The Magic of Hanging Your Clothes to Dry
The life-changing simple habit that is a daily stitch in the fabric of Spanish life
Growing up in the US, the last step of my laundry routine always involved putting the heap of wet clothes in the dryer alongside the wrinkle release sheet. It was such a part of my routine that I never thought an alternative approach existed, let alone considered an alternative approach.
Fast forward to my first semester abroad in Spain and my Spanish host mom is teaching me all about the Spanish verb “tender” (to hang clothes to dry). I walked into her kitchen, and there was the washing machine, in the kitchen, and when I asked about the dryer she looked most confused.
“Secadora?” she said waving her arm to show the sun outside the window. “We live in Sevilla!”
I didn’t have the Spanish skills to respond at the time so I just nodded, but I remember thinking that in the US I lived in an area with an even better climate and I had never heard of hanging clothes to dry outside.
Needless to say I wasn’t a fan at first, but over the years, hanging my clothes to dry outside has become such standard practice for me that the concept of a dryer, especially in a warm climate, now seems absurd to me. My clothes are in better shape (never have to worry about clothes shrinking in the dryer), and the ritual of hanging your clothes is something meditative I’ve come to look forward to (I say that now, ask me in the future if I have kids and am doing four times the laundry, and I’m sure I’ll be eating my words).
I love that this habit of hanging clothes to dry is just part of life here. That there is a verb for “hanging your clothes to dry” that doesn’t exist in English. When you go to look at an apartment to buy or rent, it’s always part of the home tour, “and this is where you hang your clothes”. It’s often either on the rooftops or in the interior patios, where clothes lines hang between the apartments so you can hang the clothes there, all your bras and underwear on display for your neighbors to see.
We definitely had to get used to this when we lived in Portugal and Spain last winter. When I lived in Texas, a lifetime ago, I always line-dried (our verb?) my clothes. But, then marriage, kids, etc. and a generous in-law gift, prompted the purchase of a dryer, and I haven't line-dried since. Until last winter. The thing that surprised me was that, despite overcast and cooler weather, your clothes still get dry. Sure, it may take longer, but they will dry out. Like many other aspects of European life, you learn to adjust your time expectations and factor them into whatever activity you're engaged in.