We moved into this house twenty years ago, but it was only this year that I finally got around to purchasing and setting an umbrella-style clothesline. Before then, I jury rigged lines from tree to tree. And it always made it inconvenient to hang clothes to dry.

But in line with us getting solar panels this year, I decided I needed to make an investment in line-drying our laundry more often.

That’s my swimming towel in the picture above. I try to swim laps a few times a week, and as soon as I get home, on the line the towel and suit go. No more grabbing a slightly damp suit the next day!

I found out I do not like the stiffness that line drying gives you, so once I take the clothes down, they do get a ten minute whirl in the dryer to soften them up. But going down from fifty minutes of electric drying to ten is still a win in my book. I had figured out that it cost us just over 50 cents for each load dried, so that’s 40 cents savings each time I take the time.

And I have discovered I love taking the time.

The dogs all come out with me when I am hanging or taking in laundry, and wander about, doing theirs sniffs, and happy to be near me. I get fresh air, and the mental relaxation that comes with doing mindless tasks. I see lizards, squirrels, birds. I hear our neighbors chickens and dogs.

And I feel that little spark of virtue from taking the time to do something that aligns with my values. It doesn’t need to be a big thing.

It can be hanging laundry.