Documenting Laundry

Syracuse.com official weather report:  Here in Syracuse New York, January 2012 tied for the ninth warmest month in 110 years of local record keeping. Through Monday, 2/6/12, 24.6 inches of snow fell at the airport in Syracuse, NY during January, 9.4 inches less than the January norm. That brought the seasonal total to 31.8 inches, 43.7 inches below normal but sufficient to keep the winter of 2011-12 out of Syracuse record books as the least snowiest. Only 30.9 inches of snow fell over the entire winter of 1921-22, according to climate center records.

My sophisticated weather instrument used for documentation purposes

hanging laundry March 2010

hanging laundry on 3/25/11

My unofficial weather report:  With the unexpected record breaking temperature of 64 degrees on 2/6/12 (as indicated on my personal weather instrument shown in the above picture) I officially documented that date as the earliest day of the year for me to hang laundry outdoors.

hanging out laundry Feb 6, 2012

With a warm balmy breeze (sort of) it was the perfect weather for me to try and break my record from last year of 3/25/11.  March was also documented as the earliest month I was able to hang outdoors in 2010 also. Note March 2011 had less snow on the ground than March 2010 and February 2012 has no snow on the ground at all! I'm beginning to see a pattern and I LIKE IT!

Who cares what the reason is for this change of our local weather pattern, be it El Nino, global warming, or whatever. I love the smell of clean laundry after it has been hung outdoors. I'll just remain grateful and appreciative that Old Man Winter didn't wreak havoc on us during the month of February this year; now March is another story. Stay tuned!


I did notice that the laundry from this year had an especially fresh fragrance and softness that I attribute to me now using homemade laundry soap. I also found that by not washing our clothes in all those unpronounceable chemicals that are found in most store-bought detergent, the outdoor freshness smell remains in the laundry for a longer time. Luv it!

What a beautiful site through the dining room window winter (February) of 2012.