I dry my laundry in my garden and my neighbour is really unhappy about it

I was on a train in UK and 2 American gentlemen (on a golfing tour of Scotland) got and sat next to us. It was a glorious, sunny, breezy day - a perfect drying day (rare in these parts).

The men couldn't believe it as we passed through towns and villages and there were sheets and t-shirtsand all-sorts hanging on the line and dancing in the sunlight. My train companion and I were waxing lyrical about the fresh smell of laundry dried outside... One man turned to the other and said: Can you imagine if I said to Darlene "Hey honey, can you hang the washing outside, I love the fresh smell" at which his pal guffawed. My friend gave him a steely look and said: "You'd ask HER to do it? Just get outside and do it yourself - my husband does."

What with the drying washing outside, and the husband doing such a domestic task - those two Americans were completely confused

Your neighbour would hate me then! Family of 5 adults here so we always have washing to dry! Today has been glorious (& my day off as a shift/weekend worker) so several loads done! Love hot weather for getting the laundry done! And no tumble dryer can beat laundry! Your neighbour is certifiably crazy 🤣 Agree with pp saying get some racey undies to hang out !

Very unreasonable! I hope you peg the pants and knickers on the outside!

Probably not wise but I would tell her her husband prefers to see me in my undies

Nothing better than getting into a freshly made bed with bedding straight off the line, smelling of sunshine. Bliss!

I'm a bit confused about how it looks cheap? Is it because you must be loaded if you can dry it all inside in the dryer?

I'm loving the weather for drying my washing and I'm a total tumble dryer convert but since moving to the cheap electricity it's cheaper to run the dryer overnight which does mean I'm limited to washing. In this weather I can get it going first thing, hang it out, put another load on, bring in the first and potentially even squeeze in a 3rd and put it in the dryer.

I can't see my neighbours washing unless I look out of the bedroom windows which I do frequently but I don't pay attention to what they have on their line, I just see it's there. I don't hide my underwear but I can't imagine it holds much interest.

Sensible reasons not to dry laundry outside is rain or allergies!

Your neighbour is absolutely unreasonable!

Also unreasonable are various housing associations, rules/regulations that do not allow drying cloths outside on balconies, out of windows .... for aesthetic reasons! There are also no communal laundry rooms in buildings, eg. attic for drying laundry. During my granny's lifetime this was normal. Now all these spaces have been converted to more apartments. So people are forced into using dryers, or just air dry laundry inside, and then everyone is surprised by the mould in the flats!

What is so offending about clean laundry? Smelly, soiled, stinky, I can understand. But clean laundry😜?

My dear gran used to get huge grief from a neighbour for hanging her knickers on the washing line on Sundays. Was "against God" somehow.

Well I don't have a drier so I'd love to know your neighbour's solution as to how I get my washing dried....

Ps. I agree with the majority... she's NUTS.

How on EARTH does it look "cheap"

Explain, in detail please.

And as for a clothes horse in front of a naice house bringing down house prices of a whole street....that is hilarious. Daily Mail did a number on you didnt they?!

ETA some of us dont care if it "brings down the house prices!!" because we bought our houses to be homes, not investments.

Hanging your washing on the line for a hour or two isn’t knocking anyone’s house prices down.

it does look shit, and very cheap. Like it or not, but the appearance of the neighbourhood does impact the price of your house as well.

I have a communal garden and hang my washing outside to dry. So do half the flats. What an odd thing to complain about.

This is my favourite post!

Yes, I sometimes wonder whether people who complain about clothes drying on the front have ever seen a south facing front garden.

Whats "not nice" or even "naice" about it?

Affects literally no one!

The sun hits the front of my house in the afternoon so if I had a front garden I would quite happily pop a clothes horse out there.

Laundry at the front: big no

Back garden? That's what it's for. I really don't like seeing laundry outside, I think it looks shit, but I currently have 4 or 5 loads drying, I lost count 😂

My laundry is outside every day it's not raining. I don't like dryers, they're unsuitable for most items anyway, they take forever. Where else than the garden am I supposed to put laundry? My living room? 😂

Neighbour's bonkers.

I would buy some super cheap towels/charity shop rag bag and hang them out every day even when it's raining. Leave them out 24/7 for the spiders to enjoy.

If she mentions it again, ask if she's worried about her husband perving at your knickers....

I've got a prop, but it's metal. I think I got it from Kleeneze.

She’s nuts! I would however say there’s a woman around the corner from me that has all her washing on an airer outside her front door! She has a rear garden so that’s not nice in my opinion.

If they line dry on a still day, they go hard; but if there's a breeze to keep them moving they soften up.

why is she even looking? you’re definitely not being unreasonable

They've been neighbours for 10 years - I doubt Hyacinth next door is suddenly going to start sabotaging OP's washing.

Committed line dryer, though draw the line 🤦‍♀️ at my 38J M&S soft cup. I’m only giving my ten pennith to see if we can get this thread to a 1,000.