One of the most convincing arguments to lead people to air dry laundry and hang clothes outside is the cost-savings generated by not using your dryer so much.

But how much money can you really save by hanging clothes outside?

Based on various estimates, a typical small load of clothes in the dryer can cost roughly $0.36 per load (when assuming the average dryer uses 3.3 kilowatt hours of energy, and a kilowatt hour costs 11 cents). Running those numbers out, if you can average three loads on a typical Amish clothesline or other pulley clothesline — instead of the dryer — can save you $1.08 with a few extra minutes of physical labor to hang up, and take down, clothes off the line.

This may not seem like much, but the savings comes into effect over time.

Let’s say you do laundry once a week. Well, if you hang your clothes up on a clothesline pulley system each time that equals a $4.32 savings over a month, or $25.92 over six months when you are able to hang your clothes out to dry during the spring and summer time.

Of course, continuing this process beyond a year or two, and it’s easy to see how those savings suddenly turn into real money back into your pocket.