Laundry Barometer

Since my initial move back to France after my senior year of undergraduate studies, I have adapted a rather European approach to laundry, which was initially out of necessity and later by choice: I almost never use a dryer. Many European homes have washing machines but few contain dryers as well, partially due to space limitations, high energy costs, and other more personal or ecological considerations. Though plenty of Americans would gasp in horror at the prospect of having to wait a whole day--maybe more!--for their clothes to get cleaned and dried, I actually consider clothes racks and clothes lines to be the lazy person's route. You don't have to stick around for hours while the clothes dry in the cycle to ensure that you're there to get them out and folded as soon as they're done--just stick 'em on the rack and leave 'em. Come back the next day, or the following, or a week later--they're not any worse for wear! Also, I'm cheap.


So what a delight it is to live in Spain, where the majority of households have clotheslines strung from window to window or porch to porch (above is a shot of my own building's colorful communal laundromat). In the summer they're dry before nightfall if you've done your washing in the AM. How fabulous! How convenient!

Ah, but we live in Madrid, where it rains plenty in the fall and winter. What to do, what to do? Your timing must be impeccable, for clothes that are nearly dry after a day might be jeopardized by a brief shower, delaying the completion of your chores list for an additional day or more!

And so, inspired by my fifth grade class at my colegio, which is currently studying weather and climate, I have developed my own barometer to augment the online weather forecasts. Indeed, I call it the Laundry Barometer, or the LaBameter, for short.

Thinking of doing laundry? Checked the forecasts? Seems like you'll have a good 24-36 rain-free hours? Stick your head out the window and try to keep up with the Joneses. Do at least three apartments have laundry hanging from their lines? (Don't count that one lazy family that leaves the dry clothes out for days on end--how embarrassing [I refer you to my initial paragraph and the clothes line's leniency towards laziness]!) No? Just one or two? Better save the laundry for later--pressure's dropping and signs point to rain! Yes? Four, five, or six full lines? Signs point to fair, stable weather--get to washing!

My clothes joined the ranks last night, making a total of five optimistic apartments. It drizzled on me in the suburbs today but when I made it home my clothes were dry and waiting to be folded. That is, whenever I can get around to them...