Today, I had to do laundry. Generally, I confess, I tend to toss my clothes in the dryer, but frankly our building's dryer kind of sucks, and every time I put my laundry in it, I end up kicking myself for wasting energy when my clothes aren't even getting dry. So, this evening, I decided, No More!
Which left me with a slight problem. You see, I don't own a drying rack. And I couldn't run out and buy one.
So ... I thought to myself, What Would MacGyver Do?
And I came up with this:
For those of you wondering what exactly that is, it's the base of my papasan which I have temporarily converted into a drying rack. (It'll resume it's operations as a chair tomorrow.)
It's not perfect, but it'll get the job done. And anyway, whatever MacGyver would have done, you can bet that he wouldn't have just driven to the Target.
8 comments:
Brilliant! I did that for a year in our tiny 1 bedroom apt as well. You know it really has a cooling effect when the weather is hot.
BTW, is carpooling not popular in L.A? Or do you live far from your co-workers to make is a worthwhile option?
I don't see the duct tape.
Wow, that brings back memories. My undergrad apartment looked like that for 2 whole years! Wire racks that hang over the radiators took up most of the slack, but banisters, chairs etc. were in regular use too.
I bet clothes dry faster in LA than in Newcastle (almost as far North as you can get and still be in England).
Beany, I can't carpool because I work really weird hours and can never be sure when I'm getting off work. It sucks. If I had a job with known hours, I would definitely try to find a carpool buddy.
Jennie, what can I say? Maybe MacGyver would have made a clothesline out of duct tape, but this just seemed more efficient!
Cae, I think it's interesting that everyone in Europe line dries their clothes. It's definitely better for your clothes- the dryer can really ruin them. And of course it's more energy efficient. Is it a cultural thing? Do apartment buildings just have washers with no dryer?
I can only speak for the UK, where most houses have dryers but people with gardens like to line-dry whenever the weather allows!
Most proper grown-up apartments will have washers and dryers, but not the dodgy student places I lived in after leaving my parents' house and before moving to Canada! I lived in one with a washing machine only (the one I described above), or neither (I spent a lot of time in laundromats during those 2 years).
Of course the latter flat didn't have any heating either, there were 1-inch gaps around the windows, and this was in Scotland. You don't know what cold is until you've had to sleep under 2 duvets wearing head-to-toe fleece and a hat!!
Sorry for the diversion... ah, happy days.
Plus you need that many fewer quarters! I know I never had enough quarters when I needed to do laundry. btw, I've had a crush on MacGyver since I was like 7...is it just me or is he really hot? now I need to go turn on the tv and see if any channels show MacGyver re-runs...
Sweet! Yeah, now that it's warmer, my blanket rack is my drying rack since all the blankets can be stuffed away for the season. I supplement that with a short clothesline I made by braiding strips of old t-shirts together. You'd laugh to see it, because shirts hung on it hang about an inch from the basement floor - t-shirt material is super-stretchy! Gets the job done, though.
I use a bird feeder to dry my bras. Seriously. The birds never came to eat any fruit I put on this, so I just hang my bras off of it to drip dry.
You know, if you put your cushion back on and sat while the clothes were drying, they'd be nicely pressed (albeit with a cane pattern...)
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