8 Uses for Clothespins in Today’s World

So the million dollar question is: do people still use clothespins? Used to be that laundry was hung outside. It was more economical than running the dryer, saved time (you could wash load after load without having to wait for the previous load to dry in the dryer), and made clothes – especially sheets and towels – smell wonderful.

In today’s world there are lots of other uses for clothespins. Lots of them! Here are some of my favorites.

1. To hang clothes outside. See all of the above reasons why this is still the best!
2. To clip anything important together.
3. Attach a magnet to the back, and you have an instant refrigerator magnet.
4. Balance it upside down and use it to hold recipe cards in the kitchen.
5. Clip notes to your child’s clothing for the teacher.
6. To hold your nose shut to keep out nasty odors!
7. To dial a number on a rotary phone (my grandmother told me this one). Ok, so that’s not a use in today’s world, but it’s so quaint I had to include it!
8. To adorn your home and give as gifts when made into cute dolls. Linda & Clarence
   

   Clothespin Dolls

   at Washpin Pals here in Kitchen Kettle Village create their own locally-made clothespin dolls, starting with a simple clothespin. Linda paints the faces, Clarence

   

   Painted Clothespin Doll Faces

   winds the hair, and they both makes the clothes. They’ve been making their dolls since 1973 when they saw something similar in a magazine. Since then, Clarence has created wired joints (some other dolls use rubber bands), which are Linda’s favorite kinds of doll. They use an average of 30,000 clothespins each year to make their dolls, which include an array of styles and colors.

Linda Making Her Dolls

For more ways to use clothespins, check out these websites: Wikipedia or Parenthack.