A thing of the past

I use a combination of my tumble drier and clothes horse, but I do not possess a washing line.

We have a lovely green field in front of my house and lots of children play on it, including my two young GSs. However the children's parents are always about unless they are over about 10.

I still hang out my washing, so does DD. I like to see it drying in the sun or blowing in the breeze.
As for the open space I think it's as much about parents fear of letting them 'play out' as the fact they're all inside using their devices.

I hang out my washing whenever possible as like ninathenana I love to see it out blowing in the wind (we get a lot of that in Scotland).

I have a retractable washing line on my sunny patio - and leap to hang out my washing at every opportunity. Smalls go on a nifty miniature whirlygig thingy with a coathanger hook.

I hang mine out on two long clothes lines that run diagonally across the lawn. Smalls go on a thing that sounds similar to Grannyknot's. Love the fresh smell of washing that's been blowing in the breeze/wind (as Crow commented, we get a lot of that in Scotland)!

I don"t agree that it is a thing of the past, weather permitting I hang out my washing on the line as do my DD"S.

I will also hang out washing when I can and I see many homes here have washing lines with laundry blowing in the breeze and sunshine. I suppose if time is short, people will put it on a clothes horse or in the tumble dryer (which I do in the winter months) to speed things up.

I like to put my washing on the line on fine days, even in the winter. I put out my bed linen, there's nothing nicer than the smell of line dried sheets when you're ironing them. My 91yr. old Dad does the same, although he leaves the ironing to his daughters.

I also put my washing out when I can. It smells lovely when dried outside. Don't put it out often in the winter though.
One thing I have found is that tea towels, if they are died in the sun come in whiter. The sun seems to bleach them.

My whirly washing line is used regularly. Lots of neighbours here hang out their washing too. Can't beat it for freshness, and cheaper than using a tumble dryer.

I have a washing line. I only took the washing in at 7 p.m. today.
I had ten years of living without a line, and it's really good being able to hang out the washing. When my grandkids have been to stay, I hang the duvet out to air just in case they are the next ones to come again. It saves washing the bedding after just one visit.

I read that drying your clothes inside or in the drier makes a huge difference to hayfever - and it has to mine. This is the first summer that all my washing hasn't been on the line, but I am breathing far easier at night.
However my young neighbour next door has a proper old-fashioned washing line, unlike my two whirlygigs.

It amuses me that people don't hang their smalls on their outside washing lines. When you think about how public "lingerie" of all sorts is in shops it's quite funny that we are so ... prudish?

The weather here is only suitable for hanging washing outside for less than half the year. When it is suitable everything gets hung outside including all our smalls.

A query: those of you who don't hang your smalls outside, do you hang your husband's underpants outside, or your children's or grandchildren's?

We used to live next to a very religious and much older couple. One day, the wife came round and asked me not to put female 'smalls' out as her husband found it embarrassing. I don't know how true that was but I stopped doing so.

I had put my whirly-gig away as our garden is quite small and was drying all our washing on the 'Molly maid' in the utility room but, since DD3 and the children arrived, it is back out and I am also using the tumble dryer with a view to reducing ironing!

Bags I have a drying rack suspended from the ceiling of my utility room, next to the central heating boiler, so it's an excellent place for drying small items and airing larger ones.

I don't hang my 'smalls' outside, because they're, er, small, and I would only have to hang them up again to air when I brought them in. Double work. The same applies to any small items like socks and face-cloths.

Men's underpants to tend to be a bit larger, so they do sometimes get hung outside, depending on availability of space on the drying rack and/or the outside washing line.

So you see it is all to do with ergonomics and logic and nothing to do with prudery or delicacy

I always hang mine outside ( weather Permitting) I've just set it to a wash and dry cycle today while I'm off to play with my bow and arrows. Inside I presume as it's a trifle wet outside.

I love to hang washing outside on my rotary drier! Everything gets hung outside whenever possible. Hate damp linen draped on clothes horse! Will use tumble drier only when desperate, otherwise outside is best and much more economical.
P.s. I only iron when absolutely necessary, bedding .....no! Undies....no! Towels....no!

The thing about drying stuff on a rail in the utility room is that there is no urgency to get it down until the next lot comes out of the washer

I lost my short outside line when we had to have the garden wall rebuilt and a gale destroyed the rotary line. In any case, the cherry tree would prevent the sun from getting to the clothes! But I have an indoor drying rack. I used to hang everything outside when I could.

JaneA I'm puzzling over why smalls etc. need hanging up again to air when they have dried on the outside line? Mine get folded and put in the undies drawer when I bring them in from the line - snuff dry.

Kitty And it sometimes has unintended consequences.

The back door of our house leads into the utility room.

DD2 has a key to the back door and for some reason when she brought our future DSil home for the first time, instead of ringing the front door bell, they let themselves in via the utility room.

You can guess the rest

Gaga In our damp northern climes, unless it has been a really windy and dry day, and especially in winter, things still have a slightly cold, damp feel to them when I bring them in to the house.
I find if they are just put away without airing, they can acquire an unpleasant smell.
#domesticperfectionista

I hang my smalls on the inside lines of the whirly thingy, then hide them by hanging larger things, towels, sheets, etc, on the outside lines!
I often think how silly this is really, but I can't help it!

Thatbags

it is nothing to do with embarrassment. My airer is upstsirs in a spare room. I put the smalls on there, they dry in a day then put them away in the bedroom next door.

if I were to hang them out takes more time as they have to be pegged on the line versus throw over airer. Plus they have to be removed from line and taken upstairs.