Clothes, that is. I am learning of a growing debate in this country over the right to hang out clothes to dry. I have never given this much thought, having lived (outside of college) in either semi--rural areas or small towns all my life. As a consequence, there has never been anyone to tell me what I could or could not do in my back yard. Such is apparently not the case throughout most of urban America. Clothesline proponents, as well as backyard chicken enthusiasts, are taking cities to court to reverse such prohibitions. I find it refreshing to hear of these sporadic outbreaks of common sense.
I believe that some blocks of flats in South African cities have similar regulations agains hanging up the washing to dry. Perhaps one way of combating the energy shortage would be for laws to be past to make such regulations ultra vires.
Yes, we have an electric clothes drying, which we use in emergencies on rainy days. My son is a mechanic and his overalls have to be washed every day, and three or four rainy days in a row can mean that he has nothing dry to wear. But regulations that force people to use such expensive and high-consumption machines even on sunny days really are too much.
See also Notes from underground: Fighting for the right to dry clothes
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