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?

She’s weird and unreasonable. Drying you washing out is a totally normal and environmentally friendly thing to do. It’s one of the many advantages of having an outdoor space.

This is genius!! Genuinely laughed out loud!

I must admit having a view of neighbours having clothes on a washing line isn't nice.

Why?

Jesus what a snob.

Newsflash, people hanging their washing out in their own garden. Shocking!

No one makes you stare at it crazy person.

Thoughts and prayers.

So you think a neighbour's washing on a line is a panoramic view?

No, but it's one of the most normal things in life.

And we don't have many normal things left nowadays......

SOWL

Save Our Washing Lines!!!

This thread has reminded me of the time my neighbour Dot, (several house moves ago) came round to complain that a bird had pooped on her washing. She expected me to pay her to cover the cost of putting it through the washing machine again.
Reader, I expect you are wondering how on earth a bird crapping on her washing, in her own garden was my fault?
Well, according to Dot Rotten, the bird accessed my air space to fly across her garden, therefore it must’ve been startled by something in my garden to make it crap on her laundry. 🙄
I did not pay for her laundry to be rewashed. Luckily I moved not long after that

Well it isnt....

Offensive
Annoying
Stinking of fag smoke or weed
Noisy
Intrusive
Selfish
Ugly

A quick Google suggests as antonyms of "nice" - Horrible, unpleasant, disagreeable. Not words that spring to my mind when seeing a full washing line. In fact I cant think of a single thing that springs to mind on seeing a full washing line in my neighbours garden, apart from perhaps "Looks like rain, hope they get it in in time."

Good name really.....she was clearly Dotty!

I love seeing washing outside on a sunny day. I find it very cosy. Although I never put underwear on the line. My grandmother used to say it was bad manners to have your knickers flapping in the wind and that’s kind of stuck with me.

Maybe the compromise here is to keep putting your washing out, but hang your undies on a rack indoors?

She wants to think herself lucky, we had a family live on the corner of our road who were scruffy, their washing was more dirty when it came out the wash than when it went in. There was only a 4 foot wall between their garden & the road, one morning as I went for the bus to school the husband ran out in his underpants to grab his trousers off the line to go to work, there had been a heavy frost & his trousers were frozen stiff, he still stood in the yard to put them on before legging it to work.

As the daughter of a self confessed washing line user who pegs it out even on cold days, I didn’t know that some people clutch their pearls over it. I’ve got washing out on the line right now, including underwear.
I have a train line at the bottom of my garden too, they could be offended by my frilly knickers and non wired bras. I sometimes also peg washing out at night so it will get darked on and be dry by the time I go out with the next load first thing after the school run.
There are personalised items you could buy from Firefox and I’m sure we could have a Mumsnet whip round for something appropriate on a custom apron or T shirt.

She can hang her underwear out in her own garden to dry, she doesn't need to compromise on using her own washing line. It's just extra hassle for her to do this and there's absolutely no need.

It's fine, yes. I barely even look at it and couldn't give a shit.

I don't care what anyone thinks of my washing being hung out to dry either. It's out at the moment and has been most days and nights of this week. If anyone doesn't like it that's their problem, not mine. They don't need to look at it and I won't change what I do.

A line full of whites is quite glorious.

Scorched grass and trees suffering from a lack of water look a bit dreadful, though.

Maybe start critiquing her garden? Like, the species of trees she has isn't to your taste and you don't want to look at that colour of flowers out of your upstairs windows. Mention it every time you see her: You still need to get rid of those pink roses, Beryl! And fix that scruffy greenhouse!

Got to say, I'm fascinated by the layout of these houses and gardens. I mean, a terraced house is rarely more than 20ft wide, so a three-acre garden would have to be over a mile long. If it's a typo for 0.3 acres the garden would still have to be over 600ft. Go on, let us see! Or at least a parking-wars style diagram...

It's very common though.

I’d be inclined to put an entire line of really cheap thongs, stockings and suspenders on the line - maybe even leave a whip and a large jar of Vaseline next to your brassicas !

I would buy a few fancy thongs and bras and hang those.
Tell her to look at her garden from a lower window.

It's weird. I'm in a terraced house and have a family with your children on each side of me. Neither of them hang washing out in the garden. It must cost them a fortune!

They've never complained about seeing my pants on the line

Another vote for she is barmy.

I'd get the cheapest tackiest tartiest undies from Primark and put them all out every day. Adding to the collection for every time she complains.

But maybe they have a Sheila Maid or similar indoors? I almost never hang stuff out except in high summer, because I have a SM in the utility room, and everything dries quickly on it. I do own a tumble drier, but I doubt it’s been used in a year, and then it was probably an emergency needing a particular thing to put on having forgotten it had just come out of the wash.