I was listening to BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour today...as you do...and there was an article on it about laundry. More specifically, the difference between dealing with laundry in the UK and the US. Don't ask me who comes up with these things; I don't know!
But. It jogged my memory about something I'd been told when I was in Fort Lauderdale a few years ago. That in some housing estates/communities in the US, you are banned from hanging your washing out to dry. Now, where we live is pretty solidly middle-class. But every garden will have a clothes line (which reminds me to check the washing on ours pretty soon).
I don't think I've ever owned a tumble dryer. And when I have used one, the clothes just never seemed to smell as fresh as when they are dried on the line. Admittedly, we live on a hill, and at present, there is a good gale blowing through the garden! But we're getting to that time of year when the rain is far too frequent, and so the clothes maiden has to be resorted to, and things dried in front of radiators, which is a bit depressing, and does make you think a dryer might be a good idea.
There was a great statistic about how, in the Fifties, 75% of US households had washing machines, when only 8% of British ones did. Mind you, as we were bankrupt and only just ending rationing, I guess that's hardly surprising. Apparently nowadays 40% of the British population have tumble dryers.
One of the people on the programme talked about having American visitors, who had some washing that needed doing, but absolutely refused to have their clothes hung on the line, saying 'We're not allowed!'. But the next morning, said how well they had slept and how nice the sheets smelt. And she said 'yes, that's because they hang over the lavender and honeysuckle'. But she felt that her visitors thought that hanging out your washing is a bit indecent.
I just have this vision of being regarded as terribly common in the US, when I stand there with a mouthful of pegs hanging the damp laundry out!
But I am going out to retrieve it now, as a month's worth of rain is expected in the next 48 hours.
(God, I do write about the most trivial nonsense sometimes. I am being culturally sensitive and not wading into the fuss over Obama's manners in Japan, which has been hilarious. But I must buck my ideas up, get with the spirit of the site and write about something vaguely sexual!)
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My parents lived in two different communities on the west coast of Florida which prohibited residents from hanging laundry in their yards. My mother made certain that the garages were kept spotlessly clean and hung her laundry there. They were very well ventilated and well exposed to sunlight (unlike garages around here) so it worked quite well.
I don't have a clothesline, the landlord (is a pain in the arse) and doesn't want one so I don't hand everything outside but you'd be amazed how much stuff can be hung on the ropes and ends of a hammock! Yes, I love the smell - every season brings a different sort of "fresh" to the air.
The photos last time brought back many memories, some strong emotions and a pause for reflection. Good choices. Thanks.
All the best...
There are still uses for clothespins, especially the ones with the springs. I know that for a fasct, LOL.