
The line announced a baby's birth,
From folks who lived inside,
As brand new infant clothes were hung,
So carefully with pride!
The ages of the children could,
So readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed,
You'd know how much they'd grown!
It also told when illness struck,
As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe too,
Haphazardly were strung.
It also said, "On vacation now",
When lines hung limp and bare.
It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged,
With not an inch to spare!
New folks in town were scorned upon,
If wash was dingy and gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their brows,
And looked the other way.
But clotheslines now are of the past,
For dryers make work much less.
Now what goes on inside a home,
Is anybody's guess!
I really miss that way of life,
It was a friendly sign
When neighbors knew each other best...
By what hung on the line.
Phil
THIS IS FUNNY AND QUITE TRUE...WE ARE PROBABLY THE LAST GENERATION THAT WILL REMEMBER WHAT A CLOTHESLINE WAS.
Great memories for some of us! It's the poem at the end that's the best!!! Remembering Mom's Clothesline there is one thing that's left out. We had a long wooden pole (clothes pole) that was used to push the clotheslines up so that longer items (sheets/pants/etc.) didn't brush the ground and get dirty. I can hear my Mother now...
THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES:
(If you don't even know what clotheslines are, you should skip this.)
1. You had to hang the socks by the toes... NOT the top.
2. You hung pants by the BOTTOM/cuffs... NOT the waistbands.
3. You had to WASH the clothesline(s) before hanging any clothes - walk the entire length of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.
4. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang "whites" with "whites," and hang them first.
5. You NEVER hung a shirt by the shoulders - always by the tail! What would the neighbors think?
6. Wash day on a Monday! NEVER hang clothes on the weekend, or on Sunday, for Heaven's sake!
7. Hang the sheets and towels on the OUTSIDE lines so you could hide your "unmentionables" in the middle (perverts & busybodies, ya' know!)
8. It didn't matter if it was sub-zero weather... clothes would" freeze-dry.
9. ALWAYS gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes! Pins left on the lines were "tacky"!
10. If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item did not need two clothes pins, but shared one of the clothes pins with the next washed item.
11. Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes basket, and ready to be ironed.
12. IRONED??!! Well, that's another subject!
And now a POEM...
A clothesline was a news forecast,
To neighbors passing by,
there were no secrets you could keep,
When clothes were hung to dry.
It also was a friendly link,
For neighbors always knew
If company had stopped on by,
To spend a night or two.
For then you'd see the "fancy sheets",
And towels upon the line;
You'd see the "company table cloths",
With intricate designs.
The line announced a baby's birth,
From folks who lived inside,
As brand new infant clothes were hung,
So carefully with pride!
The ages of the children could,
So readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed,
You'd know how much they'd grown!
It also told when illness struck,
As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe too,
Haphazardly were strung.
It also said, "On vacation now",
When lines hung limp and bare.
It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged,
With not an inch to spare!
New folks in town were scorned upon,
If wash was dingy and gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their brows,
And looked the other way.
But clotheslines now are of the past,
For dryers make work much less.
Now what goes on inside a home,
Is anybody's guess!
I really miss that way of life,
It was a friendly sign
When neighbors knew each other best...
By what hung on the line.
Gone with the Wind
Sep 15, 2013 11:48:03 #
Sep 15, 2013 12:42:10 #
Sep 15, 2013 12:46:41 #
Sep 15, 2013 12:50:52 #
Sep 15, 2013 12:54:17 #
My Grandmother had an old Wringer - Maytag that rolled outside, was filled with a hose and then the clothes were cranked through the wringer.
Grey water was just drained into the flower beds.
Oxydol was the detergent of choice.
Phil
Grey water was just drained into the flower beds.
Oxydol was the detergent of choice.
Phil
Sep 15, 2013 20:09:30 #
I must be an "old timer". We have a wringer washer with the 2 tubs for rinse water, & 2 clothes lines that we use all the time. We have a drier that runs but it doesn't heat. Kind of miss the drier when it's freezing outside.Ever try to put on a pair of frozen pants? :thumbdown:
Sep 15, 2013 21:03:54 #
phil7782 wrote:
For us old timers that actually remember clothesli... (show quote)
Still use the good old clothes line. The house we bought 5 years ago has a covenant in the deeds saying that we cannot hang clothes outside on Sundays and we are not allowed to shake the dust from a duster cloth out of the upstairs window at any time.
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