It must have been my disgruntled groaning week after week that caused my dear husband to go on a mission to find a clothespin for me that wouldn't snap into pieces.
A year or so ago, he presented me with a bag of . . . tah -da! Metal clothespins.
I'd never seen a metal clothespin before, but in short order I knew they were just the greatest, and now I won't use any other kind.
They're nearly the same size as both wooden and plastic clothespins.
And do they ever perform without breaking! My crocheted rag rugs are very heavy when wet . . . and thick besides.
These metal clothespins grab on to the rugs and hold them like no other clothespin can. The same goes for hubby's heavy work pants especially when there is a stiff breeze whipping the clothes around.
They're constructed very well with a strong spring and I'm confident they will last forever.
Hmmm. Clothespins. Yeah, I know I may sound like I've been living in the woods too long. It's a strange thing to get so excited about. But what's that expression?
Ah, yes. It's the little things in life that count!
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For any of you who may be interested, Papa Pea found the metal clothespins at Lee Valley.
27 comments:
OOOoooo! I gott'a try some of those one day. I'm pretty lucky with my wooden clothespins as they don't break often at all; I usually just end up popping the wood part off from the spring & just put them back together. They usually meet their demise when they get dropped off the deck (where the line is) and end up in the grass below....to be forgotten and run over by the lawn mower.
Those are the BEST! Who would have thunk it? I, too, am driven to distraction every week - mine break, spring off into the hinterlands, don't hold worth a bean. I think those will be on my list to Santy Claus this year...
Don't they get too hot to touch? I use the cheapo wooden clothespins and a few break but they last longer than the plastic ones that break down from the extreme heat. The metal ones look like they may be stronger than the wood ones though. I may have to pick up some and see if they heat up too much or not.
I would love some of these ,if they had rubber on the handles. We get so hot here that I wouldn't be able to touch them. Think I can put a bug in their ear to make some like that?
I LOVE those!! Guess I've been 'livin' in the woods too long' too to be so excited to see your most cool clothespins. Never seen anything like that before.
Oh dear, just read some of the comments and it's probably too hot down here too. Maybe that's why I haven't seen anything like that before?! Thanks for sharing your neat gadget with us Mama Pea! You always have the neatest gadgets.
Carolyn - My lines are on our deck, too!
The metal ones might be more of a match for your lawn mower but I wouldn't advise experimenting!
Susan - Well, you only have a little over four months to be a good girl so Santy does bring you some of these!
Sparkless - This shows that everything is relative! I never gave a thought to the metal ones becoming too hot to handle. Can you tell we don't have a lot of hot weather here??
Michelle - I can see now that in your extreme heat, they could be a problem. With all the rubberized coatings and glues available these days, I wonder if you could purchase something economical enough to dip the "handles" in to coat them yourself? Too much hassle? Yeah, maybe.
Lisa - Now I'm wondering if my wooden and plastic clothespins have always snapped so readily because in our part of the country they are often too cold??! Wouldn't that be something! Now I'll have to remember not to put the metal ones in my mouth during frigid weather! (Remember the old tongue on the pump handle trick?)
Hmm, clothes pins, that's what those things are for???? I use them to close bags of potato chips, bread wrapers, veggies packages in the freezer.
Tombstone Livestock - But land o' goshen, Girl, just think how FAST your clothes would dry hanging out on a line!!
Oh my gosh! Are you a mind reader?!?! I'll admit to a bit of cursing this morning as my pegs kept "popping" These will be ordered by weeks end. You might want to notify the company of this post as I'm sure they will be having quite a few orders! Thank You!!
Katidids - The sad thing is wouldn't ya think they could make a plastic or wooden clothespin these days that had a little more strength to it??
Hubby has recently been buying some plastic tote boxes to store things in the garage. And they are cracking and breaking like crazy. These are not the cheap ones either. I won't mention the name but it (at least) used to be the top brand!
Thank you for the recommendation. I do plan on a clothesline at the country house soon.
I bought the larger wooden ones from Lehman's and they seem beefier (is that a word?) than the ones you buy at Wally World and have lasted for several years. Keep us posted if you begin to have troubles with them rusting or anything!
Thanks for the link. I HATE the clothespins nowadays--they rarely have a spring strong enough to hold anything heavier than a dishcloth. These look great. I'm ordering TODAY!
I have never seen these before. Will have to get some for myself and my mom! :)
Thank you, thank you! My wooden ones are forever breaking. I'll have to try them out. I use my clothesline year round (and our dryer has not been replaced).
DFW - Besides the obvious energy savings, your clothes will smell soooo good!
Freedom Acres - I'm sure the ones from Lehman's would be of better quality.
Supposedly (we shall see!) these are guaranteed not to rust. I know some people do but I never leave my clothesline up or clothespins on the line between wash days. So the only moisture they should get would be from the (wrung out) clothes.
Sue - If they last forever (as I'm hoping) they won't even seem pricey. Have you priced regular plastic or wooden ones lately? Geesh! Like everything they are up, up, up in price.
Stephanie - I know I'm a little weird but I would love a bag or two of them as a Christmas present. Maybe you and your mom would? It would be something for your boys to get you both!
Kristina - Bless you for being so conscientious! In the mid-winter, I wimp out and use my drying racks inside. And (confession time) sometimes the dryer!
I just saw this post and had to respond. I am a dedicated clothesline enthusiast as well. When I first started, I bought cheap clothes pins and had a most frustrating time with clothes falling off and pins breaking, etc. Then a friend of mine gave me an old clothes pin bag with some vintage pins in it. Their springs and the size of the actual pins were twice the size of the modern ones and I had no problems with breakage etc. Not having enough of these wonderful old pins, I ordered some from ebay. Then I found out about Lee Valley and ordered some new wooden ones from them. While not quite as beefy as the vintage pins, they are way better than the wal-mart variety. What lenths we go to to get our fresh air laundry fix! Thanks for the post!
Melissa - I have no doubt the wooden ones from Lee Valley would be FAR superior to any others we could pick up. Clothespins, like so much else, have been "cheapened" in their manufacture to the extent that they are not (I'm sure) meant to last very long at all. Sigh.
I think the vintage clothespins you were given were a real treasure! (What happened to all those clothespins our grandmothers used all their lives? Did they end up being dumped?)
You might want to check these out... Same manufacturer, but in very pretty colors! http://www.exquisitescotland.com/merchandise/k-pegs/
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