April 19 is National Hanging Out Day

Project Laundry List:
"Hanging Out" is Time Well Spent

"Believe it or not, use of the solar dryer has actually been severely restricted or even outright banned in some areas. ‘Right to Dry’ legislation just went up for review in New Hampshire and failed to pass. Connecticut’s version of the bill will be voted on soon and in Ontario a rule-making process is underway to solicit public comment about how to change the laws."

"The state of California is especially notorious for its ban on the clothesline; nearly all 35,000 homeowners’ associations have rules against the solar dryer. Don’t let this stop you from getting involved. Try to find ways to work with your community association to get the rules changed. In Geneva, Switzerland, a resident hung a clothesline that said ‘this is not a clothesline’ after the police told her they would be fined if she continued to air dry her clothing."

This is so shocking, California of all places. They have the best weather for line-drying.

Plus, clothing dried on racks or on clotheslines will last much longer than clothing dried in an electric dryer.

Why do we complicate our lives?

"Take laundry for example. I did 3 loads of laundry today. Instead of putting each load into the dryer only to have to rush to take it out to make room for the new one in 1.5 hours I hung it on the clothesline. Today that includes about 40 pairs of socks :) If I used my dryer, I would have had to rush, in about 4 hours time to fold and put 3 loads of laundry away. Instead I started at about 7:30 this morning and by noon all my clothes will be hung. During this time I also went out for breakfast with my hubby and am writing this blog. No rush, no stress. And if I don't get to pulling my clothes in this evening they'll be there, wrinkle free waiting for me in the morning. Try doing that with a dryer!"

Are you thinking about this issue now, wondering where you can hang a clothesline in your home?

Do you have a basement area? Set up a clothesline and/or some drying racks.

Use any space you can think of, I have some clotheslines set up in my bathroom. If you have a balcony you may be able to set something up there.

Set up an umbrella-style clothesline in your backyard, if you have limited space. My parent's have this style, the clothesline 'rope' doesn't get a bit stretched out over time and I've noticed that most people don't realize that they can just pull it through and re-tie it to tighten it.