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Families all over the nation seek out different ways to save money by using less energy,
many have decided to return to hanging their clothes outside to dry
them. However, many have met with great disappointment when homeowner's
associations and community management services have told them the lines
are not allowed.
"Hanging
clotheslines is against the rules in so many communities nationwide
that state governments are being forced to step in and make it against
the law to ban them. And states like Vermont and Utah have already
succeeded. But the fight for the right to hang clotheslines is just getting started."
Using
an electric clothes drier can account for up to 10% of a household's
total energy use, and the EPA and other environmental organizations
concerned with energy conservation and energy efficiency have been
telling people to purchase Energy Star
appliances for years.
While this is a good idea on paper, many people
aren't financially able to simply go out and upgrade to a fancy new
washer and dryer. However, they are being told they can't have simple
outdoor clotheslines, which are much cheaper and carbon neutral.
The
reason for this clothesline predjudice, at least according to the ones
making the rules, is that hanging clothes is unsightly, offensive, and
causes property values to drop.
While
hanging clothes all over your trees and bushes might not be the best
way to make friends with the neighbors, you can hardly call a few
t-shirts and pairs of jeans flapping in the breeze an offensive
practice...or can you?
California Homeowners Associations, told Legal Affairs
magazine that a clothesline in a neighborhood can lower property values
by 15 percent: "Modern homeowners don't like people's underwear in
public. It's just unsightly."
What do you think?
