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

[WashingWoes]

I really don’t think I’m in the wrong here but keen for opinions which I will take onboard if I come off as unreasonable.
I live in an end-terrace house. Neighbour is attached to me. I peg my washing out to dry on good days. We are a family of four, lots of laundry and I much prefer to peg out than use the (expensive and environmentally unfriendly) drier. My neighbour HATES me for drying my laundry in my garden. Relentless comments about how she can’t enjoy looking at her garden from her bedroom window because she can see my (clean) laundry. About how it’s spoiling her enjoyment of her garden. Why can’t I just use the drier, for everyone’s benefit (not mine, see: bills; climate change…). It’s bad manners to dry ‘smalls’ outside - her husband might see my ‘undergarments’ … honestly it’s relentless. I recently received a birthday card from them (very kind, and appreciated) which said ‘Happy Birthday WashingWoes, we really love seeing your washing on the line, have a lovely birthday’. Please reassure me that I’m normal and neighbours are barmy?

It’s your garden, why is she looking into your garden anyway? F*ck her.

I find the opposite, that to care so little about the environment is viewed as somewhat ignorant and uneducated, and certainly not classy.

Spotting irony not a strong point of yours then?

I thought EVERYBODY hung out washing to dry if fortunate enough to have an outdoor space plus the right weather for it! Your neighbour is crackers!!

Tell her you TOTALLY understand her point of view and as a gesture of good will you will Be using your drier and only your drier from now on. You just need her bank details for your bill payments first x

So it's more that if she looks outside her window she can see your washing? Can she see the washing if she sat on her own garden? If so she needs to buy taller fences. Either way she's bayshit crazy.

Where I worked once, the neighbours hung banana peel on their line and I thought it was so weird! I googled it and apparently it’s for compost for their plants 🤷‍♀️ but yeah it definitely got us talking in the office so I think that’s a good plan lol 😂

You might want to read your response again, "no one can help you if you take umbrage" isn't that what you wrote?
Childish

Your neighbours are definitely barmy ...and short of something to think about. Next time tell her straight you are fed up of listening to this drivel and it's your garden you are hanging it in after all. End of.

Some people! Ignore her silly comments. How odd to complain about washing out to dry. Reminds me of Hyacinth Bucket .

Jeez.

You on glue?

This is what I wrote in its entirety:

"The language is English and permitted.
No one can help you if you choose to take umbrage with it."

Please explain where in that text I said that I offered you ANY help? I didnt.

🤦‍♂️

Seriously, quit while you are behind - everyone can see how you are coming across - and its not a good look for you.

Did anyone else read this think it was probably the neighbour's husband who wrote the birthday card to wind up his wife (the fussy neighbour)?

Is that right, you might be helpless.
Why would I be on 'glue'
You might do that sort of thing, but not me.

I also do not take orders from the classless, I will quit it, when I feel like it, toots

Bu some pvc and stockings and hang those out

She’s nuts. Fresh laundry buffeted by a summer breeze is a lovely sight. And so much better for the environment than using a tumble dryer.

I think it depends on whether there is always washing hanging out , and also on the vibe of the neighbourhood. Does anyone else hang out their washing?
Where I live, we are not allowed to hang washing out in the garden, and I think I would find it jarring to always have someone’s washing in my line of sight.

Ah, so when you're called out for your inability to comprehend sentences, you resort to alluding I am a druggie and call me classless.

Pot, meet kettle.

Keep digging, its entertaining! 😂

I think it might be a universal snobby thing. My mum and gran were terrible snobs, both Irish, as am I, and believed that hanging out laundry was for poor people. As was breastfeeding, buying anything on discount or on sale, or going into pubs. And a whole load of other batshit self made rules and prejudices.

I moved a few years ago into a particularly nice and expensive cul de sac (lucky me) and was a little nervous of who I'd be surrounding myself with. I remember my first day i saw my neighbours hanging laundry and I called DH and said 'they're hanging out laundry, they must be ok!', and they were thank God.

Your neighbour is so unreasonable I'd almost feel sorry for her.

How you’ve resisted pegging daft posters or messages on your line is beyond me! One of our neighbours got her knickers in a not about me line drying our laundry. Ended up writing notes on paper with a marker peg and hanging it up. Messages like ‘what are you having for tea?’ Or ‘do you own any pink pants too?’, ‘nude bra’s are the best to wear under white, don’t you agree’, you get the message… nipped it in the bud though!!

Time to buy a trampoline OP

Not only is it normal to dry out in hot weather, especially for a family, but it's also economical, environmentally responsible and they just smell nicer.

Unless, of course, they're accidentally left out too long and get 'darked on'.

Tell Mrs Bouquet to piss off, the weirdo.

Well I promise you, it's considered very very normal here and even more desirable than wasting energy on an unnecessary tumble dry. There are some people who don't like it being out in the front garden, possibly because it might get stolen, possibly because they think it's not nice to have underwear out in the completely publicly visible area and possibly because they are snobs who think it looks like you don't have enough space to do it anywhere else (the first two reasons sort of make sense, the last one can bog off). Some people even object to it being done on the balcony of a flat, although if you live in a flat it's really no secret that any garden will be shared so you might not have any other option, especially if you don't have space for a dryer.

But these are exceptions and they're very much contested anyway. Most people don't care. And if you have your own back garden, I've never known anyone to have any objection to drying your clean washing outside and I've never known anyone to make a point of not doing it. It really is totally acceptable here.

There is a woman in our village with a really cure little cottage with a little fence out front - that she hangs her smalls on 😬

Brings down the tone a tad, that 😂

I can't believe anyone could see that as a problem. Bizzare! What a complete non-issue. I find it so satisfying if me and the neighbour on either side all have a wash out at the same time. A few days ago all 3 of us had towels out at the same time and it was so satisfying every time I looked out the window 😅

@WashingWoes I got rid of my tumble dryer as it was too expensive to run and so bad for the environment. Line drying always or if it's very wet then in the bathroom with dehumidifier running.

You should have some fun with this. Start a collection of very naughty knickers then put them all out on the line!