the best way to peg your washing out

[fruitful]

I'm inspired by the AIBU thread (honest).

I've only had an outside washing line for a month and am therefore a pegging-out novice.

Please tell me your methods for pegging your laundry out so it dries quickly, and doesn't need ironing, and is easy to sort and put away.

And what do you do if it gets rained on (in the absence of helpful neighbours)? Wash it again? Leave it? Spin it and hang out again?

And my neighbours don't seem to wash their knickers ... None on their lines, anyway.

Tops by bottoms and bottoms by tops. Also, I leave washing out overnight all the time! And leave it out if it rains, then let it dry again. I felt a bit ashamed about that at first, until I noticed my (very nice) neighbour does the same thing! I don't peg out my knickers very often, but only because I have limited line space, so I dry them on the rads instead.

I never knew I had so much to say about laundry

THIS THREAD HAS BEEN BUMPED BY SOMEONE TRYING TO SELL A PRODUCT. HAVE REPORTED.

For all those who, like me, get an odd sense of satisfaction from hanging out washing in the garden: imagine my delight when my 19 year old daughter saw the sun shining and said "ooh Mum, this is a great day for hanging washing out, come on, let's do some washing." So we did that together, and I saw her looking at the full line with great satisfaction. I am sure there are more useful loves I can pass on to her, but this is a good start. By the way, she is a very normal 19 year old, at university with a great social life, not a young woman given to washing with her Mum, so the allure of the outside line and the sun were clearly strong.

what a strangley fascinating thread- i've been hooked- pardon the pun. Possibly because I don't yet have a clothes line and really want one....

I'm loving this thread! Has made me think about how i hang mine out! I defo need a soctopus!!! :)

Just found this thread - excellent! Have read through and can't spot anyone doing the same as I used to when I had a long washing line between two posts: hanging everything in colour order, going through the rainbow from white to black!

Now have a rotary line so can't do this effectively

This is just for RavenAK-I pay my kids 1p per pair of socks they manage to pair from the sock sin bin. I can't afford a cleaner but this just gives me a warm glow-I am at last out sourcing some tedious housework. Obviously the oldest is 6 youngest 3 (might not work if yours are teens) but even so it might spare you from the ziplock bag. To my shame I once had to payout 42p and not all of the bloody odd socks were paired.

I have a fabby rack that I bought from a flea market once. It is metal, rectangular and has metal pegs on it that are just about the right distance apart for DC's t shirts and trousers, it has saved me huge amounts of space on my airer (up by the ceiling) or my rotary line and I only wish I had a clue where I could get another as the pegs also do not break, I must go through a couple of those knicker twirler things every year! (Think I'll see if John Lewis sell them, surely they'd be more longlasting than the one from the pound shop!)
I love hanging out my washing and go hunting for things to wash on hot days (our winter coats were all done weeks ago!).
Wooden pegs, kept in a bucket in the greenhouse which is near the dryer, I couldn't bear to leave my pegs out.

I just saw the link to Ikea's socktopus - I must add that their \link{http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/30108607\pegs} are the best I've ever had (I have the black ones, they look like little birds perched on the line when it's empty )

I was going to link to the Sock-topus as well - it's brilliant and more sturdy than the Wilkinson's/Poundshop multi-peg thingies.

Always peg trousers from their bottoms - makes sense that the wind can then get through the thickest part of the trouser - the waistband - to dry it. Same with socks - peg through one layer of the top, not the toe.

I have a loveable homemade pegbag from about 30 years ago which is still doing its job very well.

I miss my indoor ceiling airer....

I hang heavy things in the middle of the line and move out to lighter stuff at the edges, and use a wooden clothes prop. Trousers on the waist-band and tops on the hem. If I've run out of space I put pants and socks round the edge of the basket in the sun, otherwise hang them up.

If it's a still day and the kids aren't about to use it (!) I spread out pants and socks on the trampoline to dry - the middle airy bit is good but the padded surround gets really hot in the sunshine and dries things very quickly.

Dose it really matter how its been put out has long has it drying i think they are more important things in life to worry about then clothes dnt care if my underwear is out drying ppo shouldn't be looking and when it comes to socks ect u can get a hanger thing from the £1 shop

Each to there own!

I have read loads of these threads and I do a bit of each. Hang socks up by their tops in pairs in one section of the line. Hang my knickers by one peg my husbands pants by two. Sheets by edges so they billow. Tops under armpits so no peg pull marks on shoulders or bottoms. Don't leave pegs out because they go mouldy. Yes leave washing on the line if it rains. Makes it softer when it dries. Hang trousers by waistbands so again no peg marks on hem of trousers. Yes I use a peg bag.

I do most of our washing and hang our washing as follows:
Shirts; polo-shirts etc are hung from the waist but only one edge so they billow out in the wind. I hang them like this because collars take the longest to dry and dry better flapping in the wind.

Trousers, skirts and jeans I hang from the legs or hem. The reason being the waistbands take longer to dry and therefore benefit from flapping in the wind just as collars do on shirts etc.

Socks, I hang in pairs from the tops. I found that hanging them from the toes wear them out quicker.

Underwear? Well, we have no inhibitions with regard hanging them out. I'd never considered that anyone would take such an interest in their neighbours' undergarments.

I do, however, hang them by the waistband with two pegs so that the gussets flap in the wind and dry quicker. My wife hangs them with one peg. I must admit that, having read comments on here, all her underwear is sheer or lacy and that is very obvious the way I hang them. Two pegs are still best and she's never asked me to change how I hang them.

The only thing my wife insists on is re-washing after rain soaking.

My only consideration with regard to colour is; I don't hang whites next to each other just in case it makes some look grey or ivory garments look like dirty whites.

All our pegs are blue and don't have springs (which always broke quickly). They just push on and pull off and even hold well in gale force winds. A lot more expensive than spring pegs but last a lot longer and better in very windy conditions. Best weather being warm and windy.

We don't leave washing out overnight. Not because it might be common but for commonsense. They get damp from dew and the early morning birds mess have caused re-washing.

We dry towels in the tumble dryer because line drying makes them really rough.

I was impressed with reading about hanging sheets from the two ends instead of folded over the line. They do billow out and dry better that way, so, thank you for the idea.

I always use a prop to raise the washing as high as possible and never leave the pegs out as the sun harms them.