I have never owned an electric or gas clothes dryer. It is still winter here as I write this, but the song birds are beginning to sing again. I have a cozy fire at my back and at my right are two wooden clothes racks. One is drying my lights and the other is drying my dark long underwear and woolen socks. My wet laundry is putting moisture into the air, but more importantly, it is pleasing to my eye. It looks pretty. It decorates my home. Here, then is your goal. Whenever you hang your laundry, think of it as decorating. You’ll catch yourself looking back at it as you walk away. It’s that feeling you get when you place a pretty basket or a fresh bouquet of flowers and you step back to admire it. It’s a complete, accomplished feeling, and like Adair Lara says “it’s powerful religion.” While you are browsing antique stores, rummage and garage sales, watch for a wooden clothes dryer. You can purchase a new old fashioned one from Lehman’s (www.lehmans.com or 1-888-438-5346).

You will need to find a good place for your clothes to dry as they hang on your wooden clothes rack. If you keep your house cool and are without a source of heat that burns wood, look for a warm, sunny window or a heat vent in a floor or wall. My outdoor clothes lines in the photo at the beginning of this section was a pattern similar to one I found in a Spring 2000 Martha Stewart Living Magazine. If you haven’t room in your yard for a permanent parallel set of clotheslines, you can purchase an umbrella type of clotheslines from Lehman’s. They take up less space. If you’re really short on space, you can buy a retractable clothesline from Lehman’s. Once you have an indoor wooden clothes rack and an outdoor clothes line and a good setup for ironing, you’re ready to laundry in love.