One often thinks that anyone posting, writing, or talking about being thrifty would be advising on how to do something inexpensively, but thats not usually the case. Thrifty, by definition simply means "using money and other resources carefully and not wastefully" and is no guarantee that the idea is low-cost. For example, have you ever noticed how many DIY and "thrifty" activities are in fact terribly expensive endeavors? Cook from scratch!...but buy these wonderfully expensive pans and this exquisitely costly mixer first. Sew your own clothes!...but make sure you have the new super-triple-deluxe sewing machine and these pricey craft scissors. Make your own soap!...but make sure you have these overpriced soap molds designed to only do one thing, mold soap.
I encountered this trend today while searching for a way to make a clothesline for an apartment. I don't like running the dryer when I can dry my clothes for free outside. Besides, who doesn't love that "fresh off the line" scent and warm, crisp sheets? Back to my point. Today I searched Google for just about any phrase I could think of to find someone, ANYONE who would suggest ways to build any kind of clothesline from basic, lying around the house materials (or at least scrap boards from Home Depot). I tried "homemade apartment clothesline", "DIY clothesline", "building plans for clothesline", "make your own clothesline", and even "using scrap material to make clothesline". I found not one single page that would describe, or even hint at, how to build your own clothesline. To be fair, the internet abounds with pictures of people using rope strung up loosely or already existing fences as clotheslines, but I was looking for something a little more substantial. I will after all, be hanging all of our clothes and not just a pair of socks or a wet swimsuit or two. Most of my searches brought sites that suggested I purchase one of the handy-dandy pre-made contraptions that are "must haves" for anyone serious about open air laundering. In fact, some of them were pretty amazing. This Extendaline Quatro 4 was pretty impressive, but I don't want to spend $130, if you can even manage to find a place in the US to buy one! One of the reasons I want to hang my clothes to dry is to save some money and it seems absurd to spend that much. It would take two years just to recoup the cost of materials.
My point in all this? Before you shop for money saving devices that cost an arm and a leg, consider if the item is even needed. People have been cooking with cast iron, mixing batter with a spoon and bowl, and sewing with needle and thread for centuries. (And let's not forget the early homesteaders that rendered animal fat and would probably chortle at our "need" for fancy rose-shaped guest soap.) Or, take a look around your house and see what you can do with what you have. I decided that spending money on fancy clotheslines wasn't worth it for me. We move too much to make it worthwhile to buy something specifically for our current location. I perused the random odds and ends we had around our storage closet and came up with what you see below. It isn't fancy and it wouldn't win any design awards, but it does the job well and everything can be moved inside to dry clothes on a rainy day!
You decide for yourself, but as for me and my house, our money is better spent elsewhere. Now that's thrift!
(A copper pipe left by the previous tenants and an old closet dowel double as clothing racks)
(paired with two seriously old drying racks!)
Share your thrifty adventures! What have you "made do" with?
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