October 26th, 2009
Give us clotheslines
Is the laundry movement getting serious? It’s certainly getting more attention. I blogged it about here some time back. The folks trying to protect their property values from a neighbor’s airing their laundry in public…well, those folks may be fighting a losing battle. And clothes pins could be a growth industry. You can still find the old-fashioned wooden ones without any metal spring, or plastic or even paint. Totally renewable. Even better, you can carve your own.
Even in solar-drenched Arizona there are some housing associations banning outside clothes lines! But there’s also a action website fighting to get your undies into the open air–right after you’ve launderd them. It’s called Project Laundry List.
One publication in India recently published a list of things we energy hawgs in America should do to cut our energy consumption: drying laundry passively was one of those. In numerous cities around the world I’ve seen laundry hanging on porches and in windows, from Venice to Tokyo. Outdoor laundry might get us to clean up the air in some of our sootier cities as well.
Of course, drying your clothes outside, or even inside as they do in places like Britain, is the use of solar or passive energy. It will not be pleasing to the appliance makers.
Some states have passed laws protecting citizens’ rights to dry clothes outdoors.
A newsman since 1969, Harry Fuller has worked for CBS, ABC, CNBC Europe, CNET and was founding news director at TechTV. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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