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Вечером я снова поставила сушилку ближе к окну, чтобы бельё высохло быстрее.

Вечером я снова поставила сушилку ближе к окну, чтобы бельё высохло быстрее.
In the evening I put the drying rack closer to the window again so the laundry would dry faster.

Breakdown of Вечером я снова поставила сушилку ближе к окну, чтобы бельё высохло быстрее.

я
I
к
to
окно
the window
вечером
in the evening
снова
again
чтобы
so that
быстрее
faster
ближе
closer
поставить
to put/place
сушилка
the drying rack
бельё
the laundry
высохнуть
to dry
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Questions & Answers about Вечером я снова поставила сушилку ближе к окну, чтобы бельё высохло быстрее.

Why is Вечером in the instrumental case? Doesn’t it mean “in the evening”?

Yes, вечером means in the evening / in the evenings, and it’s the instrumental form of вечер used adverbially to express time. Russian often uses the instrumental like this with parts of the day:

  • утром (in the morning)
  • днём (in the daytime)
  • вечером (in the evening)
  • ночью (at night)
What does снова add here, and where can it go in the sentence?

снова means again. It’s fairly flexible in position and usually goes near the verb or the thing being repeated:

  • Я снова поставила сушилку... (I again placed the drying rack...)
  • Я поставила сушилку снова... (more emphasis on “again” at the end)
    The given placement is very natural.
Why is it поставила and not ставила?

поставила is perfective, meaning the action is viewed as completed (you placed it and that placement happened as a single finished event).
ставила is imperfective and would suggest a process, repetition, or background action, e.g. “I was placing / I used to place.”

Why does поставила end in -а?

Past tense verbs in Russian agree in gender and number. поставила is feminine singular past, so the speaker is a woman (or the narrator is female).
Compare:

  • поставил (masc.)
  • поставила (fem.)
  • поставило (neut.)
  • поставили (plural)
Why is сушилку in the accusative?

Because it’s the direct object of поставила (placed what?).
Dictionary form: сушилка → accusative singular: сушилку.

What exactly is сушилка here? Is it a “dryer” like a machine?

In this context сушилка typically means a drying rack / clothes airer (a stand or rack you put clothes on to dry).
A clothes-drying machine is more likely сушильная машина (or in casual speech sometimes something like сушилка, but context usually clarifies).

Why do we say ближе к окну and not something like “near the window” with a different case?

ближе is a comparative meaning closer, and Russian commonly uses к + dative after it to show direction/target: closer to (toward) the window.
So: к окну (dative of окно).
There are other ways to express “near the window” (like у окна, около окна), but ближе к окну specifically means closer (than before) toward the window.

Is ближе an adjective or an adverb here?

Here ближе functions like an adverb modifying the action поставила (placed it closer). It’s the comparative form related to близко (near).
You can think of it as placed it more near / closer.

Why is окну dative? I thought “window” would be genitive after “near”.

It’s dative because the preposition к requires the dative case.
Genitive is used with other “near” constructions, for example:

  • у окна (near the window) — genitive
  • около окна (near the window) — genitive
    But with к you always use dative: к окну.
What does чтобы mean here, and what kind of clause is it introducing?

чтобы introduces a purpose clause: in order that / so that.
So the second part explains the goal of moving the drying rack: so that the laundry would dry faster.

Why is it высохло (past tense) after чтобы? Shouldn’t it be “will dry”?

After чтобы, Russian usually uses a past tense form to express a desired/intended result (similar to a subjunctive mood). It does not mean past time here.
So чтобы бельё высохло = so that the laundry would dry / can dry.
Also, высохло is perfective, emphasizing the result: end up dry.

Why is бельё neuter, and why does the verb agree with it?

бельё is a neuter singular noun (a collective meaning “laundry/linen”). Even though it can refer to many items, grammatically it’s singular neuter, so the verb form matches:

  • бельё высохло (neut. sg.)
    Not высохли, unless you rephrase with a plural noun like вещи (clothes/things): вещи высохли.
What is быстрее grammatically, and what does it modify?
быстрее is the comparative form of быстро (quickly), so it means faster / more quickly. It modifies the drying action: (so that) it dries faster.