Back when a clothesline was good for the family.

Whether we were raised in the city or country, memories of the average middle class mother hanging the clothes out to dry can be easily recalled from the minds of many of us. On hot summer days we would run along between the lines of clothes, sometimes failing to resist the urge to reach out and touch them. Of course if our hands were dirty, mother would scold us and tell us to play elsewhere. Clean laundry and dirty little hands simply did not mix. At times, we would sit and watch the breeze gently twist the umbrella clothesline causing the clothes to react like boat sails. As the sun beamed its energy onto the fabrics evaporating the water, the result was free solar drying. As we look back at those warm and fond memories, we realize just how fortunate we were.

For city children, playing in the streets meant looking up to see thousands of clothes strung out on pulleys across the apartment buildings. A careful look would reveal lines moving in fits and starts as our mothers pushed or pulled on the lines. Many women would carry on conversations with their neighbors while sitting right on the window sills several stories up. On rare occasions, a single piece of laundry would flutter to the ground because of a bad clothespin or an unsuspecting gust of wind would rip it from the line. This was usually followed by one of our mothers running out onto the sidewalk to chase it down. Despite all the laundry hanging between the buildings, people were indifferent to seeing the neighbor´s underwear or sensitive negligee. The view was simply part of the landscape. It´s funny how times have changed.

Clothing on outdoor lines usually meant that a mother was home taking care of the children while dad was at work. The notion that we always had a home with a parent to run back to after playing or school was a comfort that we took for granted. With so many households requiring two incomes today, it seems that this wonderful lifestyle is a dying novelty.

Today it seems unconscionable that these childhood memories, even though they instill a positive feeling in our minds, are so often pushed aside in favor of rules banning clotheslines. Many communities around the country simply refuse to allow an outdoor clothesline in the backyard, or any place else on the property. Still others, while allowing them, have heavy restrictions on their usage. The most common reason appears to be aesthetics. It appears that many of us simply do not like looking at our neighbor´s laundry hanging in the breeze. Perhaps it is merely the clothesline itself sitting in the yard. Either way, it´s a great pity that so many of us cannot enjoy the very same conveniences that we were raised on. Yes, a clothesline certainly is a convenience. It saves us money; wear and tear on our clothes caused by dryers and gives us a certain sense of satisfaction knowing that we are helping to save the environment. Many people also feel that air-dried clothes just plain smell better. Styles and appearance have also improved. Take a look at The Clothesline Shop LLC or www.dayheat.com for several modern examples.

Even if we set aside several of the obvious advantages of using a clothesline, many of us still do not understand why the notion of drying laundry in the yard is a bad thing. Driving through a housing complex and witnessing people hanging their laundry makes any community seem more homelike. It certainly beats the cold stare of track housing, where most of the inhabitants remain indoors, even on beautiful sunny days. Perhaps it is time to give people a wonderful old fashioned reason to step outside and get to know their neighbors again. It may also help alleviate that, "keeping up with the Jones" attitude and allow a few more parents to stay home with their children. Ah, but then that is a whole other topic.