Have you ever been in someone else's home and marveled at the doo-hickies they use that you don't? And vice versa? So it is with clothespins. It seems that few people use them anymore. Or am I mistaken?
My most frequent use of clothespins occurs in the kitchen. We keep a stash of them for sealing bags of tortilla chips and pretzels. Those over-sized, awkward chip clips just won't do. The tension on those things is utterly pathetic. Of course our clothespins are put into service hanging wet rags and rubber gloves, too.
For the first five years of married life, I used clothespins for their intended purpose because we didn't have a clothes dryer in Florida. If we still lived in a sunnier, drier climate, I would still hang clothes outside to dry. It's a spiritual experience if you ask me.
In a pinch, I've used a clothespin instead of a paper clip, particularly on large stacks of paper.
In our family, we devised a game that is probably the dumbest ever; really more of a prank. The victim is anyone wearing a hooded sweatshirt. Over the course of an evening, the prankster clips as many clothespins on the victim's hood as possible without being discovered. This is a more sophisticated version of sticking a sign that says "kick me" on someone's back. Everyone except the victim knows what's going on. We've had some good laughs from it.
It seems to me that we used clothespins once for a tie-dying project, but I'm not certain.
As kids we derived hours of entertainment by clothes-pinning baseball cards on the spokes of our bikes. "Wackety-wack-wackety-wack" they went as we rode up and down our street. A really cool sound effect!
Thank you, Mr. David M. Smith of Springfield, Vermont, who in 1853 invented this functional wonder. You are a clever man. Surely your wife was elated that at last she could easily 'peg' the laundry out in the cool New England breeze!
How do you use clothespins? And if you have none, I recommend you pick up a bag, only about $2, and greatly improve your quality of life.
6 comments:
I have used them on certain lanky plants to keep them vertical in the garden by (gently) clipping the the stem to a nearby bush or a twig I've staked into the ground. Other than that, the chip clip use is it.
We use them for closing up chips and snacks as well! How funny!
I use them to pin together my vertical blinds on my windows...ha...otherwise they rattle in the wind.
There, you see? My son learned well the value of a clothespin.
I use the modern version of the clothes pin, the binder clip!!! wouldn't work on plants, I suppose, but indestructible and great for closing up chip bags, frozen food (don't get knocked off as easily) and making beautiful art displays!!!
We, too, much prefer clothespins to those inferior 'chip clips'. We also use them to clip the outgoing mail to the mailbox so the wind doesn't blow it away.
I have an elderly aunt who the queen of clothespins! She's never met a situation that a clothespin couldn't improve upon in some way. I'm pretty sure they've become that 'other hand' that we all long for on certain occasions!
But if I had a roomy yard I'd use them for their original intent. Nothing is better than sheets dried on the line, warmed by the sunshine with the fresh fragrance of God's Creation!
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