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Doing laundry with no laundry room

By: Shannon Lee , Contributing Writer
In: Home Improvement Tips, Green Renovations

One of the most difficult quirks to deal with in an old house is the lack of a dedicated laundry room. Depending upon how old your house is, it might have been built without a single thought to space for laundry. After all, wringer washers were typically used on porches, and clothing was hung up on the clothesline to dry in the sun. Why create a room to house the washer and basket?

Today, we adore the convenience of the washer and dryer, all ready to go at the touch of a button. But what if there is no room for that in your old house? There are a few options that might make life easier.

Make good use of that old clothesline

Yes, it's old-fashioned -- but it still works wonders, just as it did many years ago. The clothesline has fallen out of favor over the years, perhaps because it takes much more work than throwing clothes in the dryer. Or perhaps we don't like letting others see what is really in our closets, all posed on the line for the world to scrutinize.

While these are good reasons to consider using a dryer, remember that there are many advantages to the clothesline. Your clothes will smell fresher and cleaner, and might even be brighter, thanks to the rays of the sun. For those of us who hate to iron, hanging clothes properly on the line can result in fewer wrinkles, which means less ironing to be done -- hallelujah! And of course, there are huge financial savings that come along with having no dryer. Why spend all that money to dry the clothes inside when Mother Nature does it for free?

What about during the winter, when snow is on the ground and the sun doesn't come out for days? Retractable clotheslines are the answer. These clotheslines can be placed over bathtubs or in front of sunny windows to provide space for drying clothes right there in the house, and they tuck away out of sight when not in use.

Look for the unconventional

That leaves the question of the washer. It's a sure bet no one really wants to go back to using the wringer washer on the porch, and certainly you don't want to use a washtub, washboard, and soap. So what are you to do when the modern convenience you really need simply doesn't have a place in your house?

Start by choosing a place where you might not have expected to put a washer. That might mean the bathroom, assuming yours is bigger than a postage stamp, of course. It might also mean the kitchen, where a washer can be tucked into a corner and serve as extra counter space when you aren't using it. You might also be able to put the washer in the bedroom, assuming there is plumbing to a bathroom somewhere within the wall. A call to the plumber to do some retrofitting and there you have it -- a washer installed in the bedroom.

If you happen to have closets in your old house, look into a washer that fits into the tiny space. Washers and even washer-dryer units that are designed for apartments can work well for the house that has limited room for luxuries. If you need a place to fold laundry but have no room for a table, consider a Murphy table that folds right up into the wall when it's not needed.

As you already know, living in an old house often means some serious planning and accommodations. You really can have a comfortable place to wash and dry your clothes -- it just might take compromising on a blend of modern convenience and old-fashioned ways to make it work.

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