Washing Line protocol

My mother in law would never hang her washing out on a Sunday, apparently not allowed as Sunday was a day of rest. That didn't stop her doing the washing on a Sunday to try to be the first to peg it out in a Monday morning . Lots of competition in her village to be the first.

I think in some parts of the USA you can't hang washing out and I suppose you're meant to have a tumble drier.. I used to feel diffident about hanging it out on Sunday, as the Scottish Sunday was very different from other days in my long-ago youth, but then when I had 2 lots of nappies I thought that if the Good Lord had meant me not to hang out washing on any dry day going, He would have made it rain every Sunday, so fair enough!

Like Jalima1108 I put underwear on the inside lines as it dries faster and lets the wind at both sides of the bigger stuff on the outside lines. I also put things like tea towels,shirts and pillow cases on the inside as they are the things which I iron and if they don't dry so well as the outside stuff it doesn't matter - they iron better if a bit damp anyway. Never heard about the tops and bottoms thing; I've always hung shirts by the bottom and trousers by the legs.

Just shows you, it doesn't actually matter what we do as it all dries in the end anyway!

I can't have colours that clash with each other hanging on my rotary and the same with the pegs,all the shirts and tops are hung from the bottom turned over a few inches onto the line so they keep their shape,and jumpers/dresses etc always on a hanger the quilt covers and sheets are folded in half then half again so they dry straight and are easy to iron.

Knickers pegged by the gusset phoenix ? No, surely that can't be right! ALL knickers must be pegged by the side seams, although you do have the choice of left or right. But gusset? Never!

Knickers pegged by the gusset in the dark recesses of the inner parts of the whirligig here

But, I'm confuddled by a post from Petra regarding sheets. Pegging them in a certain way to make them easier to IRON ???

I think I might be about to have a fit of the vapours, and need a glass of wine a nice lie down in a cool, dark room.

When I first arrived oop north and had a small child with cloth nappies I was reproached for hanging out washing on a Sunday. It was only visible from the top of the cathedral,the railway station or the local park at a particularly hidden corner. I hang as much as I can on hangers and then on the line and use Lakeland hangers with pegs for socks. And I still put washing out on a Sunday if it's a good drying day.

I've never heard of this thing whereby you're not allowed to hang washing out? Is this a commonly known thing? Never heard of it in the NW. What's the reason for it, anyone know? What are you supposed to do as an alternative?

I've just read this thread. It's like a foreign language

There's definitely a protocol regards washing lines where I live, generally they seeem to have been taken over by tumble driers. Over the years I've watched next door's line go from a straight down the garden to state of the art whirlygig, then it finally disappeared altogether. I noticed that 'er next door would hang things in pairs, eg: PJ tops/bottoms next to each other, socks neatly paired up. When they left and a new lot come in, I was asked over the garden fence if washing lines were 'permitted' as where she came from there was a by-law about none being allowed . Within a week another new whirlygig appeared. The two lads now living next door now have converted back to a straight line (no pun intended). I'm fascinated that no socks and pants are ever hung out (nosy neighbour alert). In case anyone's interested, I have an ancient rusty rotary line - my tatty knickers and socks are always (modesty) hung in the middle, plastic or wood pegs are fine (I even have some original gypsy pegs). The only rule is that things are not inside out.

Ha everyone has their own way - and each has to cope with the results - so each to their own!

I hang trousers by the waistband for the same reason jimmyRFU

I love hanging washing out and woe betide anyone trying to help. I have to use the right pegs ( same colour on one item) socks together, pillow cases in order of one patterned one plain etc,.pyjama top and bottoms hung next to each other and each item folded as it is unpegged. When i lived in Germany washing couldnt be hung out on a Sunday or after 1.pm unless it was Lang Samstag and it could stay on the line until 4 p.m

Ironing??? Whats that? Don't do any if I can help it. Cotton, linen, NO.

As for hanging on the line. If it needs drying it goes out. Depends on what it is as to which way up it goes. If theres a thick waist band it goes up so the sun can get on it more. Doesn't always dry so well if its down the bottom.

Oh dear I didn't realise there was a protocol for pegs as well, I do the top to bottom thing though.
No knickers in the line as my husband makes comments about windsocks ! !

I also love line hung washing, it smells so fresh. I'm another one brought up not to hang washing out on a Sunday. I do it now, but with some reluctance.
Undies to the middle of the rotary line, shirts hung by the hem, sheets flung over and trousers by the waist. But socks are hung separately by the toes.
I like wearing natural fibres, so mostly iron. I use spray starch to help when ironing Linen, it also stops too much creasing when on.

Yay Daddima. I had to change my pegs for the same reason

I have a long line not a rotary. Knickers and socks go on a gadget that had lots of pegs on it and takes up less space than if I pegged them separately. Long things go in the middle where the prop will push the line up the highest and shorter things to either side.

Like Petra, I'm anal about washing line protocol! Of course shirts must be hung by the hem. All trousers must be neatly aligned, inside seam to inside seam and then hung from their hems. Underwear must be hung as in: all socks to be hung in their pairs ie next to each other. Knickers must be hung by the side seam (I'm flexible about which side). Bras must be hung, folded in half and pegged from the back strap. As for bedlinen, well, obviously all pillowcases must be hung together and sheets from their hems. Surely it's illegal not to do this?

The plastic coloured pegs are usually lurking at the bottom of the peg bag, only to be used when absolutely necessary. The smaller wooden ones for small garments, the larger ones for towels, bedding, trousers etc.

Protocol!

Sadly, I am a bit obsessive about hanging out washing. Not only must they be in a certain order, but I've switched to wooden pegs, as I couldn't hang things out with different coloured pegs ( preferably ones which matched the garment!)
I also do " tops by the bottom, bottoms by the top. The Bodach, on the other hand......
.

I only ever hang washing out on the line if it's absolutely necessary, as we share foot access with the house next door. They have to walk across the front of our property to get to theirs. There was nowhere for the washing line to go apart from one side of the path to the other. There is nowhere to put up a rotary washing line either. My tumble drier gets a lot of work, even in the summer.

ps everything gets ironed but not by me
(except socks and towels)

Oh! I have been hanging the shirts the wrong way up for 50 years now. You live and learn
I do hang some of my tops, jumpers by the shoulders otherwise they seem to get longer at the sides than in the middle back and front iyswim.

The reason I put underwear inside is because it is thinner and dries more quickly than other things, the lines on a rotary line are smaller, things get progressively larger and thicker as my washing progresses outwards on the line, ending with towels and bedding on the outside.
And I wouldn't want the nice man next door to see my Bridget Jones's knickers.

Logic applied to the washing line
(larger and thicker - is that me over 50 years as well? )

When we first moved to the Highlands there weren't ferries to the islands on Sundays. Nothing happened there on a Sunday so I can't believe anyone hung their washing out. We decided island life wasn't for us. Changed a bit now.

Oh dear that wold be mine then baubles

The only thing I am fussy about is that everything faces the right way around. I just love seeing a line full of my DGC's little things.

There were very definite rules for hanging out washing when I was growing up and as it was often my job to sort it and stack the basket the rules have stayed with me. Neighbours would pass comment on the lines in the common back green, 'she hangs a lovely washing' being high praise. I'm afraid I get a bit of a knot in my stomach when I see a higglety pigglety line of washing.

I do realise it actually doesn't matter a jot.