If You Think Flapping Underpants are Scary Wait 'til You See the Chickens!
Sharon October 13th, 2009
I love the New York Times’ attempt to make it seem like the debate over line drying of clothes has two equally credible sides. Thus we hear that (gasp!) once some realtor tried to sell a house to someone who didn’t like laundry hanging next door, and (gasp!) now that house is in foreclosure. So it must be a real issue. Never mind that there are nearly a million houses in the US in some stage of foreclosure now, and one in one million is a statistical irrelevance. Maybe they all have undies hanging on the line! Perhaps the entire housing crisis could be stopped this way! Why hasn’t anyone thought of this! Someone call Tim Geithner!
Driven by “nostalgia” the Very Important Paper reports that the right to dry movement has brought together a coalition of the old and the young, the poor and the environmentally conscious. Ummm…duh. And obviously, “the same nostalgia that has restored the popularity of canning and private vegetable gardens” is definitely the most important motivating factor. Sure.
There is no such thing as ecological use of a dryer. The air dries clothes – it dried all the clothes of all human beings for thousands of years. Yes, it takes longer when it is cold or humid. Yes, sometimes you have to do it inside. Yes, it takes a little longer. So?
My favorite quote from this piece is this one: “Richard Jacques, 63, president of the condominium’s board, said he moved to the community specifically for its strict regulations. “Those rules are why when I look out my window I now see birds, trees and flowers, not laundry,” he said.”
Awesome, Richard – you can see a whole host of species, slowly being destroyed by global warming, all so that you never have to see anyone’s sheets hanging up. Enjoy the spectacle! Ah the beauty of a dying ecology!
And know this – when I and all those old folks and young folks, those poor folks and environmental folks and those who just think it is silly to buy a $300 appliance to do something that the breeze or their heating source does for them get through with you, the laundry will be the least of your worries. I’ve got goats, and a plan for inflicting them on you and all the other reactionary zoning fascists ;-)!
Sharon
- America
- Comments(51)
For those who need outdoor drying on a wet day, I stumbled on this yesterday when looking for a replacement spike for my rotary dryer.
http://www.ecowashinglines.co.uk/rotary-washing-line-cover
The cover goes over the top of the dryer when it’s open, and sides hang down to protect all the undies underneath.
Then maybe you can pretend it’s a gazebo or summerhouse, and nosy neighbours won’t complain either.
Penny
(London, UK)