Backyard clothes lines - Americana or Eyesore?

I read with amusement an article in today's N&O, pg 10E, titled: Battle lines drawn over drying clothes outside

Seems that some of the folks in Bend, Oregon, are mighty upset over another neighbor's use of an old-fashioned clothes line.

Here's the story, originally from the WSJ: http://www.realestatejournal.com/homegarden/20070919-chaker.html?refresh=on

I just looked up the Covenants of Hasentree, a golf-course community going up near my house in N. Wake Co., and here's what the developers say about clothes lines:

Drying Areas – Clothes lines or drying yards shall not be located upon any Lot without the prior written consent of the Board, which consent may be conditioned or withheld in the sole discretion of the Board…[/I]

(Hint to Hasentree home owners - you're NOT going to get permission.)

I don't have a clothes line, but my mother next door still does.

Give me a quiet, law-abiding neighbor and they can have their bloomers flapping in the breeze on a clothes line any day!

Anyone have any Restrictive Covenant horror stories to tell?

 

I have a clothesline, and it probably violates the restrictive covenants in my deed, but we don't have a homeowners association, so who's going to enforce it? I love the smell of sheets dried on the line! The clothesline is behind the house, only in view of one neighbor, and they have not said anything to me about it. Usually, they are at work when my laundry is hanging out, anyway.

I heard something about a historic district having rules against clotheslines. How do you suppose, historically, people got their clothes dry?

 

Clothes lines, for sure!

I couldn't help but chuckle at the wording in the Covenants of the multi-million dollar Hasentree community. I guess the developers and their legal eagles just couldn't put a simple restriction on clothes lines; they had come up with a high-brow term like "Drying Areas".

By the way, the Covenants ran on for about 30 pages.

 

I love sheets dried outside and I hate homeowner's associations...gotta wonder about people who pay money every month to have some anal-retentive busy bodies tell them what to do with their own property...
(ok, I'll get off my rant)...
Besides, wouldn't clotheslines be ecologically fashionable, now?

 

According to alot of folks I see, there's always a Gladys Kravitz (nosey neighbor from Bewitched) on every HOA Board riding around with binoculars and a set of Covenants.

I know some Covenants are good, but some restrictions seem a bit much such as having to keep your garage door closed if it faces the street, stuff like that.

 

Clothes Line - full time all the time.

Covenats: hahahhaaa. The cows do not mind at all!

Like they sing in Green Acres "Farm Living is the life for me"

 

I love line drying, however, a while back we had a neighbor who would hang stuff on a line and only remove things as she needed them - it was sort of like their closet - Drove me crazy :evil: Stuff smells so good when you line dry, but I can't help but wonder how much bird doo and other kaa-kaa gets on them when they are out there for a week or more:roll:

 

Only problem I have with line drying is that everything is "crunchy" when it's done. Guess if I used some kind of fabric softener it would be huh?



Craig

 

Downy ball.

Or 1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar in the final rinse.

 

clothes lines

i would rather look at someones clothes on a line any day then what i have in my back yard . a beat up mercedes with weeds all around and a bastket ball net pole that moves around every six months. the car hasnt moved in the three years ive been here and johnston county has a policy that you can have one junk car in your yard. how stupid is that if you cant hide it junk it somewhere else. by the way we loved riverwood and the pool and all but then found out you cant even plant a tree in your own yard without approval. sounds like crap to me. plus i love my neighbors except the new child molester.

 

Well, I have been breaking covenants in our subdivision for some time. We are not supposed to be able to see a trash can from the road. Ours is at the top of the drive way, outside, next to the door outside the garage and can be seen from the stupid street. The other one that I was told that I have been breaking is more than one bird house on our property. I say, let them come and arrest me!

Not long ago everyone on our street received a letter stating that our mail boxes needed replaced or painted. I called and told them that ours was brand new. I was told that they had received a complaint about all of the mail boxes on our street, since we have lived in the subdivision so long most have not repaired them. I told them to get a darn life!

Since we only pay $60.00 a year and I agree with most of the restrictions I let it go but could care less about the minor infractions.

Grace

 

Here's what 4.5 million will get you - http://www.northcarolinabuild.com/bf/nc/hbarw/mem/home.jsp?hid=1591

(taboo clothes line not available, also you can't fly any flags other than the US flag in Hasentree and absolutely NO artificial plants outside, just to mention a few)

About 30 pages of Covenants.

My daughter and mother went on a tour of this mansion today. 10,800 heated footage and 1537 unheated (almost the size of my house)

I believe there are over 40 homes with a price tag of 1 mill + in the Parade of Homes this year.

 

I do not hang out my clothes on a line cause mostly I am lazy. lol I do not care if my neighbors do I feel its not my business what they do as long as it is not on my property and they aint bothering me.I think most people who complain about that stuff just have no life and want to have something to talk about.

 

I hear what you are saying, but using Hasentree as an example of a development prohibiting close lines may not be the best choice. I took my family to Hasentree this weekend for the Parade of Homes. Hasentree is filled with homes that are 3 an 4 million dollars. The people who live in Hasentree probably have washers and dryers that are worth more than the average Joe's car.

I don't think to many people in Hasentree will be doing their own laundry let alone petitioning the HOA to let them put up a close line! :lol:

 

This new subdivision going up called McLemore Estates has the same covenants. NO outside drying line.... that is sooooo stupid that someone is going to tell you how to live when you spend that kind of money to buy a house. You will not see me in McLemore estates...Tooooo many restrictions..... no one tells them how to live...next they will be telling you how to breathe....Stupid, stupid, stupid.....have to waste electricity cause they don't want you to hang out your clothes to dry, send them the electric bill...

 

Poeple have to much time on their hands. What is it called."clothes line cops":lol: I say clotheslines yes. The rest of the yard ornaments, no. Pick your battles.

In a way I wish we had homeowners assn. because some of the yards and ditchlines in my neighborhood are really bad. Brings down the whole neighborhood and the value of the houses. I havent figured out a way to ask some of these people to clean up. One or two of the houses have weeds that are over 5 foot tall at the ditch. Maybe they read 4042.:lol: I did collect money to get our sign at the entrance fixed because someone hit it. Seems like noone cares in my neighborhood. Most of it is nice, dont get me wrong. Then again I dont want a homeowners assn.

UGH.....

 

Downy is a wonderful thing for line dry clothes

 

I used Hasentree because it was one of the few subdivisions whose name I remember and I figured they would have some interesting Covenants such as this one:

Paraphrased: If you have a tractor, it MUST be stored in an enclosed (and architecturally approved) building. No sheds or open fronts where the sight of your tractor would traumatize any of your neighbors.

But even in a multi-million dollar neighborhood, the developers felt the need to put in a clothes line restriction.

 

I wish I could put up a clothes line, I'd surely get a letter. :roll: :roll:

 

I'd be a homeowner's associations nightmare! Motorcycles, travel trailer, 3 or more cars at any one time, kids toys, basketball goal, wooden pic-nic table, used to have a trampoline. They'd have a field day! :lol: That's actually one of my pre-requisits, I don't mind reasonable restrictive covenants, but I will not deal with an HOA.