Adventures In Laundry: How to dry stuff!

I didn't intend for my first, real post to be quite so soon.   But Mr. Tofu Fox got scheduled for a night flight. So, rather than tackle the mound of dishes lurking behind me, I opted to take this shiny, new blog for a spin.  We start with my most-hated of chores: laundry.  I am sure many of you join me in this hatred.  Unfortunately, for those of us used to a full cycle of American laundry taking two hours max, Japanese laundry is going to make you want to tear out your eyebrows.  Fear not, dear Reader.  I have suffered for TWO YEARS OF LAUNDRY HELL. I can now can bring you, not only the basics, but also the helpful tips that I have finally learned...last week.  

The basics:  Meet my washer.  It's the one on the bottom.  Meet my dryer.  It's the one on the top.  The washing machine is small, but awesome.  I can fit either one load of queen size sheets, or one load of queen size comforter, no problem.  It's not the fastest little machine ever, but the longest load cycle doesn't take longer than an hour.  Not bad.

My dryer is the appliance from hell.  I do not exaggerate.  A full load takes, generally, about five hours to dry.  Five.  Hours.  I quickly realized that I was not doing more than one load of laundry per day using this thing.  Even worse, this thing has a lint catcher that is the size of that dryer door window.  Use this dryer enough, and my clothes will disappear before my eyes.  

Let's return to the awesomeness of my washing machine.  You may not be able to read the display panel. That's ok. I can't, either!  All you have to do is memorize the Start button, the Cycle Selection button,  the Regular Cycle option, and the Night option.  Ahhhhh, the Night option.  Sheer genius.  This is what you use when you need to wash clothes at 10 pm.  No need to accidentally be rude (this time) to your long-suffering Japanese neighbors who will have to listen to the American Elephants, stomping around upstairs, for three years. Simply select the Night option and this little gem washes your clothes almost silently.  Feel free to fall asleep and wake up to clean clothes.  Ta da!

Of course, with such a grossly inefficient dryer, one quickly realizes the best (and cheapest.  Imagine how much it costs to run a dryer for five hours) method of clothes drying is...outside!

My laundry.  

My neighbors' laundry.  If you are not lucky enough to have a roof...or a yard...or a parking space...your apartment will come equipped with a laundry bar on your very small balcony.

A great day for laundry.  Hello, cherry blosoms!

Of course, the other thing one quickly realizes is...sometimes it rains.  Actually, in Japan, it rains a lot.  So I learned a new life skill: checking the weekly weather forecast to see when I should schedule my laundry days.  THIS, my friends, is where the SUFFERING FOR TWO YEARS comes into play.  Please bear with me, this is embarrassing.  It took me that long to realize that I could use all the outdoor laundry space expanders, that my Japanese neighbors use, indoors.  

Perhaps I am not the best person to write a how-to blog.

I finally realized that the extra shower bar in my shower/tub room, inexplicably not in a location to hold a shower curtain, was, in fact, a laundry bar.  

Brilliant.  

How can you stay mad at laundry when it's this cute?

 Unfortunately, the cute little piggy hanger isn't the most sturdy.  For a few months, I used him (and his froggy twin) to keep our undies, socks, and kitchen towels from being eaten by the dryer.  The rest of my clothes I reluctantly (and expensively) tossed in the dryer each rainy day.

That is, until, I was wandering around a ¥100 store and discovered THIS.  There I was, in the laundry aisle of the store, and the skies opened up and angels started singing.  This has literally changed my life.  I think, in terms of life impact, I would put getting married first, having a kid second, and buying this thing third.  

 Not the white, hanging rack. I've known about those.  I am talking about...

THIS.

This little door hook has quintupled my rainy day laundry capabilities.  QUINTUPLED.  I have five interior doors just like the one pictured!  Not to mention closet doors!  And a friend of mine just informed me that she found a similar hook that attaches to her shower head.  !!!!!  I can now do all my laundry during a typhoon!

Lesson learned.  When you think that something makes absolutely no sense and you can't believe that the entire Japanese nation puts up with it...they don't.  You just haven't cracked the code, yet.  May it take you 1 year and 11 months less than it took me*.

Ganbatte!

The Tofu Fox

*This is the post that will make my on-base-living friends think about their giant, efficient American laundry appliances with smugness.  That's ok.  Next week, when the base turns off their heat, I will still be able to run mine.

Disclaimer:  I do my best to make sure all my information is accurate.  However, details may change or I may just be flat-out wrong.  Please let me know if something needs a correction.  Thank-you!