Americans Getting Back to Basics

If you spend a lot of time online, the world probably seems like it's one big hurry, always rushing towards the next new thing and tossing out the tried and true in favor of the latest and "greatest." Gadgets, gizmos, appliances, and apps are all the rage, and anything that's six months old is woefully out of date.

Step away from the screen and take a look outside, though, and you might see a different story. In my own admittedly unscientific estimation, many Americans are actually turning toward more simplified and in some ways more "traditional" ways of doing things. And I can give you my evidence for this trend in one word.

Clotheslines.

Going through my neighborhood, I've started to see drying clothes on outdoor clotheslines becoming more common. It's not like every yard—or even every other yard—has a clothesline tied to a tree, but there's one or two on every block when there used to be none at all.

Electric and gas powered clothes dryers have only grown fancier, more efficient, and more affordable, but it seems that many are beginning to realize that a simple cotton rope is more cost-effective and energy-efficient than any dryer could ever be—and that fancy functions just aren't necessary when it comes to drying your clothes.

Hands-On Household Chores are Just the Beginning

I'm not alone in this observation, either. Well, no one else has noticed the clothesline phenomenon as far as I know, but there are plenty of articles (yes, online) noting similar trends amongst the "millennial" generation—college kids to folks in their young thirties. On average, these newer adults buy less stuff, carry less consumer debt, and show less interest in continually upgrading or acquiring consumer goods than did previous generations when they were the same age.

It's not that millennials are against technological progress or the advances of things like the internet and smartphones—and neither am I—but they do seem to have realized that there's something to be said for a life of simplicity, and to have recognized that when you own too much stuff your stuff ends up owning you. Toss in a healthy dose of environmental awareness, and clotheslines make just as much sense as the return of home gardens and the cutting up of personal credit cards.

Keep it Simple With SGT. KNOTS

When I first started SGTKNOTS.com, I was fresh out of the US Marines and was quite used to making the most out of whatever tools I had available. Some tools, like the paracord that got my business off the ground, are more useful than others, and I wanted to bring a streamlined way of camping, crafting, and plain old living to the world at large by collecting the best tools and offering them for sale at the best prices. It's gratifying to see that the rest of the world is catching on to those ideals.