Now I know the television renos do replace the clothesline and give the family an 'out of sight' retractable or fold down line. Great thinking - they hold enough washing for the average family.... of garden gnomes! And sorry children, no more 'helicopter rides' or pretending to be superman - the Hills Hoist was strong enough to handle such treatment but this is just not possible with one of the fold down jobs!
We are living in days when we are being urged not to use dryers and the soaring cost of electricity is making more of us 'head for the Hills' or out to our line with our baskets on hip with our hip pocket in mind! 'Stop using the dryer we are urged - 'well I would but Jamie Durie redesigned my backyard and Scott Cam hoisted the Hills into the skip! And the perfect place for drying clothes in next to no time is where we now sit and sip our lattes or view our garden sculptures.
I will admit the rotary clothesline is known more for its practicality rather than its looks but as they say 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder'. Many years ago I visited a garden during an 'Open Garden Scheme' in New Zealand. One of the loveliest gardens was a rambling garden on the outskirts of a country town with hedges, pathways and a profusion of flowers, vegetables and shrubs. And there slap bang in the middle of the lawn she stood proudly - no not a statue of some Greek goddess but yes, the Hills Hoist rotary washing line!
This was no ordinary washing line, it stood in its allocated spot on the lush green lawn and was surrounded by lavender bushes which encircled it. All the visitors including myself were 'taken' by this lovely garden feature and the owner explained that she loved to stand and peg out her washing here, the sight and the scent of the lavender ushered in beauty to her day and made this domestic task so much more pleasurable. She even draped her household linen over the lavender - the scent impregnated the fibres of her tea towels and napkins as they dried in the sun.

Fruit trees, a veggie patch at the bottom of the garden. A shed for dad and a rotary clothesline for mum!
The typical Australasian backyard - except we looked out over farmland being the last street in town.
Beautifying the Hills Hoist at this house did not seem to be worth the effort so I mentally filed away the idea for a future home. And at our next property which was in a dry region where watching the clouds was not part of my everyday domestic life I discovered there was no clothesline. So we purchased a rotary clothesline and around it my husband designed a patio with flowerbeds and a potager close by. Forget the garden furniture - this patio was for practical purposes - growing food and drying washing!
We decided the lavender could be a hazard and attract too many bees so encircling my new clothesline was a garland of yellow carpet roses which during summer made me want to burst into song 'Tie a yellow ribbon round the old Hills Hoist' - no I didn't sing this but have to say pegging out the washing became a much more pleasant task - I actually started to enjoy my time at the clothesline because there was something lovely to look at and I could even pick a few strawberries or harvest a bunch of herbs at the same time.
Today at Eight Acres of Eden I still have a rotary clothes line. When we moved here the only washing line of sorts was a piece of string tied between two gum trees. We didn't hesitate and went out and purchased a new clothesline. It was the first outdoor renovation work we undertook and it was considered a priority. My husband built a raised platform for it and edged it with rocks which act as steps and make the clothesline 'child accessible and user friendly', that is, the shorter members of the family can no longer use the excuse that they cannot reach the line! All of my children are on the laundry roster except for the twins - more on that in my next post but I can say that my husband's idea of building the raised platform was sheer brilliance! Or maybe just kiwi ingenuity! Clothes that are dropped do not fall onto muddy ground or dirt and pegs do not get run over by the lawn mower!
There is also a garden bed right here. A magnolia is the backdrop, a rose for summertime underplanted with a native groundcover - 'indigofera australis' with its delicate pretty pink flowers and a native guava which shields the clothesline from the kitchen window and a banksia overhanging the path. During winter camellias and azaleas are in flower. Birds are often found visiting close to the clothesline and I often stand in awe and look up at the towering gums above my head and think to myself 'just look where I get to peg out the washing - I am so blessed! And how many people can stand at their clothesline and sometimes spot koalas - it also serves as the wildlife viewing platform!
And as I pegged out 'little boy clothes' the other day I realized that I needed to count this task as a blessing in my life for a day will come when I will no longer have such little garments to peg out for he will have grown up and left home and I will long again for a basket of singlets, socks, sweatshirts and tiny blue jeans.
I choose not to resent this task today and simply enjoy this moment and take delight as I fold each little item of clothing and place it into the basket. I am carrying out an act of service for my family. It is my way of 'inviting the glorious into the mundane' by thanking God that I had so many lovely little outfits that needed to be dried in the sun that day that belonged to my baby boy, my gift from God.
That statement 'inviting the glorious into the mundane' is now part of my vocabulary thanks to a post at Joy's blog - the stay at home missionary (see my blog roll on the sidebar) She posted a link to a video message from the singer songwriter Christy Nockels sharing on being a mom. This is where I first heard the admonition to 'invite the glorious into the mundane' and I can testify if you start to do this it will affect your everyday life. I will put up the link to this in a separate post for those of you who are intrigued by this - it contains beautiful words of wisdom from a young mother and I am so glad I found it - thank you Joy!
I've realized I need to do this daily 'Invite the glorious into the mundane' for the linen baskets will soon refill. I am not just heading to the hills each day - my terrain is mountains - mountains of laundry. Just how do I cope? Well let's say you do not venture out alone to Everest (my mountains are big!) you go as part of a team and that is how we manage this ongoing household task. I will share some more practical tips and how I have found a laundry roster that works for us in another post. Right now the sun is shining and its time to head to the 'Hills'!
With Love and Joy,
