After All These Years, How Can I Replace It?

When my clothesline suddenly ripped this morning, my first reaction sas:

"After All These Years..."

And since I knew exactly where I had bought the rope, I wasn't all that worried. True, I had last replaced it about twenty years ago. Luckily I had only planned on hanging out one wash.

Instead of one of my "fitness" "trying to lose weight" walks, I went down to the grocers. That's where I had bought the one that had lasted for about twenty years. It was a thick metal wire coated with some plastic. I wanted exactly the same thing. It will probably last longer than I will, at least longer than my laundry hanging capabilities. Only Gd knows, for sure.

At the grocers, I said:

"I need to replace something I bought here twenty years ago."

Everyone in the store was my kids' generation, so they looked at me kind of funny. When I explained what I needed the manager went to help me find the clothesline. Problem. It wasn't the same sort of material. It reminded me of the lanyards we used to make. And even worse, it came in ten meter packages. I would need four packages for the four lines of five meters each plus enough to tie them. That's crazy; I need one long 25 meter package.

There's a hardware store down the hill in the Shiloh Industrial Zone; maybe they sell it there. But before I had time to go down, my husband said he'd be in Sha'ar Binyamin. So, I asked him to go into the store where I got the plastic bag holder. We struck out again. He didn't find one there. So I still must go down to the industrial zone. Gd willing.

Taking A Laundry Break

Or should the title be "Taking Break From Laundry?"

We're having one of those ugly spring days today and maybe tomorrow. It gets all sandy, like in sandstorms, and rains mud. It's time to close the windows. And if I need to launder, there are folding dryers which can decorate the house. Or I can use the electric one, which isn't all that great.

The week-long Passover Holiday begins Friday just before dusk, and the custom is not to launder during the "intermediate days," aka Chol Hamoed. So, I really try to empty the hampers out beforehand.

We really need the rain, so I'm not complaining at all.

The Science of Hanging Laundry for Quickest Drying

Yes, I know that for many, hanging laundry is an old, primitive chore, like cranking an early automobile to get it started.

Even in Israel there are many homes without clotheslines, because everything is dried in the clothes dryer. I do have one for "emergencies" or when the wash doesn't completely dry before the sun starts to go down and the humidity up. Though sometimes the wash will complete the drying process on folding racks in various rooms of the house.

I'd like you to know that hanging the wash for most efficient drying is, or should be, a science. Maybe a physicist can explain it in scientific terminology. I will do my best to simplify it.

Basically there are about five important factors which you must take into account to efficiently dry your laundry:

• temperature
• humidity
• sunlight
• type and thickness of fabric
• power in the spin of your washing machine

The higher the temperature, the quicker the drying, just like in an electric or gas dryer. Very high temperature may dry the laundry before the wrinkles blow out from the breeze. That's why woven clothes and sheets sometimes become terribly wrinkled when dried in the hot, strong sun. A slightly cooler day, with gentle breezes produces lovely smooth sheets and shirts without needing to iron them.  

Humidity is the measure of moisture in the air. High humidity will keep your wash from drying well. The wash can't get drier than the air around it.

A hot, dry night or shaded clotheslines are best for delicate fabrics or colors that fade in sunlight. Also towels can dry very "rough" when the temperature is high. I, davka, like the rough towels, because drying my skin with them is like having a non-chemical facial. But you should know that the sun not only bleaches some fabrics, it also purifies them. The more direct sun on the laundry, the quicker the drying process. If you hide/block small items with larger ones, the small ones will dry more slowly. I make sure that sheets and large towels are closer to the building, unless I'm using them to protect other items from the strong sun.

Of course the type and thickness of fabric are crucial factors, and that includes how you hang the wash. If you fold or double up fabric, it will take much longer to dry. It's sometimes necessary to rehang items "upside down" for them to dry completely. Get to know your clothing, sheets and towels to know how easily they dry. Woven sheets dry much more quickly than jersey ones. Take that into account when hanging the wash.

Whether you're drying the wash in an electric/gas dryer or outside in the sun, your washing machine will make a big difference in how quickly and easily everything will dry. The spin cycle is of crucial importance. The higher the number the less water remains in the fabric. Of course, there are fabrics that warn about spinning and the dangers of the fabric. Sometimes it can be ignored, but there are clothes that never recover from being spun at 1,000 or even 800. Good luck in your scientific experiments. I do not take responsibility for ruined and damaged clothes etc.

Not everyone has the facilities to dry their laundry outdoors the way I do, but if you can, it can be very enjoyable and suits those who are worried about global warming. You'll also save money. A sun porch can also be setup for laundry drying, as can any room that is heated or gets a lot of direct sunlight. 

Enjoy! I've loved hanging out the wash since I was a little girl in Bell Park Gardens, Bayside, New York.

Tip: My Tip To Make Laundry Easier

Today, daylight hours for me, was "National Laundry Day." I did about a half a dozen loads of wash. Most of the wash was hung outside to dry, and Gd decided to let us skimp on electricity. The weather was perfect.

And after my husband helped by taking in the dry wash, the real work had to be done, the sorting, folding and putting away. That's the part I don't like. That's the part I have trouble making time for.

It can be quite overwhelming and boring, too.

Years ago I'd get the kids to help me, and we'd sort the clean dry wash into baskets like these, according to family member. But now I'm stuck doing it all myself, and I don't like the old method.

 I made up a new method. I search through the wash for various kinds of items, like all of my husband's clothes go on the smaller couch for him to put away. Then, depending on my mood I make piles of other types of things. One pile at a time. To the left you can see the floor cloths all folded up. And then I put them away. So you suddenly see that less and less laundry is left to fold.

Of course, sometimes I take a break, and each time I return I find it less daunting, because I've already put away a lot of laundry, bit by bit.

And suddenly, the couch is clear, clean of laundry.

I highly suggest this method. It works for me, and I hate housework.

Post-Passover Laundry "Ditties"

Yesterday, I did a lot of laundry. Laundry is one of the things many people avoid doing during the Passover holiday, including the "intermediate" Chol Hamo'ed days, which are of holiday status and restrictions. By the time we put away all of our Passover kitchen gear Monday night and set the regular stuff back in their places, there was a ton of wash waiting to be done. So I set up the machine with a heavy, takes a couple of hours, wash on a timer to be ready first thing yesterday morning.

And after hanging the wash I photographed it and wrote a "little ditty" and posted it on facebook.  And then for some crazy reason, each time I finished a wash and hung it, I took a picture and wrote another crazy rhyme, #laundry. Here they are with some of the photos:
first laundry hung
enjoying the bright spring sun

Far from through
I've added laundry number two

Here's the third-
What! No clapping heard?

Here's number 4
and there's going to be more!

Just hung out wash number five
and feel very alive!

No tricks
This is wash six

Now that seven washes are hung
I can go out and have fun!

Another Simple Cleaning Tip

When I'm stuck with a difficult cleaning job, like getting burnt stuff out of a good pot, I take out one of the oldest and least expensive cleaners, "bleach."

after just a couple of hours

For good and for bad, I've seen common bleach dissolve all sorts of things from burnt food to fabric. One of the big advantages in using bleach is its price. It cost much less than all the modern, fancy well-marketed cleaners.

For cleaning pots, I pour it straight in, but for most cleaning, like on the tiles with a scrub brush, I dilute it with water. And never pour bleach directly on fabrics, or you may find that the fabric disappears along with the stain. If you're really desperate to sanitize a load of laundry with some bleach, then pour a small amount in the prewash soap compartment along with detergent. That way it won't land directly on the fabric and will be rinsed out early in the wash cycle.

If you read washing instructions, most items tell you never to use bleach. It can easily change the color of the clothes besides weaken or destroy/damage the fabric. But I must admit that I've used bleach many times. Remember that I'm of the generation that laundered cotton diapers for all of my kids. And over the years I've had to sanitize many things and get rid of moldy smells etc.

Of course there is always a danger to the fabrics and various surfaces, especially synthetics, when you use bleach. But if it's between throwing the item out or adding some bleach, I'd try a small amount of bleach first. Cotton seems to do best with bleach, white of course. Again, I repeat that you need to prewash and not let the bleach directly touch the fabric.

Here in Israel, if you have the old floor tiles you can clean/sanitize with bleach, especially diluted and/or adding a tiny bit to the floor cleaner.

I also find that only bleach will get grime out of the sink and tub. Open your windows and use gloves, of course.

I've also had good results pouring bleach down a slow-moving drain. Unlike with the commercial drain-cleaners and acids on sale, I know what I'm using.

No government health and safety department has gone over or approved this. Use at your own risk.

‪#‎morningcoffeehaiku‬ A Daily Treat

Here are some of my more recent ‪#‎morningcoffeehaiku‬'s and photos to match. How about contributing to the facebook page, or visit and comment...

this muggy morning
perked coffee to the rescue
not enough sleep, sigh...
#morningcoffeehaiku

Morning at Matan
Not my usual breakfast
But it hits the spot
#morningcoffeehaiku

The week's first coffee
Rain, drizzle or dry today?
To launder or not?
#morningcoffeehaiku

Slept for eight hours,
sun's up, sky's already blue
and coffee is great!
#morningcoffeehaiku

Friendly coffee's good
Yes early in the morning
Slept very well too
#morningcoffeehaiku

today perk'd coffee
strong, hot, tasty hits the spot
will it rain or not?
#morningcoffeehaiku

Sounds like 52Frames!

This week's theme/challenge on 52Frames was Sound. I ended up going for the household kind of sound. If you like this photo, then please click its title and like it on facebook, thanks.

"Listen to the Spin"
Even the quietest of washing machines makes noise as it spins. This is probably the most silent washing machine I've ever had. Our previous washing machines could've be used as alarm clocks if they had timers. Yes, it's almost like Science Fiction that this one can be set to finish its final spin cycle in the morning, or whenever I decide... Never could I have imagined such an amazing invention. 

I had to do a lot of laundry the week this photo had to be shot, because it was just before the Succot Holiday, when the custom is not to do unnecessary milachot-a certain type of reality-changing work, even on chol hamoed, the "intermediate days" those between Succot-strict holy day and Simchat Torah. So now that it's decades after I've had to launder diapers, and over a decade since my sons are in army uniform visiting home, I do try to take a holiday from the laundry chore. So, I was hearing that gentle buzz of a spin quite a bit last week. Can you hear the spin?

Those Coin-Operated Laundromats

My sister and I found ourselves having to do the wash in some Long Island laundromats.  Maybe it's my imagination, but it seemed like we were the only two adults chatting in English.  I don't know how long the other customers have been in New York/ the USA but it was pretty clear that we were the minority there.

People were helpful when we seemed confused, since neither of us have recent experiences in laundromats. The only time I remember being a customer/user was when we lived in London for two years in the mid-1970's, and we didn't have a washing machine in our apartment. Then I'd take all the clothes, including  dirty diapers down the street aways and wash and dry them all.

Using laundromats is sure expensive after a while....

Down with The Succah and Up with The Laundry!

I try not to do laundry during the "intermediate days" aka Chol Hamoed of the Succot and Passover Holidays.  Gd willing I'll have a few batches of clean and dry laundry by the time I leave for work.

We planned the house with this merpeset balcony/terrace that has four clotheslines which can hold a couple of loads of wash or more, depending on the type of wash of course.

B"H, Blue Sky Has Returned!

actual color, not sepia
photo taken early in the dust-storm 

Israel generally has the most boring summer (from April to October, sometimes interrupted in May-June by a couple of short desert sandstorms) weather which varies between hot and hotter, and the sky stays sky blue for months on end, but this year was different. For the last week or two we've been suffering from a long, almost never-ending unseasonable and unprecedented sandstorm.

For those with all sorts of health problems, especially connected to lungs, like asthma, this has been very trying times and dangerous, too. The only thing to do was to stay in air-conditioned buildings and keep all windows closed. Even awful housekeepers like myself have been continuously dusting. The fine sand has even snuck into closets and no doubt lungs, too. And for those of us who hang our laundry outside to dry, this has been a time of minimal clothes-washing, because wet clothes particularly attract the dust and sand.

I was going to do a lot of wash yesterday, as I usually do on Tzom Gedalia while fasting and staying home, but the air was still pretty dirty, although the forecasters had been predicting that it would end for days if not longer. I had decided that dust, sand or not, I had no choice but to launder today, even if it meant hanging laundry to dry all over the house.

But miracle of miracle, finally this morning the sky is clear and blue!! Thank Gd!!!!

Pink Sky

After a few days of blessed rain, thank G-d, our dirty laundry hamper was overflowing and I noticed a new color in the sky.

So I quickly checked westward and it seemed clear enough to throw a wash into the machine. Please don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't want rain. I certainly do understand its crucial importance, but I also want to do a couple of washes and hang them out in the sun. It can and should rain every night as far as I'm concerned. But daytime is another story. We need some sun.

Winter Weather Laundry Dilemma

Yes, now it's אחרי החגים acharay hachaggim "after the Holidays," and after the Jewish Holidays in Israel means that there may be rain.
14-22°Today October 19
Occasional Rain 
That's today's forecast. It means that it may or not rain. Experience shows that it'll rain when the wash is hanging and be dry when there's none outside. It's the Murphy's Law of Landry.

For those of us who like to dry our wash, especially large sheets, tablecloths etc. outdoors, we're very dependent on the sunshine.

I just did my more scientific study by checking the sky.

to the west

to the east

and to the west, again

Experience says that it's the west that predicts the rain. Rain clouds come from the west, but things can move/change quickly here.

I did manage to do four, or was it five, washes on Friday before Shabbat, so I'm not under pressure for clean laundry.

12-21°Monday October 20
Local Rain 

12-22°Tuesday October 21
Partly Cloudy 

Considering the forecast on Arutz 7 for the next few days, maybe I should wait.

Success!! Removed Gum From My Husband's Slacks!

There are few laundering challenges as serious as removing chewing-gum. The other night when my husband walked through the door and announced that he had apparently sat on gum in the bus and wanted me to "get it out," it was clear that he hadn't a clue that it wouldn't be a simple task.

It's a well-known fact that if the gum gets rubbed into the fabric, it can never be removed. I wracked my brain for ideas. I remembered hearing that freezing the clothing sometimes works, but my freezer is small and pretty full. I'd have to empty half a shelf to fit in his slacks.

So, I finally checked with "professor google." I got a few articles/sites like "14 ways to get gum off of clothing," "10 ways to get gum off of clothing" and others of varying numbers.

The "freezing" technique didn't seem all that easy, and the ironing it out seemed too risky. Boiling vinegar and then using a toothbrush to brush it out of the fabric didn't seem very safe either. On one of the list there was a suggestion to use a strong stain remover and then rub out the gum with something abrasive.

I mulled over the various ideas also taking into account if the method could cause secondary damage to the counter or sink or wherever I'd attempt to do it. Also I realized that an unsuccessful attempt would further embed the gum into the fabric, so there would be no "second chance."

The slacks were black and the gum was white. Too bad you can't paint gum black with a permanent marker...

By the time I came back home after babysitting the grandkids I had made a decision. One of my good friends who is probably the best housekeeper I know "swears by" Oxygen stain remover for a multitude of laundering challenges.

And until I grabbed the green scrubbing thing by the laundry-room sink I wasn't sure what I'd use. I had been thinking of using my toothbrush which needs to be replaced, but the downside of that would have been risking the bleaching effect the residual toothpaste may have had on the black fabric.

The slacks went into the sink, and I poured a very generous amount of Oxygen onto the gummy "seat" and began to rub. I know there's no suspense here, since I used the word "success" in the title. Yes, after a pretty short time the gum broke into tiny bits and pretty much left the fabric. It was hard to know what percentage remained.

Then I laundered it in a regular delicate wash, adding more clothes and detergent. Of course the slacks fabric had lots of Oxygen. When the laundry was finished I hung it all out to dry and must say that it was about 90% plus clean if not cleaner, which was good enough and far cleaner than I had expected.

And, no, this isn't an advertisement. I just wish I was getting paid to write it. 

Is There a Word Other Than "Brilliant" for This?

OK fellas, caption this!

Nu?  You must have something to say about this.  I was sure glad that I had my camera with me.  The next time I passed it was filled with drying laundry.

Pesach over, but not all away

The Passover Holiday may be over here in the Holy Land, but not everything in my house is back to normal. As can be expected when two "alte cockas" have to do everything without youthful assistance, the heavy stuff has yet to be lifted and lowered to the attic, and one kitchen closet was somehow skipped. I had to strain my knee to rescue a nice big mug last night. Tonight, when he gets back from work, he'll have to do that last closet, and we'll have to find help for the heavy attic stuff.

I still have to strip off and shrink the big diningroom table. Today's weather report predicts "showers," so I can't risk major laundry. It's a good thing I made plans to meet a friend. Sandstorms are not the season to hang out the wash, and the livingroom is already filling with clotheslines.

At this early hour of the morning, the sky is blue, clear, cloudless blue. Should I or shouldn't I hang out the wash?

We checked the calendar, and next year the seder will be Saturday night, my favorite. It's all a matter of getting everything done in advance, enjoying Shabbat, eating the challot or pittot (a favorite, here in Israel) outside and the meal all kosher for Passover inside, and then being nice and rested for the post-Shabbat seder.

I'll be posting another "spring flowers-plus" collection of pictures soon. So, stay tuned!

dumb moves

Talking about dumb moves, while I was waiting for these pictures to load--I'm not the type to watch the water boil--I walked out in the rain, sans jacket and umbrella, just to throw out some garbage.

The top picture was taken on one of my "walks around the neighborhood." Strange what you can see and a good reason to always be armed with a camera. Other than what you can see in the shot, I have no commentary. Provide your own, and let me know in the comments.

About the bottom picture...

You'd think I'd know better after 36 years here in Israel. Foolishly I had let the morning sun trick me into thinking that it was a perfect laundry day. I didn't even check the yahoo weather forecast. Yes, I took the picture this morning, the same morning I walked out "unprotected" in the rain. The good news is that it's a good excuse to have the heater on all day. The bad news, besides the mess, is that the laundry blocks the heat from being felt all over the room and house.

CONTEST: Extra credit for anyone who can name the movie I've been watching! Hint! That's not the main star on my screen.