I love my clothes line. At our condo in Brighton, we weren't allowed to hang our clothes on a line because of the appearance issue ... um, too "ghetto" for you condo board? Anyway, this morning, as for the two mornings before, I have hung the laundry out on the line ... and have now not run the dryer 3 times. Medford is much more accepting of these things, but living in a single family home on my own 0.1 something acre-plot means I get to decide. Urban citizenship at its best ... and Bronwyn doesn't mind because she gets to accompany me outside to collect sticks that are much better at soothing her teething gums than any rubberized plastic item from China.
And ... if you believe it ... a load of jeans, towels and sweatshirts only took 3 hours to dry on the line. This is something I could get used to ... an excuse to go outside, soak in the sun, and start the day right on my little patch of neighborhood, amongst my flowering nectarine and peach trees.
The appearance of hanging laundry has prompted cities and towns to enact ordinances forbidding the practice of air-drying clothing. Do you think that the push to reduce carbon emissions and conserve energy will provide the political will to overturn some of these ordinances and/or condo board rules?
ReplyDeleteI sure hope so. It would be great if there were also a public area to hang in urban areas ... or a hang-out day to educate the public. Imagine if in addition to a standard issue recycling bin, every household were given a sturdy indoor/outdoor drying rack?
ReplyDeleteOh, Dom! I just love this blog post. In my first paper for this course, I wrote about my laundry line growing up in the country. It was such a visceral memory of how life--unplugged-- should be for a kid (and for a family). Our laundry line was used from the first half-sunny day in spring to until it would freeze in the fall. As a kid, I used to sneak our line-dried towels (which are crunchy and feel like sand-paper) into the drier for a quick softening. One day I got caught by my mom and was given the first of MANY energy lectures (reasons why we hung our clothes out: cost, energy savings, environmental consciousness, etc etc). I used to think it was embarrassing to have my underwear out for the whole world to see....now, it's cool again!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of it, in fact when I used to live in Brighton Center I set up a clothes line in our back yard when our dryer died. Good idea...but someone stole all my underwear off the line and a nice pair of jeans. Creepy. Frustrating. So I sort of understand the idea of why it's not a good idea in shared areas. But I want a house with a yard and a strong clothes line that will double as a tie out for my dog. Someday!
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