This is a new one - National Hanging Out Day - just in time for Earth Day. Instead of running even your energy efficient drier, the folks at Project Laundry List are encouraging people to hang their laundry out to dry on Saturday as a statement to slow global warming. The solar powered drier, aka the clothes line, has been in use for centuries, and still seems to work.
Here are some statistics from their website:
In this country, six to ten percent of residential energy use goes toward running clothes dryers. The average American uses more energy running a clothes dryer than the average African uses in a year for all her energy needs.
And if you can believe it, there are some communities that have rules against having clothes lines for aesthetic reasons. The Project Laundry List people are introducing "Right to Dry" legislation to help these people so that we can all enjoy that "outdoor fresh scent" straight from the backyard/fire escape/balcony/etc.
Hang it up!
