Budget Helper - Springtime!

Spring finally made it to our part of the world!  After a sunny few days of above freezing temperatures, Mother Nature decided to end the teasing and bring back winter.  We've had a few weeks of below seasonal temperatures, and precipitation ranging from sleet to freezing rain to snow.  Everyone I know is totally over winter - even Mini Muffin was less enthusiastic to play in the snow.  Finally, this weekend the tides have turned and we're able to enjoy a sunny and unseasonably warm couple of days!  Yahoo!  I was marvelling on my run this morning that only a week ago I was having trouble navigating the ice and snow, and now the roads and bare and dry.  Fantastic!

Today also marks the seasonal return of one of my favourite budget savers - line drying!  The inaugural load is just sheets, so the photo isn't super exciting... unless you consider that those are winter sheets that are about to be packed away.  In that case, it makes it slightly more exciting I think!

A true sign of spring - sheets flapping in the breeze!

Now, let me tell you about my clothesline.  I've had it for three years now, and I love it.  It gets heavy use from late April through October, and is holding up very well.  With two young children, the laundry pile seems endless, so there are real savings there.  And, it saves heating up my house during hot weather by running the dryer. 

As you can see, it's a bit different than what most people think of when they think about clotheslines.  When I was researching them, I knew that I wanted one, but didn't want a permanent installation.  So, no strung across the yard jobbies, nor the umbrella style that my grandma used to have.  Collapsible racks to use on the deck just didn't have enough space.  And then I found this one - it's umbrella style, but also collapsible.  So, when I'm not using it, it's stored unobtrusively on the side of my deck.  And, when I am using it, it's a full sized umbrella clothesline.  Talk about perfect.  I'm glad I did some research as I certainly didn't know that this style existed, yet there it was as our local Canadian Tire! 

Here's to spring, and the return of clothes flapping in the breeze under sunny skies!