National Hanging Out Day: but not for teenagers!

Did you know? Thursday, April 19, is "National Hanging Out Day", as in "hanging out your laundry on a clothesline," not "hanging out at the mall." Check it out! http://laundrylist.org/education/NHOD.htm

And how did I miss this piece a few days ago? The New York Times (4/12/2007) reported on clotheslines: "To Fight Global Warming, Some Hang a Clothesline." Amazing! This link presently works, though it probably won't for long: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/garden/12clothesline.html

Yep, the pros and cons are all there: time, convenience, money, energy usage, "quality" (as in, towels and jeans are very stiff when line dried)--and also a "work around" to avoid a mutiny at home about said stiff items: pop them in the dryer for a few minutes once they're (almost) dry; that softens them up a bit.

Now, of course, part of the underlying issue here involves wealth and class, right, because in some parts of the country, you have to be quite well off to have your own private outdoor space in which to hang your line. But that's a topic for another day......in the meantime, here's an article about the "clothesline wars" and an organization that helps people fight against legal restrictions/prohibitions on clotheslines:
http://www.legalaffairs.org/issues/January-February-2004/scene_horwitt_janfeb04.msp