I can’t even really believe this is happening. It’s such a good thing I live where I do. I couldn’t stand to have these silly rules and regulations to follow. Not to be able to hang my clothes outside????? WHY???
Of all the ways you can “bother” others, people are honestly going to tell me that this is worthy of it’s own ordinance?? What in the world is wrong with people?
Dogs bark non stop. Cars are loud. People have loud music playing. Kids make noise. People laugh or worse, fight. All these people have to complain about is looking at someone’s undies’ drying on a clothesline!? That seeing clothes drying outside “bothers” them? It looks unsightly?? OMG!!! I’m trying to remain VERY calm.
I know people who don’t care for the way clothe-lines look but I’ve never in my life heard that you “couldn’t” have them like this. I personally feel that clothes drying on the line looks cozy and warm.
Do you hang clothes outside? Does it bother you if other people do? It seems to me that so many of our rights are being taken away from us. I mean jeez, you buy land and a house and you can’t have a clothesline?? What’s next? No garden or no watering your lawn? No bbq-ing? Really people? Get a life.
Us Girls..Our Views 
We don’t hang our clothes outside. But that is something we would like to do. I see no problem with hanging whatever you want out on the line. Maybe instead of fining the people in the article they should’ve been given a warning and be told to cover them up. If people do have a problem with the undies maybe put something light weight like a towel over it… Why are people even looking at what’s hanging on the line anyways?
Cover up the undies? How are they going to dry? And seriously, if people are offended by a bra hanging on a clothesline, HOW does 99% of the crap on TV stay on the air??? Those people just like to exert control over others. They do it because they can.
This is exactly why, every time that we’ve moved, we’ve been VERY particular when telling the Real Estate Agent what we were looking for. At the top of the list, every single time?
NO HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION.
If the house in question was in a subdivision, the first question was, “Is there an HOA?” If there was, we wouldn’t even look at the house, no matter how “perfect” it seemed, and how well it fit into our price range. Why? Because they have nothing better to do than micromanage people’s lives. My sister-in-law and her family live in one, and they cannot display a flag (other than the American), their basketball hoop MUST be on wheels (no mounting it on the garage) and be removed from sight and stored inside the house/garage from the end of October until the end of March (doesn’t matter if we have a mild winter – No Basketball in Winter!), and if one of the bushes in front of their house dies? They have to get approval from the HOA to replace it, AND they have a choice of three types of bushes that may be put in it’s place. Nothing else may go there. No flowers. No trees. And they definitely may not keep that spot clear, and not replace the bush at all. Otherwise there’ll be a fine. We won’t even discuss what happens if they change the curtains that hang in the windows. And I’m absolutely sure they don’t allow clotheslines.
I’ve heard of others where you cannot park any kind of truck – even if it’s your own truck from your own business (like if you’re a plumber and you have a pickup truck that you work from). My brother’s friend lives on an island… and their HOA does not allow boat trailers!!!
I could go on for hours. But the solution, at least for me, is not to live anywhere near one of those viper pits.
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As for a clothesline for me – I live in the country, so it’s absolutely allowed. But I also live on the corner where two gravel roads come together, which means that if I hang my clean clothes out, they’ll have to be washed when I bring them in…
I rarely hang clothes outside to dry, because the weather and my schedule are both too unreliable.
I think it’s a great idea to hang clothes out to dry, BUT to be honest, I do not want to see other people’s underwear. Mostly, I don’t notice, but since you asked . . . . Or should I say, I personally would not hang my undies out where everyone could see them. MAYBE in my backyard if I knew no men were going to be out there.
The whole “homeowners’ association” thing freaks me out. I can’t understand why anyone thinks they are a good idea. Maybe I am missing something. But I would have been fined to the gills by now if I was subject to one of them. Frankly, I feel we buy our own free-standing homes so we can do whatever the hell we want in them, subject only to laws and basic human decency.
I had the Sears guy come to give me a quote on a roof, and he mentioned how we have to buy a permit from the local government to replace our roof. And that the government has to come out and inspect it when it’s done. What the heck? Why is it anyone’s business but mine if I want to put a new roof on my house? It doesn’t even take up another inch of land. And if it leaks, it’s my own attic that’s going to be wet, not anyone else’s. It’s bad enough they expect me to get my neighbors’ approval to put up a little outbuilding (such as a gazebo) on my own property. And we don’t have a HOA.
Come to think of it, if I had to hang my clothes out, I’d have to make sure they looked like clean clothes. Like, on the bottom of my white socks. I guess I’d have to go back to doing laundry the way my mom taught me, instead of throwing everything into one load. And what about the broken elastic on my undies? Those would have to go. (I did finally throw out all my holey socks.) Yeah, I don’t think “letting it all hang out” is for me. You all probably have much better laundry habits than I do.
I was 2 weeks in the country, and I decided it is ridiculous to use the dryer, when we have such beautiful weather here in CA. So we bought the same laundry lines as on the picture of this post. I do hang the undies etc. and the inside. I do not think I need to hang them at the outer line. But, if it does show through, or it peaks between the other laundry, so be it.
I see no problem with hanging clothes up outside. I think it’s allowed everywhere EXCEPT for HOA. If you live in a place that’s part of an association there’s lots of rules. You usually can’t have bonfires, you can’t plant trees, shrubs, flowers, etc, etc. If you want to go by your own rules or city rules don’t live in a home with a HOA.
We have a Home Owners Association and we are not allowed to hang clothes outside. But here in Houston when the humidity is always at least 75% I don’t think I would want to hang my clothes outside. Either that or it’s just the city girl in me! 😉
I’m so glad I don’t have to live in a HOA as of yet. I can’t even imagine the rules you have to follow. I know my mom lives in one and can’t even have certain things on her patio. The fronts of their condo’s have to remain all looking the same. “Uniformed” they call it. Boring is what I call it! They’re a little more relaxed with the backyard but she can’t even have a bird feeder or wind socks. How pathetic.
I guess I haven’t really thought about anyone seeing my *SH*SH*SH* “undergarments” since I was a teenager. I mean really, if someone wants to stand and stare at them on my line, go for it because with life the way it’s been, that would be the LAST thing I’d care about. I also wouldn’t hang any laundry out if I was having company or anything. Most of my clothes have never been in the dryer. I’ve even showed you all my special sock hangers. Dryers ruin clothes. They fade, shrink and wear out so much faster dried like that. I can’t imagine drying my jeans or sweatshirts, socks, bedclothes or “undergarments.” I won’t even get into the whole “how bad dryers are for the environment” and not to mention how they heat up the house all summer. I guess putting stuff like that in a dryer is like some of you trying to imagine hanging stuff outside. Hanging laundry on the line calms me. It reminds me of simpler times and it makes me think whoever hung them really care about their clothes. How they smell is another story. My clothes all freeze dry in the winter because yes, I hang them out year round and the only time I hang them inside is if it’s raining or snowing.
I guess for such a simple thing as this, I’d hate to be told what I can have at MY own home and it would drive me sooooooo insane that I’d never buy into one.
It really does crack me up when you hang your clothes, and I see a little while later, a FB status that goes something like, “need to take the clothes in and thaw them!”
Would you believe that there are clauses in some HOA contracts that govern the INTERIOR colors of your house? If you want to change your bedroom color, you have to go to the council to gain approval! Talk about micromanagement. Who has the time?
SHUT UP! You can’t be serious. Shoot me now.
Ha ha! Do they require a reason why you want a particular color in your bedroom, or just check it against the acceptable list?
Nope, not shutting up. And no idea why they’d want to approve room color, except to keep their little Stepford Houses all matchy-matchy.
I’m tellin’ ya… those HOA’s are sent by the devil. They’re right up there with Sun Chip bags.
I can’t imagine myself ever living in a house requiring a HOA it just seems strange to me to own a home and having people telling me a list of rules I can and can not do. A friend of ours is building house right now with a HOA the naieborhood is nice but I’m bracing myself to hear stories. Clothes line I use to hang my clothes when I did not have a washer and dryer. I recently heard that if you have allergy the allergons can stick to the clothes. In the Fall, hanging wet clothes can freeze. I don’t miss that at all. But like you Joy I like the nastalgic look of a clothes line. I also like pictures of clothes lines with all the colors. Thats my 2 cents for what it’s worth.
I can’t seem to spell this morning I just woke up and I’m drinking my first cup of coffee. Nice having coffee with You. :+)
We live in an association, but we’re not required to pay the HOA fees. If we don’t, we simply can’t use the private beach, or boat docks. But even if we don’t pay, we have to follow their rules. And one rule is that, you can’t hang laundry out. Here, I don’t get it. It’s not a uniform looking neighborhood. Every house is very different, and we have woods all around us. Some houses you can’t even see. Some are even as close to calling them shacks. It used to be “cabin living” before people started building nice homes back here. Those small dingy cabins are still standing, so if they’re going after appearances, they’re already failing. But then again, that’s why I love living here, the “cabin like” living. I’d love a clothing line, but I would make sure it was a temporary one, that folds down.
I don’t get the reasoning behind it. It’s so much better than wasting the energy to dry in a dryer. And they smell so much better, and the clothes last longer too!
Fascinating!! I can’t believe people waste their time banning others from hanging up their laundry!! Its so much better for the environment and can also help save money. I live in an apartment and do not have a yard for a clothes hanger. I do have a rack that I often use and put outside on the balcony. No complaints yet….
(Sorry that I have been MIA these past few months… life got crazy and I just couldn’t keep up with the internet! I’m going to try to keep up this time! Hope you all are well)
I’ve missed you Lucy and wondered where you were. Welcome back.
Thanks Joy!! I’m happy to be back 🙂
We need to put up a clothes line next year.I hang alot of my clothes in the house on a rack right now.I can tell you I will NEVER live in a house with a HOA.All those restrictions on a home I own sounds crazy!Though I do find it odd how one of my neighbours hangs ALL her grannie panties on a rack right in the front of her apartment,she lives on the street side,VERY near the street.Ya always know its undie washing day for her.I have to laugh.
I have a clothesline, but I don’t use it an often as I should. I’m also glad I don’t live in a neighborhood that governs everything I do, just nosy neighbors 😉 It’s none of their business!
I should have wrote it: “I’m also glad I don’t live in a neighborhood that governs everything I do, it’s none of their business! I just have the nosy neighbors 😉 LOL! ” I hope you didn’t take it as mean b/c I was kidding about the nosy neighbors!
Who could your nosy neighbors be?????
Well, don’t get me started!
Sue, thats not nice you know we can only see your house once the leaves fall off the trees.
Us too Jason. It’s starting to clear up some now. The leaves are getting thinner and thinner. I can see the back trail today.