How to Make a Wooden Clothesline

Save on your energy bill and protect the planet by using the green method of clothes drying: hang clothes to dry on a clothesline. You can easily make your own wooden clothesline in your backyard in a weekend and immediately get started saving the planet by using the sun's heat and the power of evaporation to dry your laundry.

Things You'll Need

• Post hole digger
• Two 4-by-4-inch-by-6-feet wooden posts
• Concrete
• Two 2-by-4-inch-by-4-feet boards
• Four 4-inch nails
• Hammer
• Six U-shaped nails
• Plastic or nylon clothes line

Instructions

1. Use a post hole digger to dig two holes in your yard where you wish to place the clothesline. Dig the holes a minimum of 20 feet apart to give yourself plenty of room to hang lots of clothes at once or to hang blankets and sheets. Dig the holes 1 foot deep.

2. Set the 4-by-4-inch wooden posts into the ground, and fill the hole around the post with concrete. Prop the poles up with the 2-by-4-inch boards, and allow the concrete to dry for a couple of days before continuing the process to build your clothesline poles.

3. Set the 2-by-4-inch boards on top of the two posts to create two T-shapes. Set the boards parallel to each other; they do not have to be exactly parallel, but the 4-inch sides should be facing. Drive two nails into the center of each 2-by-4-inch piece and into the top of the 4-by-4-inch wooden posts.

4. Drive the U-shaped nails into the 2-by-4-inch boards. Drive three nails into each board, one in the center of the board and one into each end of the boards. Do not drive the nails completely in, but leave a gap large enough to insert the clothesline string or plastic coated wire. Repeat this on the second post.

5. Slide the pieces of clothesline under the U-shaped nails on one post and tie securely around the nail pulling a tight knot that will not loosen. Pull the clothesline across the yard to the second post, and feed the clothesline underneath the U-shaped nails on the other post and tie securely again, pulling the clothesline taut. Repeat this for each set of U-shaped nails to give yourself three clotheslines supported by two posts.

Tips & Warnings

• Avoid using metal lines that will rust and rub off on your clothing, towels and bedding.

References

• Grandma Rosie's Texas Home: Clothesline for the Frugal Soul

Resources

• The Tightwad Times: Thrifty Ways to Save Money