Hung Out to Dry

I've written about the joys of my clothesline before... how green it is, how it saves me tons of money (seriously at least $20/mo.), yadda, yadda. I didn't, however, really know how to work it... I mean, it's a clothesline right? Pin the clothes to the line and let the wind do the work. How hard is that? Except the underwear question. No one wants their underwear hanging out for everyone to spy. So, what does one do with the unmentionables?

I know what you are thinking, lord-luv-a-duck, could you not figure it out on your own? And I couldn't. It wasn't until I attended an OSPI conference session led by an Australian using the book The Terrible Underpants (which is hysterical, by the way). An amusing story, the speaker went on to described how in Australia, where everyone uses a clothesline, the underwear are hung in the center of the Outdoor Clothes Dryer while the sheets or large towels are hung on the outer line so that all undergarments are hidden from street view. Not just for our edification, it was also important to understanding the story - and Americans' always missed that point because none of us understood the mechanics of hanging clothes properly.

Never even occurred to me before, but I was not the only one. And now you know. Hang your underwear in the center and surround by sheets.

*If you are a single-line hanger, you may want to think of doubling or tripling up. More space and more private.