Years ago, everyone had a Hills Hoist in their backyard – usually somewhere in the middle of the yard over the lawn.

Now days, people have clothes lines of all sorts of sizes and styles, including many that are removed or folded away when not in use. But where is your line?

A clothes line over a paved area is easier to work from – no soggy grass to sink into as you hang washing – but it doesn’t make much use of any drips or humidity (the moisture in the air from water evaporating from your wet clothes). Whereas hanging clothes over a lawn or garden can create a little extra moisture for the soil and plants underneath.

Especially if you reduce the spin cycle time on your washing machine to use less power and let clothes drip a bit on the garden.

If moving the clothes line is a bit much to conserve a little water, you can hang clothes on a clothes horse and move it around different parts of the garden to help water them.