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Hanging Out In Britain

A country that is notorious for damp cold weather and small gardens is not what most people would think of as a perfect place to hang laundry out, yet in Britain as in many other European countries, most people do hang laundry out. The stigma, I have heard, is creeping in, but for the most part it is a normal thing to do.

It is not that electric dryers are unavailable - they are, but as most homes do not have a separate utility room and basements are very rare, the space for a dryer is usually in the garage. Another option is the dual washing/drying machine which is also available.

This has been something that intrigued me for a long time. I had memories of frozen items coming in from the washing line, and, after ironing, were 'aired' on a rack or radiator. So I have been experimenting with the idea.
The first time was a set of sheets that I put outside. It was cloudy, but alas the partly sunny forecast from the weatherman was a snow shower by midday!  I brought the almost frozen sheets inside and put them on the indoor line to dry. They smelt great but not the best result.
Last week we had brutally cold weather courtesy a cold front from the north. The cold nights in part were from the snow cover, but also because there was no cloud cover. The sun was shining, the humidity was low and I had shirts to dry.
You feel a bit silly putting on boots and trotting over snow to the line with a basket of damp laundry, but I did it anyway and hung the shirts to dry.
Over about 4 hours (11 - 3pm) they dried - just. The collars were still damp, but after a quick iron, they were hung in the laundry room overnight and were ready to be put away by morning.
So clearly the key is a very dry clear day, and a good number of hours, but drying linen on the line outside is very feasible even when there is snow on the ground!

For some reason I have always dried things outside in clear weather but never thought about doing it inside. The idea of damp laundry all over the house, was not appealing. In Georgia for the most part I could dry outside all year round anyway so that was not an issue.
Then we moved back to Ohio which has winter.
The basement in the house is unfinished, and has a short double line in the laundry area. I have found that putting shirts and jeans on these two lines dries the clothing in just a few hours.
I have also found that I enjoy putting the sheets or washing out on clear, cold winter days, even though there is snow on the ground. The washing does not necessarily dry, but an hour or two outside, and an hour on the downstairs line, still give that 'fresh air' smell, as well as dry laundry.
So now I can dry laundry without the dryer all year round again!