Intoxicated by Change

Have you ever inhaled the intoxicating scent of your outdoor air-dried laundry or experienced the beauty of your laundry being blown in the warm summer breeze? If you have, you’re one of the fortunate few and if you haven’t you are missing out on one of life’s simple pleasures. I came to this pleasure later in life. I had the impression that laundry that was hung to dry would feel like cardboard and be all wrinkled. I had grown attached to my fluffy warm laundry.

But several years ago when my marriage ended suddenly and I found myself in the middle of grief, I knew I needed to make some conscious changes in my day to day life to help me get my feet planted firmly on this new plot of ground. Also I wanted to honour my value of conserving energy and I was willing to try a greener way of doing my laundry.

At first I hung my laundry indoors on a wooden drying rack that I purchased at the hardware store. It was remarkably easy and rather miraculous to me that it would be completely dry less than 24 hours later. (I must confess that I tossed it in the dryer for 3 minutes before hanging it on the rack to fluff it up a bit.)

I loved hanging my laundry on the wooden rack. I delighted in picking it up, shaking it out and finding just the right spot for each item. I liked walking by and seeing it hanging in the spare bedroom. And when dry, I enjoyed folding each item and putting it away.

Tasks with clear boundaries can be so soothing especially in times when life is in transition.

It was not until the following year when I entered a new love relationship that I discovered the pleasure of hanging my clothes outside. Certainly, I had noticed my neighbour’s clothes fluttering joyfully in the breeze. I marveled at the colours and the patterns. But I hadn’t experienced an outdoor line firsthand until I visited my long distance sweetheart in Nova Scotia and discovered that he had a pulley system line strung up from his second story deck.

What a pleasure it was to hang our laundry side by side outwardly declaring our love in a message that spanned the length of his entire back yard. I loved inhaling the intoxicating scent of the east coast air infused in my laundry.

One day in the excitement of my new love, I took a photo of his black underwear and mine hanging together. You can imagine my surprise when I returned home and realized that I had accidently set the camera to ‘video’ making a mini movie. Oooh, la, la!

We have lived together now for many years. The blush of new love has tempered but not my enthusiasm for taking in the sweet aroma after hanging our laundry out in the breeze of a summer day.

Hanging your laundry outside, even occasionally, can transform one of life’s chores into an act of love.

Is it time for you to step fully onto the ground of your life and experience one of life’s simple pleasures?

This entry was posted in hanging laundry, life's simple pleasures. Bookmark the permalink. Both comments and trackbacks are currently closed.

    You will also receive a complimentary subscription to my ezine Creating Space with practical tips and inspirational perspectives. I respect your privacy and will never ever share your contact information.