I love this post! How wonderful that your neighbor took the time to retrieve the clothes and find the owners! I was concerned about doing laundry in the winter in Lisbon due to the dampness and clouds, but it’s worked out so far (but, we’ve only been here a month). I do like hanging things out on the line and have watched, almost in awe, the speedy technique of the people across the street. Though I am waiting for (dreading?) the day that one of our items ends up in the pool of the next door AirBnB. 😳🤣 That’s probably why I put extra clothespins on the lighter items!
Wonderful post. Our first apartment was on the top floor on the oceanfront and the strong Atlantic “breezes” were plentiful. Fortunately, never had anything go-overboard, but I did envision it. We live on the first floor now, not ocean-side and dry them on our east-facing balcony. Clothes pins are handy just in case. It’s an adventure that has forced me to look at things anew.
Thanks for your comment, Maria. Where we live, it’s always breezy. We still live on the top floor and looking down from our kitchen veranda onto the first floor patio awning, I can see a clothespin has settled on it - it’s been there for 2 weeks, but at least it’s not mine! - CW
Love this post. I often wonder about the laundry hanging outside windows and whether any ever blow away. As for me, I’ve embraced the drying rack but confess that I bought a washed/dryer all-one-unit when we first moved here. I rarely use it as the sun has a much faster drying time than the machine.
Re: laundry. On windy days weigh down your drying rack base with a folding chair or brick or whatever works. The wind and sun will dry your clothes faster than your dryer, and they smell wonderful. I have a dryer but try to use it only if necessary, and yes, electric costs are exorbitant. In Lagos (where we lived 5 years) our electricity bill went from ca. €60.- p/m in summer months to almost €300 p/m in the winter. Ok, our heating is/was electric. We are retired and have plenty of time to hang up the wash, we both do it. Part of the living experience here. I have done a marvelous photographic Clotheslines in Portugal series. They are everywhere! I find breathing in the sun and the fresh air invigorating… pure pleasure…after spending my life in big, industrial.cities.
Thanks for taking the time to comment on this post! I can certainly relate to the writer of the blog post you shared! Paul and I both think that our neighbor must have some sort of device to retrieve traveling laundry. Otherwise, I think we'd still be looking out our balcony window at our stuff plopped on the awning (an awful thought). Thanks for sharing! - Carol.
i love your story! our dryer recently died (back here in la) and i strung a clothes line. i loved it as it reminded me of my youth when my mom hung everything from the line out their bedroom window! that said, my back yard got pretty windy this spring and i had to retrieve garments from my neighbors...i am looking forward to the opportunity of experiencing the friendly portuguese people on our trip in late september. we will be exploring for 2 months. any input as to your opinion of wonderful places will be appreciated! thanks for sharing your journey.
I, too remember the days when my mom would hang out the laundry. We had a beagle who always managed to snag laundry from the neighbor's clotheslines and then bring them home as an offering to my mom. I was tasked with going from neighbor to neighbor to find the owner of the stolen laundry items!
Feel free to reach out anytime if I can answer any questions about Portugal. My email is in the "About" section of my website. - Carol.
It's easy to forget all our modern conveniences here in the states. We too have seen laundry hanging to dry in Central America (many homes do not have washers either). On our trip to Guatemala, we saw the "ladies" washing their clothes in the town square in a communal stone wash station...or by the river banks... We are grateful to have washer & dryer in our leased villa in Belize; but honestly, I have not used them. We take our clothes to the village to be done....it's relatively inexpensive.. drop off in the morning/pick up late afternoon. I'm enjoying reading your stories & look forward to hearing more of your experiences. Cuidar :)
I love this post. It reminded me of another one I read several years ago - it, too, involved lost articles of clothing and some very kind Portuguese neighbors who helped retrieve them. I think you'll enjoy it. https://www.legalnomads.com/fishing-for-socks-in-lisbon/
I'm glad you got you clothes back. I adore the title of today's blog. The other day a placemat flew off our balcony. We hadn't even missed it. As we were taking Sox out for a walk someone had placed it in the entryway to our building. So nice.
Thank you! We do occasionally see a towel, t-shirt or underwear on the railing to the entryway to our building. But I guess this was too much to just leave there - and I'm grateful for that. I think I would have been even more embarrassed (if that was even possible)!
I love this post! How wonderful that your neighbor took the time to retrieve the clothes and find the owners! I was concerned about doing laundry in the winter in Lisbon due to the dampness and clouds, but it’s worked out so far (but, we’ve only been here a month). I do like hanging things out on the line and have watched, almost in awe, the speedy technique of the people across the street. Though I am waiting for (dreading?) the day that one of our items ends up in the pool of the next door AirBnB. 😳🤣 That’s probably why I put extra clothespins on the lighter items!
Thanks for your comment. Extra clothespins is a good idea! Anything to keep your laundry from flying away! -CW
Wonderful post. Our first apartment was on the top floor on the oceanfront and the strong Atlantic “breezes” were plentiful. Fortunately, never had anything go-overboard, but I did envision it. We live on the first floor now, not ocean-side and dry them on our east-facing balcony. Clothes pins are handy just in case. It’s an adventure that has forced me to look at things anew.
Thanks for your comment, Maria. Where we live, it’s always breezy. We still live on the top floor and looking down from our kitchen veranda onto the first floor patio awning, I can see a clothespin has settled on it - it’s been there for 2 weeks, but at least it’s not mine! - CW
Love this post. I often wonder about the laundry hanging outside windows and whether any ever blow away. As for me, I’ve embraced the drying rack but confess that I bought a washed/dryer all-one-unit when we first moved here. I rarely use it as the sun has a much faster drying time than the machine.
Re: laundry. On windy days weigh down your drying rack base with a folding chair or brick or whatever works. The wind and sun will dry your clothes faster than your dryer, and they smell wonderful. I have a dryer but try to use it only if necessary, and yes, electric costs are exorbitant. In Lagos (where we lived 5 years) our electricity bill went from ca. €60.- p/m in summer months to almost €300 p/m in the winter. Ok, our heating is/was electric. We are retired and have plenty of time to hang up the wash, we both do it. Part of the living experience here. I have done a marvelous photographic Clotheslines in Portugal series. They are everywhere! I find breathing in the sun and the fresh air invigorating… pure pleasure…after spending my life in big, industrial.cities.
Enjoyed reading your story!
Laura,
Thanks for taking the time to comment on this post! I can certainly relate to the writer of the blog post you shared! Paul and I both think that our neighbor must have some sort of device to retrieve traveling laundry. Otherwise, I think we'd still be looking out our balcony window at our stuff plopped on the awning (an awful thought). Thanks for sharing! - Carol.
What a fun story and how kind of your neighbor to track you down!!
i love your story! our dryer recently died (back here in la) and i strung a clothes line. i loved it as it reminded me of my youth when my mom hung everything from the line out their bedroom window! that said, my back yard got pretty windy this spring and i had to retrieve garments from my neighbors...i am looking forward to the opportunity of experiencing the friendly portuguese people on our trip in late september. we will be exploring for 2 months. any input as to your opinion of wonderful places will be appreciated! thanks for sharing your journey.
Thanks for your comment, Bonnie.
I, too remember the days when my mom would hang out the laundry. We had a beagle who always managed to snag laundry from the neighbor's clotheslines and then bring them home as an offering to my mom. I was tasked with going from neighbor to neighbor to find the owner of the stolen laundry items!
Feel free to reach out anytime if I can answer any questions about Portugal. My email is in the "About" section of my website. - Carol.
Warms my heart! Such a lovely article! Thanks for sharing Carol!
It's easy to forget all our modern conveniences here in the states. We too have seen laundry hanging to dry in Central America (many homes do not have washers either). On our trip to Guatemala, we saw the "ladies" washing their clothes in the town square in a communal stone wash station...or by the river banks... We are grateful to have washer & dryer in our leased villa in Belize; but honestly, I have not used them. We take our clothes to the village to be done....it's relatively inexpensive.. drop off in the morning/pick up late afternoon. I'm enjoying reading your stories & look forward to hearing more of your experiences. Cuidar :)
Thank you! I'm sure it's similar in other continents as it is here in Europe. I appreciate that you took the time to comment on my post. Obrigada!
I love this post. It reminded me of another one I read several years ago - it, too, involved lost articles of clothing and some very kind Portuguese neighbors who helped retrieve them. I think you'll enjoy it. https://www.legalnomads.com/fishing-for-socks-in-lisbon/
Hysterical Carol!
I loved your story and I can see myself in the same situation! And I do remember the kindness of the Portuguese people!
I'm glad you got you clothes back. I adore the title of today's blog. The other day a placemat flew off our balcony. We hadn't even missed it. As we were taking Sox out for a walk someone had placed it in the entryway to our building. So nice.
Thank you! We do occasionally see a towel, t-shirt or underwear on the railing to the entryway to our building. But I guess this was too much to just leave there - and I'm grateful for that. I think I would have been even more embarrassed (if that was even possible)!