Alexander Lee is the founder of Project Laundry List, an organization dedicated to making air-drying laundry acceptable and desirable as a simple and effective way to save energy. We are delighted to have him as a guest blogger here at LineDryIt.com...
From The Washington Post, “Of all the office buildings downtown, Washington Square is perhaps the oddest place for an underwear-art [hung on a clothesline] controversy: One of its tenants is Victoria's Secret. The lingerie store, under renovation until fall, is just a few feet from where [the] installation once stood. Victoria's Secret is known for its racy window displays of scantily clad mannequins.” Nevertheless, lawyers got involved and an experienced artist, Joyce Zipperer, was forced to remove the exhibit. Dr. Helen Caldicott, a Project Laundry List Advisory Board member and Australian activist, is fond of saying, “A strange brand of American prudery has made it impossible for some people to conserve energy and money by using a clothesline.” Indeed, that is why Project Laundry List gave her their most recent Laundry Hero distinction.
Today I received an email message from a new supporter that read, “My husband does not like to see someone else's clothes hanging in their yards. We live in a controlled community where beauty - landscape is a big aspect of keeping the property value. My husband argues that in order to allow people to hang out their clothes we all have to have our yards fenced, so no one get to see anything. I grew up hanging my clothes out (not in this country) so for me not being able to do it, it is a bit difficult to understand. I believe that even hanging out just what is not private would help a lot with the fact of saving energy. I mean we can hang out pants, t-shirts, sheets, towels, etc that will certainly reduce energy consumption and would make our clothes last for longer. I think that there is nothing more beautiful than our Planet, and if we have to sacrifice some comfort in order to preserve it for future generations we have to do it, and do it now. Thank you for this great initiative. Good luck.”
The work of changing the American aesthetic is critical. Elsewhere, people accept the ancient and venerable practice of hanging clothes outside in the sun as a part of everyday life. It is true that prior to Ronald Reagan’s first trip to China an edict was sent out that bamboo shafts with laundry were not to be stuck out the window on the days of his visit, so that he would think China was a more modern country. Only about 5% of Italians own a clothes dryer. In Australia, the Hills Hoist has brand name recognition akin to Kleenex (er, facial tissue). Even in the European Union’s most dryer-owning nation (The Netherlands), only an estimated 61% of folks owned a dryer in 2005.
Alexander P. Lee
