Washing day

Today was one of those beautiful winter days when you feel like spring is just around the corner - at least until you see the forecast which is for snow for the next three days! To take advantage of the beautiful weather I washed a couple of loads of washing and all the blankets, duvets, pillows, cushions etc. were put out for a bit of sun bathing.

I like to use what we have rather than buy new things all the time and our method of hanging washing is no exception. Most people in this area seem to hang their washing on coat hangers on big long poles - but the poles are quite expensive and so are the braces to put them on. So I use our guttering instead. It quite conveniently has a little hook kind of thing under it which fits a coat hanger perfectly. The additional height means the washing dries that little bit faster too.
When we have to hang washing inside we also take advantage of what we have and use the little hollow which is common in Japanese houses just above the doors to hang the clothes hangers from. The fire means they dry overnight. I know that in the past the hollow was used by samurai to hide their swords, but I think our use of it is far more practical!