Laundry in the City

Walking through the city, you see everyone’s laundry on lines hanging between buildings. From t-shirts to scivvies, the Italians have no problem putting their wardrobe on display. I just assumed that these people did not have access to a dryer, little did I know... My first experience with laundry in Italy sent me into somewhat of a time warp. The villa has laundry facilities in the garage, a washer and a dryer. I decided to give the dryer a whirl with my first load. While I heard that it would take quite a bit of time to dry, I had no idea what I was in for. After putting the load through four hour and a half cycles, they were still wet, so I gave in and put them out on a clothes drying rack on the balcony. Hanging them out on the rack, I felt like a housewife from the 50’s. However, after about an hour, everything was dry and smelled summer sea breeze fresh. This is also a very sustainable practice, as I am using natural resources – sun and wind as opposed to wasting electricity from coal burning plants and emitting unnecessary carbon into the atmosphere. Hanging my laundry has helped me to experience the culture, instead of being a crazy wasteful American. Technology isn’t the answer to everything, sometimes what worked in the past worked for a reason. Save the world, air dry your laundry!