Thursday, May 15, 2008

BLOWIN' IN THE WIND

Last week for the first time since late last summer I took the time to hang my wet laundry on the clothes line. This was a good idea in light of the fact that there was an uncharacteristically strong and cold wind for this time of year. The items where dry within an hour, almost faster than the archaic dryer that I normally use.

Yes OK, I am blogging about laundry, not the most engaging topic I realize, though I have to admit that it was extremely gratifying not only to watch my laundry flap exuberantly above my head but also to slow down and take the time to do the "low-fi" version of something. I think that in the near future there will be more of this for many of us, at least I certainly hope so.

My clothesline is really high up and goes from the top balcony all the way across the yard to a very tall tree, and therefore my family's personal items can be seen for blocks away. In many ways it was as if the assortment of laundry were the flags and symbols of our little family clan; brightly coloured beach towels, bedsheets with dragons on them, and shirts of varying sizes, all of them with a story behind them, flapping strongly in the wind and adding a very humanizing element to the neighbourhood.

Its a simple thing really, but something I take pleasure in nonetheless.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ontario is actually passing a law that will supersede any clothesline bans currently in place thru municipal bylaws or contracts with home builders, guaranteeing Ontarians the right to let their clothes blow in the wind, no matter how ugly their neighbours think it looks.

Dr. Zaius said...

Ack! You don't have a dryer? Eek! On the other hand, you must have lost of socks that don't get eaten by the dryer monster.

Dean Wormer said...

When I lived in an apartment I used to use clothes lines. My neighbors hated me.

dguzman said...

Our dryer drowned in a basement flooding, and we've been drying our clothes all around the living room -- too much rain to hang them outside! But it's going to be dry this weekend, so I'm definitely going to be flying all our freak flags for the world (or at least our one neighbor...) to see!

Westcoast Walker said...

Thanks for the comments all! I think the clothesline revolution has begun, and yes it will be televised.