Tuesday, April 5, 2011

vintage clothespins











so many things in my life remind me of my mom and bind me to her. but for some reason the thing that seems to tug my heart strings the most is her old clothespins. as you can tell from the photos, she has used them for decades. they stay on the line thru all the seasons -- bleached by the sun, frozen by the ice and snow, windburned and rain-sodden. hanging clothes on the line was one of my favorite chores as a child. you had to hang them just right so that they dried with as few wrinkles as possible. and oh the smell when you brought them into the house after a long day of sunshine and fresh air was just divine.

i've already used mom's line to hang out all my bedding and one day this week i hope to hang out my shower curtain and bathroom rugs. spring is here and my heart is singing a happy tune!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Such simple things that pull at the heart strings. I love old fashion clothes lines and things that don't require electricity to run. Simpler is good, simpler leaves more time for contemplation. xox Corrine And no sneaking into my mailbox - actually it would have to be a po box.....send me your snail mail and I might sneak into yours. twofishes@me.com

paula said...

Funny how a clothes pin can bring back so many memories. They reming me of hanging laundry with my great grandmother. I was too short to actually hang the laundry but I was her #1 clothes pin holder/hander.
I live in a loft and since I don't have an outdoor place to hang laundry we ran a line in the bedroom.
Nice post,
Paula

elisa said...

There's nothing like line dried clothes. So wonderful. It's great that you were able to hold onto your mothers clothespins. Such a nice way to remember her and your childhood.

Christine said...

here's to vintage clothespins and the simple life!

heidi said...

Beautiful! So many things like this are in my mother's house... I photographed her aprons the last time I was there :-)

Unknown said...

I really enjoyed reading this, as I do all your posts. I happen to remember my own mother hanging clothes out to dry in what is now your backyard. We loved running through the bedsheets while they were hanging up, and I can still hear my sister, Dana's funny little girl laugh when I think about it! Thank you for bringing up that memory for me!

julie king said...

@paula -- i have a line strung in my basement and i run 2 dehumidifiers so they dry quickly. i love that it is nice now and i don't have to use the basement.

julie king said...

heidi, i love the idea of photographing mom's aprons. thanks for the idea!

julie king said...

lindsey -- i think more people have lived in this house than any other in hagerstown. hee hee i'm gonna have to get a clothesline of my own! take care!

mansuetude said...

Love this.