Q. I recently read Serve God, Save the  Planet, and it inspired me to take another step in my environmental  stewardship — hanging the laundry out on a line. I have done this now for two weeks and really enjoy the change. I am 36 and don’t remember ever doing this before, so there was a little bit to learn (hang the shirts upside down) but not much. I like the time outside.

I have one question though. I live in Oklahoma and our water is pretty hard. I don’t know if it is because of that, or just the nature of hanging clothes to dry, but our clothes are now much stiffer. This is ok, but I have toyed with the idea of liquid fabric softener for the towels at least. Then I wonder what I am dumping into the wash water. Do you guys use liquid fabric softener or just leave them as is? I saw a few  people say they stick their clothes in the dryer for 5 minutes to get them less stiff, but that seemed to defeat the whole point.

A. Thanks for writing! We are probably just used to slightly stiffer towels, but our water may be softer than yours. If you run them in the dryer for five minutes to soften, it’s still using far, far less energy than drying from scratch. Some people recommend using baking soda or vinegar in the wash cycle to soften, which is worth a try! I’d stay away from fabric softeners–I’ve read that they do contain some pretty nasty chemicals.

Here’s a link for more information:

http://www.thegreenguide.com/home-garden/cleaning/laundry-detergents/2

Remember, creation care is a journey. You have made a huge step by drying your clothes on the line! If you decide to use the dryer for five minutes on towels, don’t feel guilty–just save a little more energy somewhere else in your life.