The first wash of spring

The first wash of spring is hung out on a line that has sat empty through the winter. The basket comes out of the cellar with sheets, shirts, and underwear, and the line is still dark from the months. The morning is clear, the ground damp at the edge of the yard, the wind steady enough to move a dry leaf.

Wiping the line

The line is wiped before anything is pinned to it. The washer takes a rag kept for this, wets it in the house, and walks the length of the line, one hand on the rag and the other pulling the line a few inches lower. The rag comes away gray. A film of dust and blown grit has settled on the line since fall, and in April the line also carries the yellow-green pollen that settles on everything. The washer passes the rag two or three times over the part of the line nearest the shed, where it hangs under a low branch, then works out to the post. When the rag comes up clean, the line is pulled taut and the loose end is made fast around the post. The rag hangs over the rim of the basket.

The sheets

The first pieces on the line are the sheets. They take up the most room and take the longest to dry, so they are up before the sun is high enough to clear the shed roof. Two sheets are hung side by side, the long edges toward the wind. The washer pins the near corner first, then walks to the far end and pulls the sheet straight along the line, so no fold is left in the middle to hold water. A sheet hung well hangs like a flat wall, with one straight edge and one bottom edge moving. The pins are pushed down to the line so they catch both the sheet and the line. The wind presses against it. If the sheet folds over itself, the washer drags it off and hangs it the other way, fastening the windward side first. The second sheet goes up the same way, and the two of them stand like a room partition, white against the yard.

The shirts, by the hem

Shirts are hung by the hem. The washer takes one shirt by the shoulders, folds the sleeves across the back, and pins the hem to the line upside down. In this position the armpits and the collar face the wind, and the clothespins pinch the thickest seam, not the thin shoulder fabric. Collar buttons are left undone. The sleeves are unbuttoned and spread so air runs through the pair of sleeves as one tube. Shirts of one color are grouped; the washer works from the basket to the line, pinning each hem with two pins, one at each corner. A row of shirts hangs with their tails at eye level and their collars falling toward the ground. When the wind comes up they flutter at the bottom edge and the collars lift now and then, showing the labels.

Small things last

Socks are pinned in pairs, by the toe, one pin through both socks so they keep their match. They are hung at the far end of the line, nearest the shed, where they are less likely to be blown into the grass. Underwear goes beside them, folded at the waistband and pinned at the two corners. Handkerchiefs and dish towels come last, pinned singly. If a shirt is creased from the machine, the washer pulls the wet edge straight and repins it. Small things dry sooner than the sheets, and by the time the last dish towel is on the line, the first sock is already beginning to stiffen. The basket under the line is empty except for the wet rag, and the line is full from the post to the pulley.

Turning the wash

If the wind has held, the sheets are dry to the touch by early afternoon. The washer goes down the line with the basket under one arm, testing collars and the hems of the sheets. A test is done with the back of the hand: the cloth is warm and rough, not cool. Where a shirt has dried around the pins, the washer leaves the pins where they are and gives the seam a pinch. If it stays cool, the shirt is turned. Sleeves are pulled through to the other side, the hem is pinned again, and the shirt goes back on the line with its wet side out. The double thicknesses of the collars and the yokes take the longest. The washer runs a thumb along the seam to find the damp, and turns only the places that need turning, not every piece. By the time the whole line has been looked at, the sheets are standing away from the line in stiff folds, and the clothespins have bleached white where the sun has dried them.

Bringing it in

The wash comes off the line in the evening, while the air is still dry. The washer takes the basket and moves along the line, taking the sheets first, then the shirts, then the small things at the far end. The sheets are lifted with both hands, folded once over the forearm, and laid in the basket. Pins are dropped into a tin jar carried in the basket. Shirts are unpinned by the hem, the shoulders are snapped once to knock the stiffness out, and each shirt is folded down the back and laid flat. Socks are unpinned in pairs and rolled together. The line is bared post to post as the basket fills. The last pieces to come down are the dish towels, which have had the afternoon sun and are crisp. The wet rag from the morning is on top of the basket and goes inside with the wash. The house smells of the outside air. The first wash of spring lies folded in the basket, dry to the last seam.