Because of environmental concerns (clothes dryers account for 6 to 10 percent of household energy use), clotheslines may be making a comeback:
However, many condo and homeowner associations, and a few communities, prohibit outdoor clotheslines, mostly for aesthetic reasons. The Sierra Club and others are proposing a bill for the upcoming legislative session that would prohibit restrictions on the use of clotheslines. Such "right to dry" laws are being proposed in many states, and have been passed in a few. We support the concept, with reasonable accommodation for aesthetic concerns.
The editorial goes on to say that one such reasonable accommodation would be to require the clotheslines to be put in "inconspicuous locations," where they can't be seen, in other words. I don't know -- I think the sight of endless rows of clotheslines would improve many neighborhoods aesthetically. And imagine how more interaction with neighbors there would be as people talked while putting up and taking down their clothes. But I probably romanticize the cothesline because of happy childhood memories of playing in the yard while clothes were drying there. The dryer in the basement is a heck of a lot more convenient.
