Hanging my knickers on the line

I wish there was some way to prevent apartment buildings from having rules preventing people hanging out washing (and often, from drying it inside too, I mean WTF?)

I think washing hanging out makes buildings look cheerful and lived in, I love to see it when travelling in Italy or Spain. (In Barcelona, the washing machine itself is often on the balcony)

Maybe they've noticed you staring so now don't put their knickers out.

Or.

They don't wear any.

My knickers were on the line today!!

I hang mine on the socktopus which is on a hook outside the back door. The neighbours can still see it but I don't care.

Why are you stalking their washing?

I put everything out, though underwear is usually on the inner rungs (by dint of its size, not my shame).

I like to see everyone's washing out, just like I like to see messy-working gardens. I've lived in areas where everything had to be pristine, and it feels kinda soulless.

I put mine on a clothes horse so it can be outside but tucked out of view. Everything else goes on the line which is in full view of a few of our neighbours. My neighbour does put her underwear on the line and whilst I wouldn't, I don't think anything of her for doing so.

I tend to hang mine on a soctopus on the rotary line or on the inner lines as they fit better and better use of space. I hang all pants, socks, period underwear and reusable pads and when DD was small reusable nappies and washable breast pads.

When we first moved the back neighbours (pensioners in their late 70s) were scandalised by me hanging my smalls out. Apparently it offended her husbands eyes 🙄😂. I just carried on hanging them out and then they were joined by period pants and pads, breast pads and nappies -his eyes are yet to fall out and he hasn't had a heart attack yet so it can't be that bad. They also berated the next door neighbour for hanging out her smalls. We laughed about it over the fence and carried on. According to DHs posh granny (whose pushing 90 and could rival hyacinth bucket for snobbish behavior) you should never ever hang your smalls (or tights) out, instead they should air inside. So it seems it was an old fashioned thing.

Over 30 years ago my now ex-MIL came to stay. She washed some knickers by hand & hung them on the line. I remember saying to a friend that a) I’d take a week’s worth of pants on holiday & b) if my pants were as big as hers I wouldn’t be hanging them out for display.
I now wear knickers that big & they do go on the line, albeit a rotary one so they’re not strung the length of the garden. I do hide some of them in the middle because I wear them to death & the elastic has parted from the main part so it looks like I need handles on my pants.

DP does all the laundry. We don’t have a tumble dryer and he puts the airer outside in dry weather so I assume my knickers and his pants make a regular appearance. I’ve never even thought about it. Who cares?

No idea about the neighbours; I haven’t really paid any attention. The only things that have ever caught my eye on either side’s washing lines were football shirts or football-branded beach towels (which caught my eye because I’m nosy about what teams people support). And also the time when the left-hand side neighbours came back from a holiday and hung their four kids’ sunsuits out, which I noticed because for some reason they left them hanging out for several months. They built a rear extension in less time than it took them to bring them in. They were literally ducking under the hanging sunsuits to get tools from the shed while they were doing the work.

But yeah, no idea about their pants… if they ever leave some on the line for six months, I’ll let you know.

Underwear tends to go outside on an airer, but just to leave more space on the line for bigger/thicker things that dry better with a breeze

I don’t hang anything out (use an airer in the house) but I wouldn’t be offended by anyone’s pants.
My parents had a birthday party for my grandad in their garden and we only realised after the photos were developed (circa 1980) that next door’s black and red matching set of lacy underwear were in almost every shot! Still makes us giggle.

In our garden, washing line space is too valuable real estate to use for small items. Therefore socks go on one of those octopuses, and undies, shorts, leotards etc go on a clothes horse. If we’re really pushed for space, shirts and dresses have to come inside to dry on coathangers hanging from the doorframes.

But if we had one of those whirly things that give a lot of drying line space, underwear would also go on the line.

When I was a teenager there was a spate of women’s undies being stolen from washing lines. I don’t think the knicker knocker was ever caught.

I hang mine out unless they’ve got holes in them.

I prefer the socktopus because it's quicker to get them on the line and back in again, but I don't care if anyone sees my underwear, we all wear the stuff.

All ours goes out, adult DDs put theirs out too. Don't understand the issue.

I always hang mine out on my IKEA octopus.

@Candleabra my friend lives in an apartment block in the south of England and was informed that it's against the rules to dry washing on her veranda. She was told by a very snooty person that no laundry was permitted outside🙄

I just wonder why you are spending so much time studying the makeup of your neigbour's washing lines...

...when if one holds a glass to the ajoining bedroom wall you can listen to all manner of things.

I hang mine out though do tend to either use the sockopus or hang them on the inside bit of my rotary drier- but that's just because they fit well there and it leaves the outside for stuff that takes longer to dry.

I put mine on a clothes horse on the ground , but not because I'm embarrassed of having it on the line, just because I put all the small stuff together

I don’t think there’s anything shameful about it, but I wouldn’t want neighbours knowing what type of underwear I wear, and some of my ‘monthly’ pants are a bit worse for wear!
Husband’s/son’s pants all go on the line though.

Everything goes on ours as space and weather allows, including period undies.

Funnily enough I was just thinking about this this morning as I was hanging up mine and DHs smalls, prior to the in laws coming round for a bbq. The knickers still went on the line though!