Dryers on Vacation

This month for It's Not Easy Being Green, we are going to implement using the dryer way less and using our clothesline more. I am calling it a vacation for my dryer. 

It is something we have always tried to do, use the clothesline...but sometimes life gets in the way, one year our clothesline broke and we didn't get it fixed right away, another year it was a very rainy summer....which makes it very hard to use the clothesline. lol 

Right now, our clothesline is down (the outbuilding it was attached to is being torn down), but we are going to put it back up soon. And we will see how many days we can go without using the dryer. Maybe we will make it a game, my kids love putting clothes on the line and taking them down as well. We will see who can remember to put them out early enough in the day and remember to bring them in at night. lol In the heat of the summer, I don't mind keeping them on the line at night....but this time of year, they need to come in. 

Using the clothesline will help reduce our electricity usage, which is good for the environment as well as our budget. We use wool dryer balls in the dryer, which helps reduce the time needed in the dryer....and we will continue to use these when the dryer is needed. But the goal will be to use outside drying 80% of the time. I think that is realistic, with a family of 7, including 2 dogs and 2 cats....there will be times when the dryer may be necessary. 

And who doesn't love the smell of clothes that are line dried? They just smell so fresh. Because we use soap nuts, and they are naturally scent free as well as a softener for our clothes, the clothes come off the line smelling "fresh" and are soft.  

We do not plan on using the line in the winter....not yet anyway. We are starting with a spring/summer/fall vacation for our dryer....it still has to work full time in the winter...hahahaha Which is amusing because it is the opposite of us, we work more hours in the spring/summer/fall and take more time off in the winter months. 

Since this is something we have been doing somewhat in the past, from this point forward it will be a conscious decision that we will be making. Just like all our other It's Not Easy Being Green initiatives, one step at a time and from this point forward is our goal.  

Do you have a clothesline? Any tips on how to make it the whole summer without using the dryer? (And we cannot give away a couple of our kids to make it easier....lol) Let us all hope for a mostly hot dry summer (maybe just rain at night to help keep things watered), so our dryer can have a true vacation :)