Laundry Laments

So I have accepted that some things will always occur. For example, the fact that the eccentric neighbors across the street burn their garbage all the time (yes, it's illegal, but nobody says anything "because they are old and crazy"). That is the answer that I get from people in the town.
Anyway, I basically do my laundry on the weekends because, in Japan, everyone hangs their laundry outside to dry. (I'm not sure why. It's a cultural observation that I have yet to find an answer for other than "we like the smell of the sun in our clothes". They obviously don't live down-wind from the neighbors who burn their smelly garbage and end up with clothes that wreak!)
At any rate, hanging clothes outside would help reduce the amount of electricity being used. So it has some redeeming qualities. I would often hang certain clothing items to dry because I wouldn't want them to shrink, but I ALWAYS dried my towels, socks, and underwear. I was raised that was the sanitary thing to do. Not only that, but when you hang heavy cottons to air dry, they don't feel clean and they are often rough, not soft. What I wouldn't give for liquid fabric softener right now!
After all this frustration, I realized that I did not want my clothes to smell bad anymore. My neighbor pointed out to me that the nearby store had a clothes drying tree. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I can now dry my clothes anytime that I want to INSIDE my apartment. Rain or shine, garbage burning or no garbage burning, I can do laundry without exposing my clothes to the elements.
The smell of the sun may be a wonderful thing, but since I have yet to experience it (thanks to my neighbors), I think that the smell of my apartment is just as good.