I'll admit...I'm spoiled. Living the gypsy life with a washing machine is lovely. Especially on a day like today where the sun has actually come out and there is a gentle breeze blowing. I realize it's just a temporary break in the rain that's supposed to be back this afternoon so I'm enjoying it while I can. As I look out the window I can see all my nice clean laundry fluttering in the breeze on my retractable washing line. The line measures upto 50 feet long so I have it running from the moho (still looking for a new name) to Steve's work trailer/office and back in sort of a 'v' shape. It works really well and I can hang a load or two up at once. We're still trying to locate a camera and get you guys some pictures. Hopefully later today that will happen.
So how did we hook up the washer? I have a frontloader that's good on water and that's important because all that wash water has to drain somewhere. In our case we extended the drain hose about 10 feet from our little living area and it drains into a series of trenches a few inches deep that the kids and I dug into the sand. Probably the best way to do it would be to bury some drain pipe that would let the water gradually seep out all along it's length. But the sand absorbs a lot so our way sort of works for now. The washer is sitting on some 2x4's so that it is level because we don't want it bouncing all over the place when it spins and it's a little off the ground so it won't go rusty. The water is fed to it just from a garden hose attached to the cold inlet and left turned on. If you do this though you must remember to cap off the hot water inlet, or the cold water will just come pouring out through the hot inlet. Obviously we can only wash in cold water but saving trips to the laundromat plus the $3.50 per wash and average of $3 per dry is worth it to me. My machine spins out much faster than the laundromat ones too so drying doesn't take as long.
Do you know the very best part of doing laundry and then hanging it out? Besides the saved $6.50?
THE SMELL!! I love the smell of line dried laundry.
I guess it helps I'm not in a smelly or polluted city too. Gotta go switch loads. Hope you're all having a great day. Elizabeth
We had a dream, like so many others before us, to live a simple and sustainable life on our own organic farm... so we drove from Vancouver Island, British Columbia to the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia, and we've been here nearly 6 years. We love life, learning, and sharing with others. Follow our adventures as we build a vibrant small family farm and work towards self-sufficiency using a combination of traditional methods, permaculture and original ideas.
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