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I got off on a tangent about the restrictions of the HOAs and neglected to completely answer the original question. I don't use a clothes line outside but I do hang up some of the laundry on hangers around the house. Mostly shirts and some pants. Sometimes I'll drape the jeans over the dining chairs - it does work. I don't have any drying racks at the moment so I don't have an alternative for drying the sheets, quilts, bedding, or when I'm doing a lot of laundry at once.
Line-drying inside can be done high up to save space - I used to have a fabulous victorian-style drying rack on a pulley system which hoisted a whole load of washing 8 ft in the air, it was really useful but you do need high ceilings.
Now I have a small laundry area, I bought a cheap extending shower rail and put it up in the laundry above the washer, where the walls are only 6-7 ft apart, it just pushes into place.
I hang lots of things in there to dry, on clothes hangers - especially the lighter stuff; all my gym and running gear, delicate underwear etc.
Most areas where I live will not allow clothes lines. Plus, we have terrible pollen problems here (see Groove's posts above - we are in the same city). I dry a lot of things indoors (in bathroom) such as underwear, my T-shirts, etc - using a rack.
I live in Maine so I only hang my clothes out in the spring, summer and fall. The clothes freeze in the winter. I love the smell of the fresh air in the clothes. A great way to conserve energy.
I "inherited" a Brabantia umbrella style clothesline from a friend who passed away. It's a wonderfully compact little thing that can be tucked out of sight and holds at least two loads of laundry at once. You can take it down at a moment's notice because it sits in a hollow pipe set permanently in the ground.
I also use a conventional dryer in cold weather for the same reasons other people have mentioned.
This is the wonderful contraption which I used for many years, (which I inherited too!!) before living somewhere with a garden for a washing line and a laundry
If you cut back to half of what the detergent package recommends your clothes will be as clean and less stiff. If detergent and softeners have built up in the fabric you can add 1/4 c vinegar to the rinse water to dissolve them. Your clothes won't smell like vinegar after they spin out.
I hang my laundry outside when it's warm and inside during the winter. I have forced air heat,which dries out the air. Hanging laundry inside acts like a humidifier. I only use the dryer during rainy spells when it's too warm inside for heat and too wet outside to hang. Even then I usually just put off doing my laundry for a couple of days until the weather clears unless I'm completely out of clean clothes.
There has been considerable controversy over the use of clotheslines and the HOAs here in NC. One fellow took his HOA to court over the issue, and NC State Legislators have tried, unsuccessfully, to make it illegal for an HOA to dictate the use, or non-use, of a clothesline.
Some complain of looking at others' laundry, and having lines de-value their property. (If you can imagine.)
There is nothing I like better than bed linens, dried out-of-doors when the weather is conducive. I also like airing-out pillows and blankets and comforters on a bright, sunshine-y day. * Anyone hear that song in your head now? *
Indoors, a clothes rack is great for things that dry easily, and my sister cuts back on dryer costs, by drying many things, partially, on a rack, and then throwing them in a dryer to soften them, fluff 'em up, etc. She does this with towels and jeans, especially (things that require a long drying time).
Another thing I do to in winter is to let the dryer exhaust go into the house. The heat and humidity go into the house so your furnace runs less. Been doing this for a few years.
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I don't have any drying racks at the moment so I don't have an alternative for drying the sheets, quilts, bedding, or when I'm doing a lot of laundry at once.
