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International Clothesline Week

June Weekly Observance

By ElliePublished 4 years ago 5 min read
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What is International Clotheslines Week?

It is the first week or so in June where people agree to hang their laundry on a clothesline to dry rather than using their dryer. One may ask, why would anyone agree to that? It may seem a little old-fashioned after all. Believe it or not, it’s still a method to drying clothes many people all over the world still use. My family and I used the clothesline to dry sheets and towels for years. To be fair, it was more because the dryer we had was in terrible shape and didn’t function properly. Some may use a clothesline for the same reasons. It’s cheaper or maybe they don’t have a dryer.

International Clothesline Week is the other reason for using a clothesline. It is a week where people vow to be energy conscious. Drying your clothes in a machine consumes a lot of energy. If you want to save this energy, you can hang your clothes out on a line. It saves energy and money. Some materials also feel really good when they are air dried rather than thrown in the dryer. Some materials feel less good, but the fresh air does work wonders on clearing out your clothes and giving them a fresh scent.

To answer the question, International Clothesline Week is a week to save money and be energy efficient. Check out https://www.clotheslines.com/about for more details on clotheslines and some ways they help you and the environment.

Sure, one week is a great start. Raising awareness is half the battle. The real struggle is maintaining these saving practices. Maybe you caught the attention of a few hundred thousand people across the world and for the week, they participated in saving energy. What is the likelihood that the same amount of people will continue using this energy saving method after the week is over? Will those individuals be exposed enough to influence others to engage in the same practices?

Unfortunately, there is no one, easy answer. How do you get people to care about these types of issues? Some people may remain unbothered by the money it could save them. Some people may not have the space and resources to have a clothesline (maybe they live in an apartment complex in the city). Some people just don’t care. This is the reality of the issues we face when trying to solve any problem.

How can we work to fix this? The simplest answer is you. One person may not make a huge difference, but add the one person in the neighborhood 5 miles from you. Add that one person 2 cities over. Another 2 or 3 people the opposite side of the state. You may think you don’t have the power to affect change, but you are truly never alone in your efforts. While you might be the only one within a few mile radius choosing to change, there are people just like you all over the world. Change starts with you. One person added to the thousands of other “one person” eventually makes a lot of people.

What are some other ways to be energy efficient?

Turn off the lights.

And no, it’s not the scary Dr. Who “Who turned off the lights?” moment. Use natural light. It’s a lot better for your eyes and again, will save you a ton of money if you aren’t burning through tons of energy to keep your house lit. You also won’t burn through your lightbulbs as fast, so you spend a little less money constantly replacing the bulbs. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m also more motivated with the natural light. I know that sounds really weird, but it’s true. When the rays of the sun are shining into a room, it urges me to be more productive than if an overhead light is casting a shadow of my head down onto the desk. It’s quite comical. I’ll be busy working on my computer when a good friend will walk in and ask me why I don’t have the lights on. It’s almost astonishing to them that someone could work under such conditions.

Adjust the AC/Heat.

If you’ve ever been on a small budget you understand the choice of cutting down on heat and cooling bills. It can get really expensive to keep your house or apartment a uniform temperature. Keep the thermostat adjusted at a tolerable temperature. Maybe it’s a little warm outside – don’t blast the AC to 68 degrees. Be adaptable. Try using open windows – especially at night. Get those bug screens in and enjoy a fresh breeze. Or maybe it’s a bit chilly outside. Don’t crank the thermostat to 80 degrees. Thank your stingy parents for teaching you the, “just put a sweater on,” bit. How true is that saying though. Personally, I love walking around my house wearing blankets and fluffy comforters. Partially it’s because it keeps you warm, but it’s also fun to pretend to be a royal wearing this massive flowing garment.

Exercise Outside.

Yeah, I know this is a little unconventional. How can you save energy/power by exercising outside? Let me ask you something. Do you run for exercise? Running methods are a hot topic. The debate is treadmills vs. sidewalks. Everyone definitely has their personal preference. And you shouldn’t just alter everything about yourself to try and be more energy conscious. But one thought is maybe try running outside if you don’t normally. Save the energy from powering up that treadmill. That is only one example, but you get the idea. Energy can be conserved by switching up your routine a bit. It’s crazy. I used to never run outside. I hated it. Here in North Carolina it is muggy and humid and just gross. I quickly adapted to running outside and even beating the humidity by running early in the morning.

These are just a few random ideas. If we all can implement little pieces here and there, we can collectively conserve a lot of energy. Do you have more ideas? Tell your friends and family and show how to be energy efficient.

If you are looking to start exercising and becoming fit, head over to my blog, thequackyduck.com and check out some of the articles I already have up. Subscribe to get notifications for when new posts come up and learn how you can implement different strategies to become healthier and happier. You can also check out a few of my other stories here on Vocal.

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About the Creator

Ellie

I'm Ellie, a Health Coach, healthy lifestyle advocate, dog mom and chocolate connoisseur.

I'm super passionate about health and fitness.

I love trying new things and traveling to new places!

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