shady laundry

I have been fascinated the past few years with designing for the hanging of laundry (see previous blog posts). Dryers use a great deal of electricity since they rely on the heat to dry the clothes, therefore produces carbon emissions. Whereas clotheslines require no energy, create no carbon emissions, saving you money, and even helping to kill germs. I remember the fresh smell when my mother would bring in our clothes from the backyard. Heavenly. Problem is, public perception of the viewing of dirty laundry in the US has become socially unacceptable (ok, aside from the tabloids dirty laundry).
This is where good design can make a difference. We as architects, designers and home dwellers can design for our laundry. I have been thinking about this when working with clients, as well as experimenting at our Glidehouse home, trying out different methods for the airing of our (clean) laundry. So I was thrilled to see Levi’s come out with a contest looking at the future of line drying. Called “Care to Air”, this open competition is a call for entries of ideas with $10,000 in prizes. There are lots of interesting ideas submitted. I included our sunshade solution HERE. Submit your genius ideas. As the tag line says: Nobody is as smart as everybody.

Here is how we hang our laundry that could be easily replicated on existing homes:





COMPETITION INFO