Checked Off the To-Do List: New Clothesline

One of the things on our summer to-do list is “new clothesline.” I’ve had the old one since 2009.
 

After ten years of use it certainly looks like it’s seen better days.

I never actually intended to have the umbrella clothesline for so long. In fact, seven years ago I bought a new pulley style line from Lehman’s.

Originally, I wanted to run it from the back porch to the barn. I loved the idea of simply stepping out the back door to hang laundry. But because we were planning to build a new barn the new clothesline got set on hold. With the new barn now built and the old clothesline ready to topple, it was time to finally put up the new line.

But where? The problem with running it from the back porch to the barn was that it would partially obstruct the driveway. The line is 75-feet in length, so we would need a good clear stretch for it. We finally decided to hang it behind the carport.

From the pecan tree on the right to the utility pole near the corner of the barn (next to the white downspout) would work. That meant we’d have to clear out the shrubs and vines you see, plus move the garden shed.

The shed holds potting equipment plus all of the original windows we’ve replaced in the house. Eventually, we plan to use the old windows to build a greenhouse. I cleaned it out and Dan set up a new base for it. Last time, he dug out and leveled the ground. This time, he used pallets.

Empty, it wasn’t difficult to move. Now we could get the new line up.

The tree is a good anchor point, but Dan didn’t want to nail the pulley to the tree. So he strapped it instead.

The height of the second pulley was based on the length of the line. It’s 75-feet long, so the pulley ended up pretty high on the pole.

The last two parts are the pole and the spacer.

On my next laundry day I was able to give it a test drive.

I was happy that it held an entire load of laundry. I was equally happy to retire my old clothesline! Dan was happy to clear out some of the wild growth behind the carport, and Meowy was happy to keep me company.

I found the umbrella line to be slow because it had so many short spaces that I would have to dig around in my laundry bag to find pieces to fit. So hanging laundry went more quickly, as did taking it down. I especially like that it’s shaded there most of the day, because that means I don’t have to work in the hot sun. It was well worth waiting for.

Another project checked off the to-do list! Anyone else making progress on theirs?