Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Culture of Mindlessness

Even though I didn't have the support post for the line, I decided to try a regular load of laundry on the line yesterday. The sun was out, and it was crazy hot after lunch, so I figured it was a good time to do a test load.

Hanging wash out on the line feels green. While I've been doing things around the house to conserve, there's something about standing out in the sun with a basket of damp clothes and a clothespin in your mouth that just feels...earthy. Normally I'm cooped up in the house, air conditioned and insulated. In fact, there are days when I don't get outside at all. Sad, really. All of my daily work centers around the computer, the kids, and the house, so getting out into the fresh air is nice. Wholesome.

Still sagging, but functional. I'm using the little iron arbor to hang more. 

The trick is, you don't have to look at all of the sky when you use a dryer. However, if you're going to be line drying, checking the horizon, rather than the patch of sky over the yard...might be a good thing. I put the clothes on the line, took Boy 3 to gymnastics and the grocery store, and returned home to soggy laundry because it rained while we were out. Duh.

It highlighted for me how removed I am from nature. Our society protects many of us from having to think about the weather, the elements, etc. We are in our houses, our cars, our offices with the air blowing and the windows shut. We don't have to pay attention. We can, but it isn't necessary to our survival. If it rains, we go in. If we're hungry or thirsty, we just hop in the car and go buy something. We go camping and lament that there's no shower. A lot of us are spoiled rotten.

I wonder if that's why it's so hard to get people to realize that we have to take care of the planet. We're so good at shielding ourselves, separating ourselves from the natural world...the consequences of our actions, and our inaction, only register with many of us when they seem to lead toward a major catastrophe. Because science is pretty adept at finding solutions to all the "inconveniences" our screwing around with nature causes (SPF 75, anyone?) only a pending cataclysm gets our attention...and even that isn't enough.

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