I've been washing clothes only and drying them in the apartment. Inevitably, that means a few pairs of pants or heavy shirts end up on the balcony rail. Well, about a week ago, I got a letter from the office telling me that it's against the local fire code and "community standards" for me to do this and asking me to remove the clothing post haste. Ironically, there wasn't anything on the railing that day. Apparently, it's okay for families in the complex to dry their children's swim suites and pool towels on the rail but not okay for me to dry Ba'al's pants out there. Somebody please tell me the difference!
Myself personally, I have a feeling this has more to do with someone's fear that the complex will start to look like a getto than with fire codes. The complex is old and something is always falling apart (don't even ask me to get started on what's been going on this summer) but the buildings look nice and the grounds are well manicured. The complex next door to us is literally falling apart and is a trash heap in comparison to where we live. The rents are similar though. We're totally getting a good deal here. It's just irritating to me that here I am trying to save money and do something good for the environment and they're coming down on me like a ton of bricks.
One of the boards I go to regularly is for families trying to live eco-friendly. Recently, a woman came on looking for ideas to reduce her water usage. One of the suggestions made was to stick a bucket under the shower while the water is warming up. That water an be used for watering plants, soaking dishes, really anything you don't need hot, hot water for. The original poster liked the idea but the suggestion led to a discussion about gray water. It turns out that in many cities, it is illegal to recycle gray water (water with soap in it) into your toilet. How crazy is that? One of the best ways to reduce a city's dependence on water is *illegal*!
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