Facts
and Froth
Jill Lowe
“The sweet smell of fresh sheets flapping on the line, a simple pleasure that never gets old."
In whatever country, if one mentions drying clothes on a clothes line, an almost universal response is “Oooooh! I love the smell of sheets that have dried in the sun”. Sadly we cannot replicate that smell here but we can give you sight and perhaps sound.
Turn your sound up high. Click HERE and a window will open in your browser. Click the arrow on the sheet or on bottom left to start the 13 second video. I mean you can ALMOST smell the sheets in the wind can’t you?
Video courtesy Cynthia Ray, Ontario Canada
Images of clothes drying on a clothes line are everywhere: in back yards, houses near the ocean, in wide open spaces, suburbs, large country estates and of course in urban high - rises and most prevalent in walled cities of Europe.
Even in downtown Chicago!
But isnt it curious?
If one asks the question “Do you have a clothes line?”
The astonished looks on faces is revealing.
Because in almost all countries other than USA the astonishment is one of ….. “Well of course!”
In countries such as India, UK, Australia, Germany, Greece Italy or any European country, the drying of clothes outdoors is the norm with many persons not owning dryers. Rich and poor people dry clothes outdoors.
Wheras, so often in North America the look of astonishment is one of……… “Well of course not - we have a dryer!”.
Of course there is no generalisation but directionally it is true. Often condo associations and home ownwer’s associations (HOA’s) prohibit the drying of clothes outdoors, especially on balconies. This is often said to be for “community aesthetics”. In the past there have been some 19 US states which have prohibited the drying of clothes outdoors, but recent “right to dry’ initiatives have challenged some HOA’s in some of those states.
Neverthless, rules or no rules, it is foreign to see clothes drying outdoors in USA today. It is the custom to use the dryer.
It might be thought that this is related to climate and only found in areas with severe winters but many of the prohibitions were in Sates with mild winters such as Florida and Arizona. No, this is a cultural aspect somehow related to believing that drying clothes outdoors is related to poverty.
In Daisy Dawnay’s article in August 2024 in the Financial Times, Zen and the art of hanging out washing, she describes the garden of Broadwoodside in Scotland. The visitors to the garden of the 17th century house see drying sheets and shirts billowing outdoors and always comment on the sight, with Americans saying “ we don’t do that any more”.
Hanging out washing is done by men!
by children
In all weathers!
A few books about hanging washing
“Hanging the washing” Davina Jackson 2022 Instagram handle: , Artistmotherdj
A facebook group “ A world of washing” is delightful to peruse as it contains paintings, photographs from everywhere depicting hanging washing.
But truly the delicious smell of clothes dried outdoors is available to us all.
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