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?

My washing is out on the line today - it's so warm out there it'll dry in no time and smell nice. I don't have a drier but if I did I wouldn't be using it on a day like today.

She's a snobby busybody. It's not for her to say what you can do in your garden, especially normal stuff like hanging out washing and as for the local hierarchy - who the hell does she think she is? Either put her straight once and for all with some firm ripost or have some fun winding her up as per PP suggestions.

I'd suggest absolutely enormous libido killing bloomers instead but the sentiment is right.

She sounds hilarious. Do you think she would tell the other neighbours if you told her to fuck off? And would they be quietly impressed?

Is she American? Apparently it's not the done thing in the US.

YANBU. Everyone in the world has laundry to dry. I’d be hanging out the tiniest lingerie I could find for her husband to enjoy be embarrassed about. The birthday card was passive aggressive and the woman is nuts. Ignore or tell her firmly that it is not anti social to dry your laundry outside and therefore it is none of her business what you do in your garden.

Can you hang it like this?

If it wasn't for her having said "the terrace" rather than "the avenue", I'd ask if your neighbour is Margo Leadbetter. As it is, I think she's more Hyacinth Bucket.

Tell her to bugger off with her parochial little views. Bet the other neighbours can't stand her either.

Unless she’s paying your electric bill she can flip right off 😂 Even as an aside it is lovely being able to hang washing outside. Carry on drying your washing outside (as people have been doing since, erm, forever) and ignore the neighbour, and if she mentions it maybe be a little more clear and just say it is my garden and I am able to decide what I do with it, I will be drying my washing outside so please don’t mention it again. Some people clearly just have nothing better to do! 🙄🤨

She is being completely unreasonable. I love seeing washing out. One of my favourite FB pages is World Of Washing!

She's the opposite of my neighbour, who once told me laundry isn't very interesting to look at because it is all black and she is never sure if it's the same washing that's been left out for days (possible) or new washing that is black (also possible).

OMFG the CF. I think you need to tell her to drop it and leave you alone

Thats mad. She needs to get some hobbies or help.
Its perfectly normal to hang out washing .
I love when the weather's nice and I can dry bedding and towels outside.

She raised the issue a couple of weeks ago (again) and my response was ‘have you ever thought about volunteering some of your free time?’ the issue is that she’s Teflon coated, nothing sticks or gets through to her!

I'd buy a shit load of secondhand crotchless knickers and leave them out all year long.

@WashingWoes YANBU OP, even though you make me feel even more guilty than I already do. I use my tumble drier even on the hottest days because I like my towels to be soft - even with conditioner they seem to turn into sandpaper when line dried (yes, I know, I should be hanged, drawn and quartered for such an offence to the environment and I don't feel good about it). My neighbours, however, put their laundry out every day - even when rain is forecast - which I can see from my bedroom window, but it doesn't bother me one jot. There's nothing offensive about a line of clean washing hanging out. Your neighbour's very odd - she sounds like a "Hyacinth Bouquet/Bucket" type - is she much older than you OP?. If she wants to enjoy looking at her garden that's what she should do - not look at your washing line!
Oh, and the birthday card - how passive/aggressive can you get? And she's still doing this when you've been neighbours for TEN years? My God the woman's got stamina for a cause - what a pity it's not an important one! On 25th December see if you can peg out your washing so that it spells "Happy Christmas Hyacinth!" 😂

One wonders if all the rules about not hanging washing outside were invented by men?

Anyway, I’m team outside. I love the smell of line-dried laundry. I used to have one of those high lines which you’d let down to peg everything out and then raise up again and I loved it although you had to be careful in a strong breeze as bedsheets were like raising a sail.

Your neighbour is an idiot. ‘Terrace hierarchy’ indeed. What a silly woman.

She's lucky - my NDN has a washing line but only about 3 pegs so tends to drape the washing overmy our wooden fence.........sadly "the wind" often causes it to fall on the ground (her side).........🙄😏

Are you in the US ? I suggested hanging laundry outside when I was staying with family there and they thought it was hilarious. Apparently nobody does that in the US.

My mum has a neighbour that complains about the garden being watered. People are batshit.

I live in a terrace and at the moment, our washing line is more than justifying itself. As pps say, drying your washing out of doors is one of the most ordinary, everyday activities in the world. People of all backgrounds, nationalities, ages and language groups need clean laundry. Your neighbour would have me going online for the most indecently scanty scanties I could come up with and serve her right for her indifference to the environment, her rudeness, her prurience, and her unhinged notions about neighbourhood hierarchies.

Crazy!!

But I would be really tempted to get a load of cheap lacy, tiny thongs and leave them out of the line for an entire week or more just to really goad her!!

I would make sure there’s at least two things, one of them underwear, out on my line, every day of the year.

I love a scratchy towel! It’s a free exfoliator 😂 They do happen to be a lot older than us, but didn’t mention this previously at the risk of sounding ageist. I really dont think it’s an age thing. I think it’s an entitlement thing. They’ve lived there longer than us, and previous owners didn’t peg out (possibly in fear of retribution!) and so I’ve rocked the boat with my disgusting, perverted (clean and very boring) laundry and now they need to complain about it. It’s very odd. Plenty of comments about too much time on her hands - this is definitely the case.

🤣🤣

i was going to say the same thing.. what would be the most inappropriate things I could find?