The problem here is that most places in the US don't have the weather in order to be able to use a clothesline. In Australia (where I grew up), the weather is dry and warm for most of the year, which gives the perfect climate to be able to hang your clothes out and have them dry within an hour. Try doing that in the long winters of most of northern U.S.A or in the damp climate of southern/western U.S.A. It's just not going to happen.

Not to mention the fact that so many people live in apartment style housing these days.

the one problem is that here on long island our weather is diff. Most places are getting less raind and we seem to be getting all the rain that is disappearing from the rest of the US. So its getting harder and harder to naturally dry your clothing outside.

I don't agree that the weather is really that important. I live in London, and we've just had the rainiest summer ('07) and January ('08) on record. As you might imagine, that's a lot of rain. Despite this, we've managed without a dryer. Granted, we're only two, but it can be done easily.

We dry outside as much as possible for maximum capacity and minimum drying time, but we also have a collapsing drying rack (Ikea Frost, £12) for those rainy days. We can only dry 1-2 loads (European-size washer, somewhat smaller than US-size) at a time on the rack, so we do need to plan ahead and avoid letting too much laundry accumulate. On days when it's too cold to dry outside, we actually enjoy drying inside as it acts as a natural humidifier.

No doubt drying outside on a line is most convenient, but it is by no means the only alternative to a clothes dryer.

I found it quite possible to use a whirligig (English name) when living in Minnesota - all you need is temps above freezing and either sun or wind, and we had that for eight months of the year. In fact the climate there was better than in England, because the rain was less frequent and more predictable.

Now fighting the mosquitos as you were hanging out, that was a different issue...

I live in Canada, where it's very difficult to use an outdoor clothesline half the year. On top of that, I live in a "condo" townhouse complex, which means we all have to follow really strict aesthetic rules regarding the outside look of our units, which includes no clotheslines on our balconies (we don't have backyards). The most I can get away with is my foldable laundry rack, which I use on my balcony as much as I can in the summer, but in the winter my balcony is covered in snow and it takes up too much space to always have it set up in my tiny kitchen. I usually just bring it out for delicates: things that specifically say on the label no to tumble dry.

Once I have a real house, though...!

Neatly fold the clothes as you take them off the clothes line and in most cases you’ll find yourself (and your electricity bill) freed from the dreaded chore of ironing. Dryers on the other hand are notorious for shrinking their contents, twisting them, inducing wrinkles and adding static electricity.

Sheesh. I live in New England, I grew up in New England, I shall probably die in New England (or at least I hope so). It is most definitely possible to use a clothesline here. I don't own a dryer. Heck, my second apartment had holes for a multi line clothesline drilled right into the permanent structure of the balcony, and since my apartment was on the second of four floors, I had a covered balcony and could therefore even hang out laundry if it threatened rain.

I've been hanging out laundry every day it has been above freezing or at least had a decent wind blowing all winter. The clothes dried just fine. By dogface's argument, no one in most of the US had dry clothes up until the electric dryer was invented.

I grew up in the U.S. with a clothes dryer, but have lived in England, dryer-less for the last 4 years. My husband and I live in a very small one-bedroom flat without any outdoor space, so we hang our clothes indoors. Sure, when it's laundry day our clothes line takes up a large part of our living room. And it's often damp, so clothes don't dry as quickly. But it's simple and easy enough, and makes a clothes dryer look like a waste of money and climate. When we move back to the States, we won't be buying a dryer.

It's not that hard to use a clothesline... Just use the drier when the weather forbids it. For example, it rained this weekend, so I used the drier. Normally I use the laundry line. Even if you live in an area with long winters, using a clothesline on the days where it isn't impossible, will save a lot of energy.

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n65/thespyofcharles/n6309920_32595450_6772.jpg
the picture is of an indoor clothesline setup that all (i think) apartments in korea have. When I visited during the winter when it was snowing, drying with a clothesline wasn't a problem.

I don't have a dryer and it's a bit difficult. For one, my (U.S.) apartment complex forbids people to hang clothes/clotheslines outside. And I live in Miami, where the humidity level is extremely high. I usually hang my clothes up on a rack inside, but at certain times of the year, when the humidity is 100 percent, towels will grow mold before they dry.

I live in Canada (Toronto) and I hang my laundry out through the winter ... as low as -10 C !! No big deal. Fingers go a bit numb, but hey, I'm hardcore. I'm a man. I can handle it (get it? 'handle it').

As such low temperatures, there must be either full sun and/or a light breeze. And, the laundry must be out on the line at dawn (on the shortest days) in order to capture the rays of the low angle of the sun.

Sometimes, through the year, a surprise rain shower (or bad planning on my part) may mean a mad dash to bring in damp clothes ... but they finish drying quickly.

I live in Canada (Toronto) and I hang my laundry out through the winter ... as low as -10 C !! No big deal. Fingers go a bit numb, but hey, I'm hardcore. I'm a man. I can handle it (get it? 'handle it').

As such low temperatures, there must be either full sun and/or a light breeze. And, the laundry must be out on the line at dawn (on the shortest days) in order to capture the rays of the low angle of the sun.

Sometimes, through the year, a surprise rain shower (or bad planning on my part) may mean a mad dash to bring in damp clothes ... but they finish drying quickly.

I live in Vancouver WA (USA) and yes in the winter it's hard to dry outdoors. A lot of homes around our area have at least some covered area over the patio or deck on the back side of their house and I find that even on a drizzly day you can dry clothes under these. (unless it's rain sideways as it does here sometimes)

Also I should mention that here in the US there are still MANY people that have washers and dryers that are 15 or more years old. The older washers in particular do a piss poor job of getting any water out of the clothes compared to the newer high efficiency ones. With my old washer I could ring clothes out upon removing them from the washer. Now with my high RPM, efficient washer they just feel damp and dry very quickly inside or out.

My suggestion to my fellow US residents? Take the band-aid economic incentive check we are going to get this summer and go by a new washer and a clothes line!!!

Clothes dry VERY well outside even in the miserable British climate - the only reason people don't want to hang their clothes out in the US is because they think it makes them look as though they are in a ghetto- Frankly it is PATHETIC!!! I have a friend who lives in ARIZONA for chrissake, and he is NOT ALLOWED to hang his clothes outside to dry. That is just plain SICK!!!

I don't dry outside. I live in downtown Denver without a fenced yard. Not only does it tend to be quite dusty, but I fear my clothes would sprout legs and wander away.

Here is what I do:

The dining area in my apartment is about 12.5 feet wide. On either side of the room I have a large framed picture. Behind one picture I have 4 heavy duty drywall anchors with screws in them for hanging and removing two retractable clothes lines. There are also two d-rings with carabiners attached to them.

Behind the other picture are four sash-lifters (the brass kind for double-hung windows) that I have slightly flattened.

When doing laundry I take the pictures down, hang the clotheslines. I attach the loop at the end of each clothesline to the carabiner next to it and pull the line out and loop each one over two of the sash-lifters on the other side of the room. This gives me about 50 feet of drying space. I also have a folding rack that I stow under the couch when not in use.

When the clothes are dry I retract the clotheslines and take them down. Once I put the pictures back up no one has any idea that the clothesline apparatus is there.

I love my little system, and I also love the fact that I can hide my system so that I don't have the lines on display in my apartment at all times. I like the look of clothes hanging on the line outside, but am not really interested in setting it up as a permanent art installation inside the house.
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So now that Australia is in Kyoto, Australians can show their green moral superiority, too. Swell.

I think convincing Americans not to use clothes dryers is like trying to convince them that they don't need freezers. It's unthinkable for some Americans who grew up a certain way and don't know how to do it any other. Convenience has turned into dependence - it's a trap.

Another person chiming in that you can't really use weather as an excuse. We are a family of four and have never owned a dryer, even living in Bellingham, WA for 20 years. We would use an outdoor line when we could, but being the rainy northwest it was usually on one or two indoor folding racks, even on these clothes are dry the day after you hang them up. Now we live in Bend, OR and it is even faster.

Nobody has mentioned the L word, as in Lazy. Not one to point fingers, I will admit that sometimes I am too lazy to use the line I have in the backyard. I think I am not alone in this fault.

My personal compromise, maybe this will help some of the other lazy tree huggers out there, I line dry the big stuff that can be easily draped over the line without clothes pins. These are also the things that take the most dryer time and energy. Pants, towels, sheets. The little things like socks and ladies undergarments go in the dryer.

In Portland, OR and it goes like this: Hang 'em out to dry between april and october, dry 'em in a dryer the rest of the months. It's not a perfect solution, but it's better than nothing.

My yard is very wooded and I am worried about bird poop too much to put them outside, but an indoor folding clothes rack works well.