How to Reduce Expenses: Invest in a Clothes Drying Rack

My clothes drying rack has been one of my absolute favorite expense-reducers (is that even a real phrase?).  I got it at Aldi last year for $8.99.  It is a seasonal, temporary item, but I found it there just as I was pricing and searching for one at Target, Bed Bath and Beyond and Big Lots.  It is sturdy, holds lots of clothes and I have no problems with it whatsoever.  I use it constantly.  We have a family of five, and therefore naturally generate a lot of laundry.  I have created a system that works for me to almost make using my dryer obsolete. The smallest clothing items go on the sides of the rack, slightly larger items go on the rows of the rack and my towels, jeans sweaters, etc. get hung up on the I-beams throughout my basement.  If this is done at night before bed, the clothes are almost completely dry when I wake up.  I don't mind that my towels come out kind of crunchy, because they loosen up significantly as the steam from the shower hits them and especially when we use them to dry ourselves.

I had gotten admittedly lazy with using my drying rack towards the end of the year.  By using it almost exclusively for the past 6 or so weeks, I have seen a noticeable decrease in my gas bill and electric bill.  Additionally, when I have had to use my dryer, I put it on timed dry, but for less minutes than I have in the past.  For example, I would wash a full load of clothes and then put them in the dryer for 60 minutes in the past.  The clothes would be completely dry when I took them out.  It made me wonder how long does it actually take for a full load of clothes to dry? Are dry clothes just making rounds in the dryer for an extra 15 minutes?  I started drying them for 45 minutes instead and have found that my clothes are just as dry.  If there are jeans in there, they may be slightly damp, but after a bit of hanging up to finish drying, my mission is accomplished.

I have found it cathartic to spend time in my basement hanging clothes.  I listen to podcasts while I do it...it usually takes me about 15 minutes to unload the clothes and get them hung they way I like them, take down any previous loads that have dried and to reload the washer if there are more clothes to wash (there are always more clothes to wash!).

I still use the dryer for my bedding and for our coats, as I have not found a suitable way to air dry those pieces yet.  We live in a community that would not permit us to hang those things outside (and it is unlikely we would be doing anything like that in February!)

Do you use a drying rack for your clothes?Do you have any creative solutions for hanging your laundry or reducing dryer usage?