Thing Number 7 That Used to Be Normal and Now is Not

Hanging clothes on the line to dry.

Not because it was ecologically conscious thing to do or a money saver, but because I did not own a dryer. In fact, for a few years doing my wash consisted of hooking up a portable washer to an outside sink via a garden hose, and the placement of a rock just so to keep the whole thing from tipping during the spin cycle. I think there was a wrench involved too, but can’t remember exactly how.

Thankfully, since most people in the DR don’t own a dryer there are no social qualms about hanging even the most intimate of apparel on the line and, in general, the sun shines in the Caribbean thus most days are great laundry days (until Thing Number 5 that Used to be Normal and Now is Not occurs). Unfortunately, there is also the risk of your clothes getting stolen if there is no one home to watch them, as well as the risk of your laundry day coinciding with trash burning day. There is a reason they don’t market smoky-scented laundry detergent or dryer sheets.

Overall, however, there were only two major annoyances:

1. After a while your clothes get so stretched out they don’t fit (remedy: learn to buy clothes that include lycra)
2. Rainy season (remedy, learn to creatively drape clothes all over your apartment…or find that rare friend who does a have a dryer)

My current neighbor has given me the okay to use her clothesline whenever I want.

Yet, I rarely do.

Even though I believe in saving energy and even though for five years of my life this is what I did. Just goes to show you how easily we get sucked into convenience.