Hanging Out Day

No silly, I’m not talking about playing hooky from school or work!  I’m referring to Project Laundry List’s efforts on April 19th to educate communities about energy consumption,  “Right to Dry” legislation, and most importantly, how to save money and energy by utilizing a clothesline.   

So what exactly happens on Hanging Out Day is that individuals hang their clothes on a clothesline, with messages on sheets or T-shirts so that everyone will see them, and discuss your statement.   Have you not seen one of these publically displayed clotheslines since Hanging Out Day started in 1995 at Middlebury College in Middlebury Vermont?  Some people hang their clotheslines at conferences or farmer’s markets.  This year, Project Laundry List has partnered with its Right 2 Dry campaign, and launched a petition to encourage America’s First Family to hang their laundry on the White House lawn for the day for a “symbolic photo-op to send the message that line-drying is patriotic, beautiful, and should be encourage whenever and wherever possible” the campaign says.     

So what will that do?  The hope is to raise awareness to the numerous homeowners' associations, landloards, and local governments which prohibit or restrict drying laundry outdoors.  The Project Laundry List states that in "California alone, about seven million people can't hang their clothes in public because of the policies of about 40,000 community associations". 

Some other statistics that may surprise you is that six to ten percent of residential energy use is for the running of clothes dryers.  It’s right behind your refrigerator and lighting for energy consumption.  That totals 65.9 billion kilowatt hours in US households - not including gas dryers!  I guess the bottom line is to consider drying your clothes -  indoors or out of doors.  The benefits include: 

                             Reducing carbon dioxide emissions
                             Clothing that smells better and lasts longer
                             No fossil fuels are used, and
                             Cutting energy costs painlessly

And if you're still "hung up" on the fact that there's rules against hanging your laundry out to dry, visit the Right2Dry campaign website and sign the online petition!

Mark the day on your calendar - HANGING OUT DAY - April 19, 2009