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Madness!!!

As a self-confessed lover of the hills hoist, I can only say that I am bemused by this story in the Sydney Morning Herald coming out the US.

The notion that drying one's washing in the sun and fresh air would constitute an act of civil disobedience is insane to me, especially if you factor in the whole kerfuffle concerning human-influenced global warming.

The article is well worth a read, and cites New York State, Vermont and New Hampshire as states which limit your ability to dry clothes outside. I particularly like that last line quoting Vermont Senator Richard McCormack: "I so love my country. But I look at [it] from time to time and say to myself, 'This place is insane'."

I would be interested to hear how people manage to dry their washing where you are, and if you live in any of the places mentioned, were you aware of these laws? I mean, do people just get on an ignore it and dry their clothes any way they like, or are people actually punished?
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Comments

Anonymous said…
I can't believe this, Kris! Outdoor-dried laundry is so much nicer afterwards than laundry dried outside.

Here there's a long tradition of stringing washing across the communal back street. I'll try to get a picture sometime for pie 'n' mushies.
12 May 2008 at 17:21
 gmirage said…
Really? Clothes wouldn't smell so nicely when they aren't 'sun-dried!'

You know it well during winter.... ;-)
12 May 2008 at 20:39
Kris McCracken said…
The last place I lived was right in the city, and we had a little grotto for a yard. The 'line' was essentially hard up against the building next door. In winter, even on a sunny day you could get a load of towels out on the line at 8am and they would still be damp at 4:30pm.

On this rotary hills hoist now, the same towels are dry in 30 minutes! I am so in love with it I want to weep.

Even though I am by nature a law abiding man, I'd be reduced to criminality if I lived in Vermont.
12 May 2008 at 21:50
Jane Hards Photography said…
Well I know I'm a bit of a rebel(ok a lot of one), but surely hanging your wet clothes out to dry is not a rebellious act.That would be bonkers even for my mad little backward island.
13 May 2008 at 00:22
The D in D & T said…
One thing I really miss here (and I was talking about this with an Australian friend just the other day) is the hills hoist. Here in Athens, no one has a dryer - so clothes get hung on the veranda to dry. It pretty much sucks because not only are you limited to one load at a time (lack of drying space) but your clothes are always covered in a fine film of dust! Hate it!! I too would resort to criminal acts. Nothing beats towels warmed dry by the sun!
17 May 2008 at 00:27
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