The Red, White, and Green

Being an apartment dweller, I’m always looking for ways to cut down on visits to the laundromat — not to mention lessen my dependency on bank rolled quarters. So I was delighted when loyal Red, White, and Green reader RR forwarded me a photo of this stylish Kitchen Maid ceiling-mounted clothes airer that just became available in the US. I’ve never seen anything like this before — evidently they’ve been used in Britain and Europe for centuries.

Line drying (or “solar” drying, if you do it outside) has made a resurgence in this country as more and more Americans affected by the recession are looking for ways to cut costs; obviously this has an enormous benefit on the environment as well, since the dryer is the second-largest energy-consuming appliance in the household (the refrigerator is numero uno).

Constructed from sustainable wood and British-crafted iron, the airer can hold up to a full load of laundry and uses the heat from your home to dry your clothes (and as you may recall from third-grade science class, heat rises, which is why the ceiling mount is so efficient).

The airer is a bit pricey at $169, but considering that it’s made to last a lifetime and that an electric dryer costs the average American family $80 a year to operate (and if you have to rely on a laundromat, this figure is definitely higher), consider it a sound investment.

The Kitchen Maid clothes airer and dozens of other clothes line/drying rack options are available at urbanclotheslines.com.

–Jennifer Grayson

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