Do you think clotheslines are an eyesore or a good green initiative?

I've been married (and doing laundry) over 50 years and have never owned a drier and have no intention of having one. To legislate waste as some subdivisions do by forbidding clotheslines is rediculous! But now I know why I get so sick of some of my clothes--not using a drier makes them last way too long!

Id like to know more about those "drying yards". I can imagine they were screened off from public view by some wonderful flowering bushes and tall flowers, not unlike a secret garden. Now this sounds better than an electric dryer!

While I lived at home, Mom always hung out the laundry; after I moved out, she wimped out and started using the dryer all the time! I have used a clothesline since I moved into my own house; I even hang out clothes in the dead of winter - only rain (or snow) stops me. My homeowners association says we aren't supposed to have clotheslines, but mine is out of sight in the back yard. You'd have to trespass to see it - I dare 'em to make me take it down!

I was really angry after reading this article. I grew up in a "clothesline family" and continue to use one today. I resent the implication that clotheslines imply poverty or low-class people. I have four degrees, including a doctorate and am in no way ashamed to put my clothing outside. As a result my clothes smell fresher, look newer, AND I save electricity. By the way, for those who don't want to see the"intimate clothing" of others, what about having to look at it on human bodies when they're dressed indecently and walking around those same elite communities that call clotheslines "eyesores?" I can think of millions of worse things than freshly laundered clothing hanging outside to dry on clotheslines. Is this the U.S. or some kind of elite dictatorship?

To say that the savings are small when drying outside is ridiculous. If the majority used fresh air the overall energy saving would be tremendous. No one is advocating laundry lines for all but a discreet rotary dryer or rack is a great way to contribute to saving the planet. In our Florida community as long as it could not be seen from the front of the property a "solar" dryer was fine. It is more work but well worth the effort.

The poll question was phrased poorly: undergarments have nothing to do with this issue!

I would have to carry wet laundry downstairs and around two cars to hang pounds of laundry, possibly dropping the occasional item during hanging, added labor which is avoided by flipping the clothes from washer to dryer, a distance of 6 inches. And after hanging, the wet laundry would block the wonderful 11' x 18' seascape mural I've painted on my garage wall.

Further, in the winter there is nothing better than cuddling under a freshly washed and dried warm fluffy blankie with my honey. You can NEVER get fluffy from a clothesline nor warmed garments in winter (mmmm - warm socks and underwear.)

I live one block from a major street with semi travel all day and all night to the many grocery and retail stores around here. My dryer is MUCH fresher than the Los Angeles air.

Nobody with any air-borne allergies can hang clothing or household items outside.

I am over 70 and have used clotheslines all my life. There's no room in my backyard for one so I have three retractable lines in the side yard attached to trees and the corner of my house. When my clothes are dry, I take them down, retract the lines and everything is out of sight. I do not hang clothes out on Sunday or holidays. If the clothes aren't completely dry, I can throw them in the drier a few minutes and they come out soft. If the weather doesn't permit outside drying, I use inside clothes racks that I often place over the floor heat vents. Not only do my clothes smell better and last longer but I have saved lots of money over the years by using my clotheslines. If my undies offend someone, they can look the other way. Droopy pants, skin tight clothes, short skirts and the language some people use today offend me much more than clean clothes on the line. My older subdivision does not restrict the use of clotheslines but if they did, I'd probably put the retractable lines in my garage and hang the clothes in there. I find it hard to believe that some people are against hanging clothes outside but support the new, dangerous light bulbs and some of the other ridiculous ideas that have come out in recent years as ways to save energy.