In an effort to be (and save!) green, the hubs & I recently started line-drying our clothes. I quickly realized an embarrassing little downside to this: we live very close to our neighbors on both sides, and it doesn’t exactly feel appropriate to hang my skivvies on display in our back yard! I decided to let my delicates stay indoors, air-drying from various doorknobs, etc. Let’s just say that Leif did NOT find it cute when my Vickie’s bras got stuck every time he tried to close the bathroom door! I researched a few ideas about creating a little clothespin rack or something, and then….
LIGHTBULB! I ran into the kitchen, snagged some extra magnetic clips & hooks from our fridge, and clipped my unmentionables right on the side of our metal dryer. Perfection! They’re not in plain view & they’re totally out of the way, but still close to the rest of our laundry so I can just toss them in the basket when they’re all dry. It’s such a simple organizing solution — I love it!
I loved my magnetic clips so much that I actually ended up ordering this magnetic hook rack from Better Housewares to hang even more stuff! The extra strong magnets are great — they’ll even hold a pair of workout shorts! It makes me happy every time I use it (which is ALL the time!) and I’m sure our neighbors appreciate it, too 
Much like my oven mitt solution, you can see that I also use magnetic hooks to hold my collapsible laundry baskets on the side of the dryer:
Quick Tip: You definitely want to hang these on a side of your dryer that faces the wall in case you end up scratching it with a particularly heavy item (if your magnets aren’t strong enough to support the weight, they’ll slide down the side of the dryer). We haven’t had any scratches yet, but I figured you’d appreciate a head’s up just in case. You’re also taking advantage of the hidden storage factor when you hang everything between the dryer and the wall!
Why I adore this solution:
- I can air-dry my delicates without offending the neighbors
- It taps into previously wasted space on the side of my dryer — a fabulous small space solution!
- I can quickly sort items so that matching socks are next to each other, making it easy to put away later
- The magnets are easy to rearrange depending on varying garment sizes, etc.
- Since it’s tucked between the washer & the wall, it created a hidden storage space. You can’t even see my stuff hanging up unless you’re standing in the back corner of our laundry room!
Hooray, storage! How do you organize in your laundry room??
Great idea!! I’m sure the heat from the dryer helps the clothes dry a little faster too! I’ll have to try this considering my unmentionables get hung on hangers from a nail over the laundry sink – not the best since they’re in front of the basement window LOL!
Thanks, haha! I’m so glad I can hide them away now. I almost made the title, “Going Green without Turning Red” for that reason!
If you need more ideas about ways to air-dry your delicates without offending the neighbors, should you end up doing more laundry than fits on the side of your dryer, may I suggest an inexpensive “sock” drying rack? I got mine from Daiso, but there are similar ones from all kinds of different places. Here’s one from the container store: http://www.containerstore.com/reviews/laundry/dryingRacks?productId=10025593 and here’s another from bed bath and beyond: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=18144778
Usually they’re called “sock drying rack” or “lingere drying rack”. Anyway, it’s a fancy oversized hangar with a whole bunch of little clips for hanging socks, bras, or underwear. Sometimes they are rectangular and other times round.
I spent one summer in Africa, and they pretty much hang-dry all their laundry there, but it’s taboo to leave your skivvys in public view, so typically, they’ll hang all their undergarments on one of those sock drying racks, and then hang a nylon half-slip over the drying apparatus to provide privacy of what’s inside, but being open on the top and bottom it still gets plenty of air-flow and dries adequately.Anyway, just thought I’d mention that in case you’d never thought of that alternative.
Oooh, that is a great idea! I could hang that right on my shower curtain rod! Thank you so much for sharing, Jessica!