Are clothes really necessary?

We've started wearing less clothes. To be more precise, we're going through less clothes each day.

See, what happened is...a few days ago, our dryer decided it was done heating the clothes as it dries them. And it also decided it's not going to time the dry cycles, either - the clothes just tumble for all eternity, or until someone decides to get them out. Cold and, usually, still wet.

So until we decide whether to try and fix the dryer (again) or get a new one, I've been hanging all our laundry outside until it's pretty dry, and then bringing it in to tumble in the (cold) dryer for 20 or 30 minutes. All this makes the laundry seem like, well, much more of a big deal. No longer is matching socks the most annoying part of doing the laundry. Oh, no. Hanging each sock with a clothespin and then taking each one back down is more time consuming by far. Then I get to match them. Hence the tightening of the rules on clothes-wearing. If it doesn't stink or look too dirty, it's not dirty enough to wash!

But I will admit I am getting a certain bizarre satisfaction out of hanging clothes. As far as backyards go, there is nothing homier than a clothesline full of laundry blowing in the breeze. So while I definitely feel the additional time being used on this task, I am - for now - enjoying the quaintness. Which is probably not a real word, but you get my drift. But, I'm sure my days of happy clothespinning are numbered. In another day or two, I'll probably be completely sick of it and begging for a new dryer!

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Here's my diaper load (minus the covers and pocket diapers*, which I always hang inside, anyway, so I didn't bother bringing them out). Even after tumbling in the dryer for half an hour or so at the end, these diapers were still pretty stiff, so that's a bummer. One of my favorite things about cotton diapers is how soft they are - and line drying seems to take away that element. Oh well, it works for now. (Don't look too closely or you will notice the older son trying to clothespin the baby's ear...)

I had to leave a "hole" near the bottom of the slide!

Drake loves to help hang laundry and take it down again. (Again, I'm sure this is because it's a novelty...if it were a daily chore he'd probably avoid it like the plague!)

Monkey see, monkey do!

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* Pocket diapers - cloth diapers with a waterproof fabric on the outside and usually a polyester "stay-dry" fabric inside, designed with an opening in the back to "stuff" the diaper with desired absorbancy. These are often used at night, when a LOT of absorbancy is required. For more cloth diaper info, see my Diaper Pin link on the sidebar or click here for their diaper dictionary.

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P.S. - Sorry most of these pics aren't "clickable" - I didn't do it right when loading them, but it can't be corrected without starting over...and that's NOT gonna happen!