Although the dryer was invented in the 1800's and the first patent for one was to George T. Simpson in 1892 and the first one went on the market in 1915, they were cost prohibitive and many homes still did not have electricity at that time, so it was more into the late 40's to early 1950's that they became more affordable in most households.
Back then for, and even now for people who do not own and dryer (or even today or to save money or the environment) laundry was/is hung by a clothesline in the yard or in bigger cities between buildings and the unwritten "ruled" applied.
I can attest to this as I grew up in a household without a washer and dryer and my Mom hung out our laundry on a clothesline and when I became tall enough to help I got quipped at many times for not following them.
The clothesline being wiped down was because dew and pollution could gather (not to mention bird poop) and you didn't want that on your freshly washed clothing.
I never did get what the big deal was over the socks being hung by the toes or why in a certain order, but the shirts being hung by the tail was that where the clothespins were clipped might leave marked.
The reason for using the same clip on the edge of two items was to cut down on the number of clothespins used and the reason for bringing them in was they were wooden back then (and many today still are) and it would rot the wood and if there was metal in them it would rust and it could ruin your clothing.
I have to say that frozen clothes look pretty freaky. And sometimes they still felt a little damp when thawed.
As an aside, when I was in college a fella that I dated briefly had a roommate that refused to spend money on drying clothing at the laundromat and would bring home his wash and hang it about the room on hangers and draping it and turn on several fans he had purchased just for that. When I was over there during one of his "drying" sessions even though it was a hot summer day and they didn't have air conditioning, it was loud and felt like being in a hurricane.
Have you or anyone you know used a clothesline to dry clothing?
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