I'm Hanging my Clothes Inside

Often I chuckle at the twists and turns my Life takes. I am doing something now that I never thought I would. I washed the Whites today and I hung them on the Laundry Rack in the Living Room. They will be dry by morning.

In the 1950s and 1960s when I was growing up, Mother washed clothes using the Old Wringer Washer and the 2 Wash Tubs in our Basement. She worked full time at the local Shoe Factory. During the Warm Months, she would hang them outside on the Clothesline. Dad strung clotheslines going North to South in the Southwestern Part of the Basement, which is where she hung the Clothes in the Winter.

Throughout my Adulthood, I have had a Washer and a Dryer. They were visible signs that I was a Modern Woman and I had created a Modern Household. They were visible signs that I had money and that I would spend it.

When we 1st moved into our House in North Dakota, the Neighbor Ladies who were of my Mother's Vintage would hang their Clothes on the Line. I thought that was really strange. It did not seem like the Modern Way.

That was before I was alert to the damage that Humans were causing to the Earth. That was before I thought I could do anything about it. That was before I paid attention to the fact that I was part of the Problem and therefore part of the Solution. That was before I smelled the Sunshine in my Clothes, which was a fragrance that I loved.

I have been hanging Clothes outside during the Summer Months for years. But I never hung Clothes inside until last Night (New Year's Eve) and Today (New Year's Day). It's gonna be a better New Year.

This year, Melanie, who is often way ahead of her Parents, decided that she would hang her Clothes up on the Wooden Laundry Rack. Once again, my programmed Brain thought that was pretty strange. I am a bit slow about some of these things.

But, whoosh, something changed. I have been increasingly aware of Mountain Removal in the Mining of Coal. I find that tremendously offensive, in fact a violation of a Sacred Trust between Creator and Created. It is not a Legacy (or rather a Scar on the Face of the Earth) I choose to leave. http://www.nrdc.org/energy/coal/mtr/?gclid=CK77mOPQhJ8CFdA65QodnV5BRQ What sparked that whole "whoosh" and gave me energy beneath my wings was that I recently read with disgust that our provider of Electricity actually uses Coal which comes from Mountain Removal. http://www.ilovemountains.org/myconnection/ This link came from a recent issue of Yes Magazine and to them I am very grateful. The link allows Consumers to see if the Electricity they use comes from Mountain Removal. And, yes, we want to know.

Once again, I cut back on the use of Electricity. So I hung my Clothes on that Rack near the Fireplace. That means I will not be using my Dryer (which takes Electricity). As an extra benefit, that means I will be putting moist air back into my house which it needs. Why did we buy that spendy Humidifier on our new Furnace anyway?

I keep learning and growing. This just happened today. I wonder what tomorrow will bring.
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Afterward: Melanie's "whoosh" came from an article that she had read in the Green America Summer 2009 Newsletter called: "Fire your Clothes Dryer." http://www.greenamericatoday.org/pubs/realgreen/articles/dryer.cfm