Thoughts on a simple, routine household task…..
Since December the days have been getting ever so slightly longer, gradually bringing Spring – and currently it is well past 8:00 pm that the sun dips at the horizon in Southern California. It was Summer Solstice yesterday (20th June) – the longest duration of sunlight this year and the official start of summer!
Earlier this evening when I stepped out into the backyard there was a slight breeze, and I felt the pleasant warmth of the sun on my skin. As I picked up towels and jeans off the rack I felt a familiar sense of contentment. There is something peaceful and deeply satisfying in the simple act of drying clothes in the sun.
Many decades earlier (in India) it used to be the maid who washed the clothes, wrung them as hard as she could and then put them on the outdoor clothesline to dry. After she was replaced by the automatic washing machine, the task of putting the clothes outside to dry fell to the womenfolk and children mainly. If there was a monsoon downpour there was a mad dash to get the hanging clothes inside before they got soaking wet! Fun times 😊 And if you lived in a crowded urban city like Mumbai then you became an expert juggler using a long pole to hang clothes on an indoor clothesline near the ceiling, while balancing on a step stool!
Now in SoCal, even with an automatic dryer always at hand I often let some clothes dry the natural, energy-efficient way and get some Vitamin D for myself in the process! I like to think I am saving the planet one Turkish towel at a time. It gives me warmth, some fresh air, and takes me away from screens – bringing a much welcome slowing down of thoughts. As I pick up the crisp, sun-kissed clothes and rearrange the slightly damp ones, it allows me time to pause and reflect.
~AK Irvinekar
Dear Archana,
Truly nostalgic!! You picked a nice subject to reflect!! Still love doing this when I go to Mumbai! There is something very satisfying about hanging wet clothes to dry and taking down dried clothes to fold. So many of our practices were (and still are back home) environment friendly! Keep writing!! Love to read ur blogs!!
Best wishes,
Padmini
Glad it resonated with you Padmini! And I feel that where we can we should continue the environmentally friendly practices that were second nature growing up!
This definitely took us back to the childhood memory lane, Archana. My mom loved the starched crisp cotton sarees and she showed us how to spread them on the clothsline in one stroke without getting them wrinkled. Another favorite thing for me was to sit down on the steps of our backyard and watch the maid scrubbing pots and how they were sparkling clean after she washed them and how neatly she used to arrange them to air dry. 🙂 simple joys!
Wow-definitely a trip down the memory lane Swati! And those cotton sarees would look so very elegant! Glad you enjoyed this post.
Can absolutely relate to this chore. I specifically remember being called upon by mom on weekend afternoons to sprint upstairs and gather clothes from the terrace when she heard rain drops! I would end up arguing with mom not to dry clothes outside on slightly sunny or cloudy days but that didn’t change what she did.
That’s funny! Moms will always do what they believe is right 😉
Archana, what a nostalgic blog!! I can totally relate to it, having lived for 25+ years in Mumbai. It was in those mundane tasks of our childhood and young adulthood that we had our exercise and use of our limbs efficiently. We had maids, but I would still wring the clothes again, before they put out to dry. My mom had very specific instructions on how to dry n clip the clothes to the clothesline. Towels, bed sheets n blankets couldn’t be put just exactly half, because air had to circulate 😅 And, clothes on hangers couldn’t be clumped together. Oh, I couldn’t go on n on…. Unfortunately, my kids hate the smell of sun dried clothes.!! I still enjoy the mundane task, it lets me wander with my thoughts. Beautiful blog, Archana!!
Sonia, thanks for sharing your thoughts! Looks like you had a whole workflow with specific instructions 🙂 Glad you could relate to this post.
Our weekend chore exactly put in simple words. Sun kissed clothes reminding of childhood memories 😊
Thanks Reshma!
This is so relatable. My thoughts exactly.. why dry clothes in the dryer.. when it can be done naturally.
This warmed my heart and took me back in time to the smell and hugs of yesteryears. Beautifully written Archana!
Thanks Anu!! Glad this struck a chord❤️
Glad you could connect Sampada – and lucky that we live in sunny So Cal!
Nice article agadi manaatla
Thanks Priya – glad you could relate!
So relatable!!! I love the crispness and scent of sundried clothes❤️
Simple pleasures of life 🙂 Thank you Bhakti for your feedback!
Very interesting way to present mundane and hardly noticed but time consuming activity for women
Appreciate it Seema! Just finding joy in a regular, no-frills but much needed daily/weekly chore 🙂