Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The right to air

Yesterday it was a stifling 38C degrees here in Sydney -
a sure sign that summer is not far off now!
Isabella and I were lucky enough to be spend the morning at
one of the amazing Sydney harbour beaches, where as my husband
and son had to endure the heat at work and at school.. Poor boys!



Having grown up in Sweden where the summers are short and
unreliable, I have an innate need to make the most out of
every sunny day, and one of many summertime pleasures
for me is being able to hang the laundry out on a line to dry..


 
Yes yes, I am aware of the lack of glamour in this confession,
but my heart smiles at the view of crisp white linen flapping
in the wind, and not to mention the divine smell of sun-kissed
laundry having dried in the breeze. Aaaaahhhh!



Hanging your laundry outside is apparently not a domestic
pleasure allowed everywhere in the world - for various reasons.




 How annoying wouldn't it be to drop a sock here...
  
 In some cities the laundry thieves are so brutal that it makes
no sense to even try, in other places the pollution rates are
so high that the clothes would be more dirty having hung
outside than they were before they were washed, and in
other areas certain home owners claim laundry lines are
plain ugly and that they decreases the value of their homes..



Though I agree there has to be considerate diplomacy as to what
you display on your laundry-line and how you do it..



...I am very much in favour of the environmental benefits of
not using a dryer. Both because of the environment, the purity
of our house (kids are asthmatic) and the wear on the clothes.



To me there is also something nostalgic about the ritual - something
my great grand mother did, and something my children love doing.
A simple domestic chore that brings vivid memories of perfect
Swedish summer days to my mind...

xCharlotta

2 comments:

Vanya Wilkinson said...

I'm absolutely with you on this one, I'm heading back to NZ shortly and this is one of the simple pleasures I'm looking forward to.

Glad the weather is good in Sydney, I look forward to enjoying it when I breeze through later in the month :)

Charlotta Ward said...

Vanya thank you for your comment and welcome to my blog!
How wonderful that you're returning to NZ - such a divine part of the world!!
Hoping for many more days of laundry-drying sun for us - right!?! :)

xCharlotta

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