I have a lot to say about our laundry room… and laundry in general, so I’m breaking this down into several posts.

Actually, our laundry room is also a pantry. You enter it directly from the garage and then go to the kitchen via a few short steps in the hallway.

Part I was really a preview of what we were working on here at the house.

Part II is all about laundry!

First, let me explain a few basics:

I DO NOT USE a dryer. Well, maybe three times a year. At most. I hang up all my clothes and sheets and towels. Much to my disappointment, we are not allowed to hang any laundry outside here (home owners rules..) and I do long for my wonderful, long clothes line of former days. When I showed you the video “Memories of the Backyard Clothesline” I really felt that narrative.

My daughter, who lives in a not-so-big, i.e 800 sq.ft, apartment in Washington D.C. has become a believer! Oh yes, she uses portable clothes racks in the apartment. I am very proud!!! Her clothes go on a line. Her sheets and towels over the shower rod for the night. So, yes, it IS possible to go dryer-less in tight space. Like mother, like daughter, right??

When we bought this house we acquired the washer and dryer. While they were not new, they worked just fine and I’m a huge believer in NOT going out to buy something new just because what I have is old. (Well, I may ogle and long for such, but in the end economy wins out!)

So, we kept the washer and dryer in the “laundry room”. But that dryer was just a waste of space.

Out with it!

It now sits in our garage, unhooked and with no vent in sight, so is unusable. And that is fine with me. Good riddance!

Thus, the need for portable clothes racks/lines. This is always an option:

But then you have to either leave it up (using space) or continually fold up and put away, just to unfold and put it up again the next day! No, not an option.

I searched far and wide. These things are very difficult to find in the U.S. as everyone uses dryers, and only dryers.

Finally, I spotted this one that is only available in the U.K. Yes, I ordered it from England and yes, the shipping was almost as much as the line, but do you know, it arrived in five days? Very efficient indeed. The total was less than $100.00 and worth every penny.

This is from the catalog, Lakeland, U.K.

Here it is in action in the still unpainted room:

UPDATE TO THIS POST: JULY 23, 2014

Lakeland, the company that manufactured the clothes line shown above, has discontinued this item. I didn’t know about this until today’s Comment stream on Houzz .

So, you cannot buy this air dryer anymore. But you CAN buy this one,
the Hills Supa Fold Compact Washing Line

It’s different, but the concept is the same. In any case, I highly recommend going ahead and ordering, and yes, paying for shipping, from England.

If you go to my Pinterest board , “Laundry Room Remodel” you will see other ideas I collected.

We all have loved the image of these portable racks from Ballard Design:

But I have to tell you, they are not very practical. Try hanging clothes up on the top rung without a step stool…and then try using the sink, or the counter, with wet/damp clothes hanging over your head. They also take up valuable wall space. No, they look great, but not for me.

Is that enough for now? Just one photo…

Here we are in construction/remodel mode, with the lone washer at the end of the line. It used to sit just to the left (where the outlet box is) and the dryer to the right.