Blessings from the clothesline

Last month, my father in law mentioned that his power bill was back down to $50 where it should be.  I asked him how he did that because my power bill is never less than $100 and that is even with the air conditioner not running.  He said he doesn't use his clothers dryer.  I  thought, " Wow, if I could save $50 a month, I'd hang my clothes out to dry, too."

I decided to give it a try, thinking it was going to be very inconvenient, but worth a try.  The first day, I was excited, thinking about the money I might be saving.  As the days went by, I started to see some amazing benefits of not using the dryer. 

 First, I started to notice that some of the clothes we were wearing were not worth the effort  it took to wash them.  I started getting rid of even more clothes than I already did. I began to see the laundry as individual items, instead of a load of clothes that I put in the dyer.

Next,  I noticed that laundry was not piling up on the couch, waiting to be put away.  I did not want the clothes to stay out in the sun too long or stay outside and get dirty all over again, so I always brought them in and put them away.

I began to have a better laundry routine.  I needed to get them out in the morning sun, so I could put them away by lunch time, other wise I would forget about them, or get too distracted.  So every morning I was quick to get a load done and out on the line.  I even made sure to do a load before I left the house for the day, because I wouldn't be able to do it at night.  And I didn't want the laundry to back up.

I enjoyed an excuse to get outside.  I had just read Amy Grant's memoir, and she said that every day, the first thing  in the morning, she step  outside  and talked to God.  I found myself doing the same thing, and feeling refreshed.

Today, I am doubly blessed.  I opened my power bill to find a $59 bill.  I really didn't think it was right. I checked and double checked.  It was for a 30 day cycle and appears to be accurate.  Who knows what our bill will be next month, because I have only been hanging out the clothes for a few weeks.  

So what I thought would be a burden has become a double blessing!