When we moved into the house the obligatory rotary washing line was there. It was not behind the patio (we had a concrete coal storage box by the kitchen door instead). It was at the end of the garden, with and ugly dead straight concrete path leading to it. It was of course in full view of the patio. We removed it the first summer after we moved in.
What prompted all this? Well our dryer broke down, and a solution for the washing was required.
I then fondly remember my grandparents washing day. They did not have a washing machine or a drier, so every other week, on Monday, a woman would come to the house and do the washing in a large vat in an outhouse, while my grandfather hang the washing lines among the trees in the garden. I can't remember what happened on rainy days but I do remember white sheets fluttering in the wind (in those days all sheets were white), and me playing among them.
So I found some unused plastic rope from our house move and improvised some washing lines in the back garden.
Quite a few people have tried to convince me of the virtue of natural drying but I am not sure... The weather was nice, and everything dried quickly, but what will happen when the rain returns? Not to mention the clothes were rather stiff and fluff and cat hair remained firmly attached.
I can't really see the washing line as a permanent feature in the garden. The new drier arrives tomorrow.. not a moment too soon.
