Author Topic: Clothes pins recommendations for line-drying laundry  (Read 2440 times)

jengod

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Clothes pins recommendations for line-drying laundry
« on: July 05, 2016, 11:54:35 AM »
Under the guidance of fearless leader MMM :), I have converted to line-drying most of our clothes. (Is it weird that we now have a huge wall-mounted folding-frame clothesline, a small fold-up drying rack and a retractable line in the house, plus our existing dryer machine?)

Anyway, if anyone else line dries and needs to augment their supply of clothespins, an unusual but very good durable choice is actually "Clip-N-Weight" balloon clips, which are officially used for weighing down helium balloons sold at party stores and groceries, etc.

https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Balloon-Accessories-Primary-Clip-N-Weight/dp/B004R4HB84/
https://www.amazon.com/Mayflower-11359-Pastel-Clip-Weight/dp/B004R4BU18/

They go for about .15-.25 each if you shop Amazon. They are much wider than regular wooden clothespins, they have ridges to help grip the clothes, the spring works very smoothly, and they are lightweight. The big negative is that they are non-biodegradable plastic. When I get them for free from my parents, who LOVE celebrating holidays with balloon bouquets, they are a treat, but I feel guilty buying them new!

For environmental reasons I usually seek out the one-piece "Shaker clothespegs" (no spring, have a little round knob on the top). Vintage lots are easily found on eBay and Etsy; Penley and Diamond appear to have been some of the reputable American-made brands.
« Last Edit: July 05, 2016, 01:39:22 PM by jengod »

catccc

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Re: Clothes pins recommendations for line-drying laundry
« Reply #1 on: July 05, 2016, 12:26:56 PM »
I have a small clothes drying rack from ikea and a tripod one with two tiers.  We just hang stuff on hangers on the tripod, and for the small ikea one, just drape the clothes right on the lines.

I did use clothes pins to maximize space and speed dry time when we were cloth diapering.  Those prefolds are already pretty thick, so having them doubled over on the line meant it would take too long.  So we just got regular old wooden clothes pins with metal springs.

Those balloon clips though- they are really sturdy!  We have a half dozen from birthday balloons over the years, and I like to keep them as bag clips for food packages.  They also have a great grip for sheet and cushion fort building in the living room...

Kaydedid

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Re: Clothes pins recommendations for line-drying laundry
« Reply #2 on: July 06, 2016, 08:44:30 AM »
They sell similar clamps at the dollar store, $1 for 8 of them.  Work wonderfully, but the secret must be out since they're rarely in stock.  You can get them online for the same price, but have to order a whole case.

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Cranky

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Re: Clothes pins recommendations for line-drying laundry
« Reply #3 on: July 06, 2016, 01:10:42 PM »
I pretty often see whole bags of clothespins at the thrift store - that's where most of mine have come from.

Anderson

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Re: Clothes pins recommendations for line-drying laundry
« Reply #4 on: July 08, 2016, 05:08:36 AM »
These are pretty pricey per pin but would last forever I think.

Cheaper then a dryer! :)

http://classicamericanclothespins.blogspot.com/

startswithhome

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Re: Clothes pins recommendations for line-drying laundry
« Reply #5 on: July 28, 2016, 07:08:08 AM »
These are pretty pricey per pin but would last forever I think.

Cheaper then a dryer! :)

http://classicamericanclothespins.blogspot.com/

I have a few like this mixed in with my other clothes pins. From when I went to Brownie (stage before Girl Guides in Canada, so maybe 8 or 9 yo) camp. I'm 30. They're amazing.

mskyle

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Re: Clothes pins recommendations for line-drying laundry
« Reply #6 on: July 28, 2016, 07:52:11 AM »
Hmm, I just buy the cheapo wooden ones, like a bag of 50 for a couple dollars. I like that they're so cheap I don't worry about it if I lose one (or a couple). Right now, though, I use a rack, no clothesline, so I mostly don't use pins at all.

 

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