I did something today that is against the rules in many places in my community: I hung wet clothes on a line in my back yard. Now, I’m no saint; don’t get me wrong. My dryer is broken. But, it also happens that it broke at a time when my husband and I are looking for ways to reduce our carbon front print and just generally consume less, whether it be energy or bottled water or exotic produce. So, I’ll admit to feeling just a little self-righteous as I clipped my t-shirts and shorts to the line. (For modesty’s sake, I put my underwear on a rack in the kitchen.)<\/p>\n
A visitor to the house looked at the sheets I had hanging out and said wistfully, “I really miss having a wash line. But we’re not allowed to in our neighborhood.” We cringed together over the silly rules and continued our walk through the garden. I didn’t think too much about it.<\/p>\n
This morning, however, I had a much stronger thought about it. It seems arrogant that home owner’s associations, in the interest of some upper crust aesthetic that says that clothing on the line looks bad (maybe even poor since it means you can’t afford a dryer), force people to use energy in order to do something that could be done without consuming anything. I understand that using the dryer is a convenience; I’m certainly not prepared to give up my washing machine in favor of a ringer and tub. And, when my dryer gets fixed eventually, I’ll probably use it now and then. <\/p>\n
But, at least I have the option. So, when I wake up on a Saturday morning and it’s a perfect laundry day–you know th one with its crisp sunshine and pleasant breeze–I can clip my sheets to the line. I do so with a certain satisfying simplicity. Sometimes, I draw an adirondak chair into the small courtyard and sit in the shadow of the laundry as it dries, its sweet clean smell joining grass and dirt. What I want to know is, when did hanging up laundry become a bad thing?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I did something today that is against the rules in many places in my community: I hung wet clothes on a line in my back yard. Now, I’m no saint; don’t get me wrong. My dryer is broken. But, it also happens that it broke at a time when my \u2026 Continue reading