I used to despise doing my laundry by hand, but after some years I now find it to be part of my routine and if in the right mood, even relaxing. It's a routine for me to do my laundry every Saturday morning (Sunday if it rains) and I like it because I have the exact amount of underwear and work clothes to last me the week. If clothes aren't regularly worn in the tropics, they are at risk of growing mold. Plus, not having a heaping pile of laundry makes the task less daunting and time consuming. It usually only takes me about a 1/2 hour to hand wash my clothes in the morning.
Another thing I love is hang drying my clothes. For some reason it feels oddly rewarding when my clothes have dried to a crisp after a day in the sun. Ana is more at home with hang drying as it's widely practiced in Spain; she's never even SEEN a house with a dryer in Spain. I obviously like the fact that it is taking advantage of a renewable energy, especially in comparison to how much energy it takes to run a dryer.
However, there are hazards with hang drying. First, the threat of rain can be serious, especially since I have the exact amount of clothes I need. Clothes will eventually dry when hung inside and if there is a true need, you can always dry clothes out with an iron. A second hazard is that people love to have fires here, whether it's for burning brush from their small shamba (farm), or burning their trash as there isn't an adequate trash collection service. There is always the risk of your clothes smelling like a camp fire when you're done, which is a wonderful in comparison to when they get smoked out by a burning trash pile; the smell of burning plastic is difficult to get out.
I typically have good luck with my clothes but the other day our landlady had some people do work on the shrubs around the yard. As you can see, I was victim to getting my clothes smoked. Fortunately, the winds were kind and my clothes only smelled faintly of burning bush.
Another thing I love is hang drying my clothes. For some reason it feels oddly rewarding when my clothes have dried to a crisp after a day in the sun. Ana is more at home with hang drying as it's widely practiced in Spain; she's never even SEEN a house with a dryer in Spain. I obviously like the fact that it is taking advantage of a renewable energy, especially in comparison to how much energy it takes to run a dryer.
However, there are hazards with hang drying. First, the threat of rain can be serious, especially since I have the exact amount of clothes I need. Clothes will eventually dry when hung inside and if there is a true need, you can always dry clothes out with an iron. A second hazard is that people love to have fires here, whether it's for burning brush from their small shamba (farm), or burning their trash as there isn't an adequate trash collection service. There is always the risk of your clothes smelling like a camp fire when you're done, which is a wonderful in comparison to when they get smoked out by a burning trash pile; the smell of burning plastic is difficult to get out.
I typically have good luck with my clothes but the other day our landlady had some people do work on the shrubs around the yard. As you can see, I was victim to getting my clothes smoked. Fortunately, the winds were kind and my clothes only smelled faintly of burning bush.
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