The whole family went to the grocery store yesterday and in between trips to the margarita sample table I happened to notice a little display of summer items :bug spray, mosquito netting, charcoal, etc., and one of these seasonal offerings was a clothesline .
"Hm", I thought to myself, "I've never in my adult life used a clothesline...let's give it a whirl."
I put one in the cart and my husband simply snapped "ghetto". (I think he meant "country", because all the ghettos I've seen are a bit short on yard space for a clothesline). At any rate, I put it up and hung the sheets on it when we got home. Lo and behold, it only took about 15 or 20 minutes for those suckers to dry. Granted it was VERY windy, but this got me thinking: It doesn't take that long to simply hang your laundry, and it dries as fast as, if not faster than, using the dryer, and it uses 0 energy (aside from the energy it takes your lazy butt to actually do it). The sheets smell nice, they aren't as wrinkled. This is a clear case of win-win...so why the "ghetto" connotation?
Conspicuous energy consumption seems to be the status symbol we can all enjoy. Free wind energy? Boo! Hiss! That's for the disadvantaged! Burning fossil fuels to dry your sweater which probably wasn't really dirty enough to need to be washed in the first place? Great idea!
It's insidious, and all it takes is one trip to the supermarket to see how widespread it is. Packaging for consumables is crazy...I understand that you don't want your crackers crushed, but 3 layers of protection? Individually wrapped hotdogs? Apples in plastic trays? WATER IN INDIVIDUAL BOTTLES????
....and please don't get me started on all of the monsterous SUVs I see on the expressway during rush hour with one person in them because I will burst a blood vessel.
At the end of all this consumption, what happens? What are we left with?Are we any happier? Is our life improved? Are our children smarter/healthier/better adjusted? Will we lie on our deathbed and remember fondly how we got the most stuff and how we had the biggest pile of trash at the end?
Boo. Hiss.
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