Mom Hacks Monday - How to Properly Hang Laundry

Hanging laundry seems like it would be fairly intuitive, and it is!  However, there are some simple tricks to make life easier for the person in charge of the laundry.  Conserving line space and pins is a priority, while minimizing wrinkles is a great bonus.

The first trick is to overlap the edges of clothing slightly so as to use one pin for two garments.  This works best for like garments - two shirts, for example.

Also, you may notice these shirts are hung upside down.  Hanging upside down uses the weight of the clothing to pull any wrinkles straight.  Also, when it comes to shirts, the straight bottom edge hangs more easily than the shaped shoulders.  Which brings us to button front shirts.  They should always be hung by the tail, even when the tail is not straight.  Ensure that the sleeves and collar are smooth and straight.  This saves ironing time later.

Even pants should be hung upside down, by the legs, which decreases wrinkling and makes hanging easier.  However, it is difficult to hang pants overlapping because of their thickness.

Also, longer items, like pants, should be hung at the end of the line, as the center of the line may sag and drag the item in the grass or dirt under the line.  Another trick for particularly long items is to use two lines for them, as I did with this sheet.

Conversely, smaller items can be hung with only one pin.  These are best hung in a row to maximize line space.

These overalls were also hung with one pin.  I used the straps of the overalls to hang and the pin to keep them from sliding.

You may have noticed by now that I have tall clotheslines and short clotheslines.  The kids love to help hang laundry and giving them their own line and stack to hang really boosts their self-confidence.