Green Newton

We occasionally publish “classic” articles that we feel are still relevant to readers. This article is from the Jul/Aug 2013 issue of the Green News

You probably know neighbors who bicycle to work, recycle, never buy bottled water, and install state of the art energy efficient heating systems and lighting systems. Many of you would admire those efforts, but what would you think of a neighbor who hangs out a laundry line?

The Light Breaks Through by Marian Dioguardi

Would you think it was blight or beautiful–would you say to yourself, “How Green!” or “White Trash”? Unfortunately line-drying is a controversial issue, but the laundry line remains a simple and elegant design for reducing power consumption in the home. While there are Energy Star washing machines there are no Energy Star dryers!

This is New England and we will never be able to dry the laundry every day on a laundry line or rack. It’s the real world and that pair of pants or sports uniform has to be dried in ten minutes. Reducing our dependency on the dryer doesn’t have to be an all or nothing choice. You can make a difference by installing a laundry line or by buying a laundry rack and using it once a month, once a week or for small loads. Every little bit will make a difference. More Americans return to line drying every year and it does add up to savings.

If all Americans who currently do not use a laundry line began to use one for only five months a year, April thru August, we could prevent 12 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, annually. One can reduce the full life cycle of the climate change impact of those imported dyed cotton jeans simply by regularly washing them in cold water and line drying. To learn more about the positive impact that your small gesture of hanging laundry on a line can have in your life and on our environment please visit: www.projectlaundrylist.org

WAIT! Did I just hear you say that you do hang your laundry to dry? Well then why not sign up for the Project Laundry List newsletter and become part of the PLL community through FB and/ or Twitter. Hanging laundry is not about airing dirty laundry; it’s about letting the sunshine into your life.

by Marian Dioguardi