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Matt Hickman

States tackle clothesline hang-ups

Slowly but surely, states are passing right-to-dry laws that prevent the banning of outdoor clotheslines.
Thu, Jun 04 2009 at 9:34 PM EST
Read more: ENERGY EFFICIENCY, HOME IMPROVEMENT

Photo by Grant MacDonald
The New York Times Green Inc. blog ran an insightful post on an increasingly love it or hate it practice earlier today: using outdoor clotheslines in lieu of or in addition to conventional energy guzzling drying machines.
 
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never used an outdoor clothesline. In fact, aside from movies and television and a trip to Spain several years ago I rarely see clotheslines being used.  I, like much of young urban North America, consider clotheslines to be domestic relics; household staples that have either been banished to the "countryside" or disappeared decades ago along with egg timers, rotary phones, and washing buckets.
 
According to Project Laundry List, an advocacy group that’s pushing to give all citizens the legal right to hang dry their dirty knickers while raising awareness about alternatives to nuclear power, state-backed initiatives to lift bans on the use of clotheslines are increasingly common.
 
Clothesline bans, usually enacted by homeowner and condo associations, operate under the guise that they these simple energy-savers are unsightly blemishes on urban and suburban landscapes. States including Florida, Colorado, Utah, and most recently, Maine, have right-to-dry laws intact while other states such as Maine and Hawaii have similar bills in the works.
 
Despite issues of labor, weather, and aesthetics, clotheslines obviously provide considerable relief to Mother Nature and to your finances. That said, would you consider leaving your dryer — an appliance that accounts for 5.8 percent of a home’s total electricity and emits 2 kg of greenhouse gases per load — high and dry if social attitudes toward airing your dirty laundry changed and clotheslines were considered acceptable in your community?
 
For more on the the pro-clothesline movement check out this Los Angeles Times article, the Line Dry It blog, and this piece from Plenty mag article that ran in March on MNN. 
 
CLOSE link:
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Comments(10)

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Posted By Nick - Sat, Jun 27 2009 at 12:29 PM EST

Taking a first step

If the neighbors are a little freaked out by a clothesline (a permanent addition to the yard) perhaps they could be gently conditioned to the idea by seeing a nice clothes drying rack being used on the patio or deck during the warm months?

Then after awhile of getting used to the concept they would be OK with the clothesline and neighborhood peace would be maintained...

Posted By Shari - Sat, Jul 11 2009 at 10:26 AM EST

Hang clothes out

Live in Florida...own our manufactured home but rent land we sit on. Can we legally hang clothes out to dry?

Posted By Bikebox - Tue, Jun 09 2009 at 8:10 PM EST

Line 'em up!

My mother hung our laundry either in the yard or in the basement throughout my childhood--in the Eastside suburbs of Detroit. I currently live in Tucson, Arizona, in a neighborhood with an HOA which, I'm sure, bans clotheslines. I do it anyway. I rigged up dowels that I hang from hooks under my patio. It's hot and dry enough here that my clothes dry faster than they do in the clothes dryer! My wife won't hang her clothes because she's afraid of pollen, etc., but--despite a lifetime of.... More

Posted By Chartreusechic - Mon, Jun 08 2009 at 1:02 PM EST

class constructions and sustainability

I studied class construction, discrimination, and social norms as an anthropology and history grad student. This is a hugely complex social issue with a long history. Hanging your laundry out to dry is the PERFECT example of the shift in the early 20th century from rural, subsistence lifestyles to urban, consumeristic, class-based lifestyles. During the great migration, millions of Americans left the farm for urban areas to find work. They brought their subsistence based lifestyles with.... More

Posted By Matt Hickman - Mon, Jun 08 2009 at 1:31 PM EST

Thanks for the insight, Chartreusechic...

interesting thoughts on a topic I alluded to but didn't quite tackle in-depth.

Posted By Anonymous - Sat, Jun 06 2009 at 4:04 PM EST

Done it for YEARS

Enter your comments here I've been hanging laundry outside on a clothesline for all my married life (46 years) whenever weather permits. For me, not only is it an energy saver but also it gives me a feeling of satisfaction in seeing those clean clothes flapping in the breeze and the sunshine.

Posted By Debrah M Goss - Fri, Jun 05 2009 at 7:45 AM EST

Right to Dry

Thank goodness someone is taking the initiative in this. I have been talking about it for years, and procratinating re: taking action. I will gladly support any group in any way I can to pass a Right to Dry bill anywhere anytime. How about addressing Florida. There are hundreds of restricted communities and most ban drying.

Posted By Anonymous - Fri, Jun 05 2009 at 3:32 AM EST

Eco-Living Expert?

'I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never used an outdoor clothesline.'

Posted By Matt Hickman - Fri, Jun 05 2009 at 10:56 AM EST

It's hard...

given that I've lived in urban apartments all of my adult life where clotheslines aren't possible (I do hang some stuff from my fire escape if the weather permits). But if my living situation allowed for it, you bet I'd choose it over hauling my stuff to the laundromat!

Posted By Robin Shreeves - Thu, Jun 04 2009 at 10:08 PM EST

Matt - You haven't had a great night's sleep

until you've slept on fresh sheets that were lined dried. I think all the brew-ha-ha (is that how you spell that?) about clothes lines being an eyesore is ridiculous. I live in an older neighborhood, and no one thinks twice about clothes drying in the backyard.

I like the rhythm and peacefulness of hanging clothes on the line. And I like the energy savings and the money savings when I don't have to use my clothes dryer.

Now if only it would stop raining around here...

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