U.S. residents fight for the right to hang laundry – Yahoo! News
… the growing number of people across America fighting for the right to dry their laundry outside against a rising tide of housing associations who oppose the practice despite its energy-saving green appeal.
I like the quote from this recent article which references our website and states:
Urban Homesteaders Are Nice People
Community connections are an important part of this lifestyle: one of the rules of being an urban homesteader is being a good neighbour. — courtesy of Matadorlife ‘Urban Homesteading – Turning your city home into country living
With the urban homesteading trend gaining more and more in popularity there’s conflicts (and sometimes resolutions) that come with such a trend. From keeping poultry or smallstock within city limits to drying clothes using the oldest, most environmentally friendly way – a clothes line.
People often ask us how we are able to do all that we do. Lucky for us Pasadena codes allow poultry and even some small stock (within regulations of course) and as for line drying – we live in a low income, working class neighborhood where line drying is the norm for these folks. So we, in our simple, farming ways, really don’t conflict with that of our neighbors. Well, except for growing food in our front yard. But we did the lawn to food transformation twenty years ago so our yard’s not so strange anymore!
So, readers, are you in a battle with neighbors or city over your urban homesteading ways?
Our retro TV “urban homesteading” counterparts in GOOD NEIGHBORS had their run ins with their prissy neighbor, Margo, over their self sufficient ways.
Care to share your creative or neighborly ways you’ve gone about resolving such issues. Have you had luck changing or working on changing city codes that involve such issues.
Image Note: GOOD NEIGHBORS is a hilarious look at a couple going “back to the land” in the middle of suburban London ( BBC TV The Good Life circa 1975)
I love your idea, big fan of the Urban Homestead. The show you mention was called “The Good Life” in the UK, just to clear up any confusion.
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We love the show Good Neighbors/The Good Life. We discovered it on Netflix and have watched each episode at least twice. I don’t know what I’d do without our clothesline- we live in the county, so it’s not an issue, thank goodness. Hanging wash is so peaceful for me and it reminds me of my mother:-).
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I enjoyed these shows so much! My whole family laughed and laughed–and also felt inspired.
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I love Good Neighbors, such a great show!
I have a clothesline but don’t use it all the time.
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This is funny I just started watching this the other week. I love this show!!!
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Our neighbor’s kids love to hang out in our backyard plot in Oakland CA. It has entertainment/educational value as well as some respite for parenting neighbors who want their kids to let them alone just for a while. Should I start charging sitting fees?! It’s interesting, if you really dig into Oakland’s municipal codes, they tend to have very little in the way of restrictions. Oakland is also proactively pursuing a goal to grow 1/5 of it’s own produce.
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We found Good Neighbors on Netflix a year or so ago, absolutely by accident (love the Instant Download feature). But after the first episode we were absolutely hooked! And after watching all of it, we felt very inspired to at least try growing some herbs in our yard. We also became very interested in the self-sufficiency and wanted to research it more. And that’s how we found your website!
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I remember when Good Neighbors was on PBS. It was a hoot! And certainly way ahead of its time! How wonderful that urban homesteading is now becoming acceptable (thanks to you all!) and that so many folks are aspiring to that way of life. You remain an inspiration as I toil away at my 8 or 9 hour a day job!
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Thanks for mentioning the Good Neighbors/The Good Life. I’ve been watching it, one-by-one on YouTube. Fantastic. Wonderful. So far ahead of their time.
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