Washing woes - it’s a neighbour one…

[Flatwhitewhiner]

I live in a ground floor apartment in a block that’s popular with holiday makers and second home-owners. It’s my first property (exchanged only a year ago) and it has a little garden and patio area - both of which are part of my boundary lines according to my lease. This is important!

Recently I had a run-in with my neighbour who is directly upstairs from my flat. She uses her properly maybe for half of the week, if that, incase this is useful info. It’s not the first time she has leaned over her balcony to impart wisdom to me but her complaints are as follows:

1. She doesn’t like the fact that I hang my laundry outside on my patio area to dry because it spoils her view from her balcony (and others). She believed that I was breaking the terms of the lease and threatened to tell the management company. I have received a series of round robin emails from said company that inform people not to use their balconies for hanging washing etc. Now I believe I know the source! My flat is directly below hers so I don’t quite understand what view it is that I’m blocking, only that she doesn’t like looking at wet clothes…

2. She commented that I would need to be careful if I wanted to do anything in my garden because ‘some of the residents like to look out over grass’. Last time I checked, though, it’s definitely my bloody garden. In the same conversation she informed me that I ‘wasn’t a natural gardener’.

Needless to say I put her in her box about the terms of my lease and did tell her that I was wise to her mean comments and emails. I told her that I wasn’t prepared to be bullied. Since then no emails but I have been on holiday!

Anyway, it’s a warm day and I’d like to hang out all my holiday attire in the fresh air but I feel totally sheepish doing so. I’m also angry that I’ve been picked up in for something so petty as it would never occur to me to be remotely bothered by someone else’s bedsheets hanging in the breeze! I’m also annoyed that she’s literally and figuratively looking down at my space that I’ve paid for.

What should I do, ignore her? Continue my washing war? Get the landscape gardener in? Or kill her with kindness?

Wisdom welcome!

OP, I'm organising a MN whipround, & ordering you one of these:

I’d rather see washing outside than have a block of damp flats. How weird. If it’s within the terms of your lease then do it and if she complains just say “I’ve checked the lease and hanging washing out in my own garden is perfectly acceptable so please stop harassing me on the subject. Many thanks @Flatwhitewhiner

Then stop responding from then on.

Hope she has her next holiday in Venice or Barcelona. Thought being shocked at washing outside was more a Us thing (heard two women on a train once Pearl clutching about people in Uk hanging out underwear and one said “I KNOW! I don’t even hang my PYJAMAS out!”

@SweatyBetty20

I’m not in the same boat as I have no restrictions but a neighbour told me not to hang out my knickers as “her husband can see them”.

I told her where to go and save them all up to wash before festooning the whirligig.

The neighbour of a friend's mother complained years ago because there were black and red undies on the line and it was not right in such a nice area!

That's hilarious @JudgeJ!

I hope your pal's mother asked for a list of permissable colours, to be submitted in writing at least 3 days prior to the next Washing Line Inspection Squad visit.

I going to suggest one of those gnomes - I have one and his arse is a solar light and so glows at night! You definitely need one. Hell, no, you need about 20!!

@HermioneKipper

We had a lovely block and it really spoiled the pleasant view if anyone put out all their knickers/bras etc out for all to see.

But generally everyone always stuck to what was in the leases. Fairly standard I think.

But if you don’t want to get along with your neighbours or prepared to risk emails telling you off from the management company then 🤷‍♀️

You've not understood the OP's posts have you? She's allowed to hang out washing, she's just got a weirdy neighbour that doesn't like it. Nothing to do with the management company.

You need one of these

www.thefairygarden.co.uk/product/bathing-gnome-gnome-washing-line-fairy-garden-accessory/

@Flatwhitewhiner As long as you’re confident it’s within the terms of your lease, it’s no-one else’s business.
That’s all.

Enjoy your home x

How can she see what's on your patio area if it's presumably directly below her balcony?

I've seen a few threads in here about washing on a line and some of the reasons people gave for not liking to see it include it looking chavvy, lowering the tone, being common, making the place look like a council estate.

One of those "things you secretly judge people for" included people admitting they judge people who leave pegs on the line to be "chavs"

The actual council estate I grew up on, the gardens all backed into each other and a few if the women asked the other women not to hang out their own or teenage girls underwear because their husbands could see it. Some of the women started hanging out Ann Summers lingerie and they got accused of being trying to steal their husbands. Imagine being married to a man who can't control himself at the sight of a teenage girls or woman's knickers on a line. Vom.

I think anyone who objects to seeing washing, when it’s placed out completely legitimately, needs to go live somewhere else.

My late MIL was horrified when I pegged out her underwear on the outside lines on her outside dryer as the neighbours (2 elderly ladies who were unlikely to get the vapours) would see her underwear enormous knickers
However, as hanging washing is not forbidden in your lease OP I would be sorely tempted to use my washing to spell out my disregard as shown here:
images.app.goo.gl/EMTj3cMsezf7gerZ6

I’d go all out garden decorating with those tacky pink flamingos and tyre swans.

Clean washing is literally one of my most favourite smells! So I’d say carry on

Funnily enough. My neighbour moved in. The next hour after the got the keys. The neighbour next to them introduced themselves and said. Couldn’t cut down your tree. It interferes with our view. The tree was in the new neighbours garden!!

I told them not to fold. However. They did in the end. The neighbour can be one mean bitch if she wants too.

So I say. As long as your sure it’s not in the lease. Carry on!

@CallmeHendricks my garden extends (out front), so beyond her patio area.

@BewareTheBeardedDragon

You do need to follow your lease re. Washing however I would personally be inclined to challenge any clause that prevented outside drying from an environmental viewpoint. Dunno if it would succeed but putting peoples desire not to look at washing over saving energy by using free sunshine to dry is utter madness imo.

Agree.

So, you can't hang washing on the balcony but can you hang it on a line or rotary airer in your garden? Crack on! Nothing nicer than the smell of freshly air dried linen and better for the environment than tumble dryers. In all my years of hanging washing out I think I've had birds poop on it twice. No biggie.

Well op, the management company have confirmed that you can hang out washing in your own garden, so crack on.

My mum upset my nana by hanging out her huge bloomers on the washing line. Nana used to carefully take the elastic out before washing them, then thread it back in using a safety pin when dry. This is relevant because once they had no elastic in you wouldn't have known that they weren't pillow cases. They were the same shape and size.

Maybe plant some bulbs to spell out 'Feck off' when they sprout?

@Mumsnut

Maybe plant some bulbs to spell out 'Feck off' when they sprout?

Love this idea!

Ignore her. But keep a note of each time she moans at you in case it escalates and you want to report her!

Zombie gnomes! You need an army of them approaching up the garden. I think you can even get them with glow in the dark eyes.

Here's part of my lease if anyone wants a laugh

@SweatyBetty20

I’m not in the same boat as I have no restrictions but a neighbour told me not to hang out my knickers as “her husband can see them”.

I told her where to go and save them all up to wash before festooning the whirligig.

I want to be your best friend!

i love the gnome ideas!!! i would get one holding a sign saying"private property...fuck off?"

your garden do what you want!