I have written about this in the past but it has been REALLY hot lately and I thought I could revisit the issue.

One of the frugal ways I save money is to hang laundry to dry when I can. It costs $1 to run the dryer in my apartment complex so that is money saved each time I do NOT use it. I have a drying rack that I bought a few years ago that is in the spare room and it holds most of the clothes.

The rack sits in front of an open window and since I live on the second floor I have no qualms about leaving the window open (with a safety lock halfway) so there is great airflow. The window gets plenty of direct sunlight streaming in for most of the day as well so that is great for the clothes.

img from greenbabyguide.com

Of course I only hang items that would not be needed soon and those that can comfortably hang without causing problems. I just did a load of kitchen towels and those fit perfectly on the racks with no problems.

I know most people say they do not like to hang clothes because the clothes dry stiffly but I do not find that to be a problem. Yes the clothing is not as baby soft as when it comes out of the dryer but after being folded or ironed as needed they feel just like normal.

In fact hanging some items like T-shirts directly after washing has eliminated the need for ironing because they go on hangers which are then placed on the drying rack. It cuts down my laundry time a little bit because I do not have to wait that 45 minutes and then place the items on a hanger. I just take them out of the wash and place on the hanger immediately and then move them to the closet when they are dry.

I get to keep $1 off every load that I would have dried and while it is not much every little bit helps. Of course I will no longer be able to use the rack once it gets cold again but for now I am enjoying using the heat and air flow to dry my clothing.