DIY Clothesline Props

Old-fashioned clotheslines are back in fashion. Line-drying clothes is again popular as people take steps to use less energy and reduce their carbon footprint. One downfall of hanging laundry outdoors on clotheslines is that the lines themselves stretch over time, causing them to sag and the drying clothes end up touching the ground. Clothesline props are a quick solution to this; they're also easy to make yourself.

Make a straight cut across the diameter of the end of the broom, tool handle or bamboo pole, using a small woodcutting hand saw. This will hold the clothesline and keep it from slipping off the prop. A single broom or garden tool handle is long enough to hold up clotheslines on which small items such as shirts, socks, hand towels and underclothes are hanging.

Tape together two broomsticks, tool handles or bamboo poles to make a longer clothesline prop. Overlap the ends by about one-quarter of the length of the sticks and tape them securely together using duct tape. These longer props are sufficient to prop up clotheslines on which trousers, bath towels or bed linens are hanging.

Holding the prop at an angle slightly higher than horizontal, with the butt end on the ground and the notched end touching the clothesline, bring the prop to slightly before the true vertical position. Gravity and the weight of the clothes will hold the prop upright, as its height props up the clothesline and keeps the clothes off the ground.