Clotheslines and the smell of summer

By Angie Wotton
    A couple of weeks ago at church I was talking to a woman about clotheslines. I mentioned how excited I was to go to bed that night since I had my sheets washed and drying on the line. She remarked that she had hung her sheets out that day too and felt the same way as I. She added that it was like being able to smell summer. She’s right. A clothesline was the first thing my husband and I bought with our wedding money after getting married. The house wasn’t half built yet and I was a few weeks away from having a washing machine but it didn’t matter — I was ready.
    Such clothesline passion takes many forms as is evidenced by the articles and blogs I was taken to after Googling clotheslines. Looking into the history of these outdoor dryers I found such quips as, “the virtues of hanging a proper clothesline were passed from mother to daughter.” Certainly true in my case but I can also think of a bachelor in my town whose proper clothesline hanging rivals that of my mother’s.
    As part of that Google search, I also discovered a website called the Project Laundry List (laundrylist.org) whose mission is to “make air-drying and cold-water washing laundry acceptable and desirable as simple and effective ways to save energy.” The average northern Mainer would, based on the number of clotheslines I see while driving, (that is the other side to a clothesline enthusiast, you always notice other people’s clotheslines and, I’m ashamed to admit, judge how their clothes are hung) think this mission statement a no-brainer. Alas, the clothesline freedom we enjoy here in southern Aroostook is not so in many parts of our country.
    There are approximately 300,000 private communities in the United States that impose a clothesline ban. Thankfully, our state of Maine has passed legislation that overrides any local rules protecting the right to hang laundry outdoors. Since home clothes dryers use at least 6 percent of all household electricity consumption, this is a practical and easy way to practice energy conservation.
    I’m a firm believer that small steps can make a difference. Why not harness free wind and solar power, save a little money and smell some summer in your clothes?
    Editor’s note: Angie Wotton loves her work as district manager for the Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District. She also raises pastured pork and vegetables with her husband on their small West Berry Farm in Hammond. She can be reached 532-9407 or via e-mail at angela.wotton@me.nacdnet.net