Grandma’s Rules for Hanging Out the Laundry

Back in the old days the laundry was often done in a washtub, with bar soap (or flakes) and a washboard. Some families might have had a ringer, which helped to reduce the drying time by a fair bit. Even once electric washing machines came out, many people did not have the space or money to then also buy a clothes dryer. Given that everyone already had a clothesline, it might have seemed like an unnecessary extravagance and the real labor was all in the washing and ironing anyways. Plus, there’s nothing that smells as good as laundry dried on the clothesline. Back then there were quite a few rules about how the clothes should be hung out. These rules were to save time and money and if you didn’t follow them you’d most likely get a stern talking to by Mom or Grandma.

1) The clothesline must be wiped down before hanging the laundry on it.

This ritual helped to ensure that if any dust or dirt was on the line that it wouldn’t mark the clean clothes as they touched it.

2) Socks are to be hung by the toes.

Hanging them this way means that the ankles don’t get stretched out as quickly.

3) Sheets are hung on the outer edges of the lines and intimates and unmentionables in the middle.

The delicates always were hung on the inside and large items like sheets, blankets, and towels on the sides. Doing it this way sort of shielded the neighbors’ view of your families undergarments.

4) Like colors are to be hung together.

The white sheets and linens were always hung together and colors hung together so that if anything bled it wouldn’t ruin the nicely bleached items.

5) Shirts should be hung by the tails, not the shoulders.

A small crimp at the tail from a clothespin could quickly be ironed out or easily hidden by tucking in the shirt when worn. However, strange bumps at the shoulders required a lot more work to get out and it was best avoided altogether by simply hanging shirts upside down.

6) Each item must share a clothespeg with its neighbor.