High and Dry

I read several environmentalist blogs to get tips on how to change your lifestyle so it's more "green" or "eco-friendly" or whatever. Sure, Gareth and I don't have a car, our main modes of transportation being for him train and Tube, and for me bike and feet. We're very conscious about our energy usage, and even went with an electricity supplier who uses 20% renewable resources (e.g. wind farms) and is the #1 investor in Britain for development and production of more renewable resources (e.g. more, better wind farms). But we have some eco-problems.

1) Despite several letters to our city council, they insist that for some reason, we can't recycle.
2) Gareth still blitzes the house with chemical cleaners, when home-made ones are just as effective and safer!
3) I can't find concentrated laundry detergent because the store is always sold out (general note: if you ever want to know what a prolonged food shortage is like, try going to our local grocery store. I can't remember the last time the shelves were fully stocked).
4) We still buy paper towels. I have no idea why.
5) We eat meat way more often than we should, even though it's so bad for the environment (according to the Guardian, producing 1kg of beef results in more CO2 emissions than going for a three-hour drive while leaving all the lights on at home).
6) We take long haul flights several times a year.

But the one thing that I have total mixed feelings on is our laundry. Our loads are always full, mostly because our washing machine makes normal American ones look industrial sized. And we almost always use the "eco wash" option. But for whatever reason, the cycle lasts over two hours. That's right. Two hours. It's a known fact here that we can put a load of laundry in, go see a movie at the cinema, come back, and it will still be washing away. There's no way that is a good thing.

Now for the upswing - we don't have a drier. All of our laundry is dried on a clothes rack in the living room. Since moving to England, I have learned that driers are a luxury, and an unnecessary one at that. I don't know anyone with their own drier here. So I can't actually remember what a soft towel feels like, but who cares?

Reasons why people don't air dry their clothes:
Time: I'm usually in the library and was working part time. Gareth commutes back and forth from London, so it's not like we're flush with time.
Space: Our flat is *tiny* and the clothes drier takes up the better part of our living room.
Climate: Oh yeah, England isn't exactly known for it's hot, dry weather.
Putting laundry outside is embarrassing/gives me allergies: We dry indoors because we have to - our "outside" is a parking lot and the back end of an Indian restaurant.

My question is, if we can do it, heck, if almost all of Britain can do it, why can't everyone else?

So I challenge you - pretend you don't have any other option like us. Try air drying your clothes. If you put 5 seconds of thought into it, you'll hang up your clothes in the evening and when you wake up, they should be dry. And think of how much electricity and money you'll have saved. Let me know how it goes!

Oh yeah, and please, for the love of goodness, reuse or recycle plastic bags. Better yet, don't take them in the first place and use your own reusable bag. It's so simple and easy and makes such a huge difference.