Laundry Lamentations

I know, I'm being a bit melodramatic. I have to say though, that one of the things I really, really, REALLY miss, is the way laundry is done back home. It's true that Japan has the same technology (and in some cases more advanced technology) in the washer/dryer department, it's just that they choose not to utilize the dryer most of the time.
Many people hang their clothes to dry. The reasoning behind this, is so their clothes will smell like the sun (I don't buy that in my neighborhood. Not for a second. We have neighbors who are burning trash 24/7. There's no way my clothes will know what it's like to smell like the sun. The only thing they smell like is burnt trash mixed with Febreeze!). Oh yeah, and some will add (as an afterthought), that hanging clothes to dry saves energy.
OK, sure. saving energy is important, but so is wearing CLEAN clothes. It is really annoying and disheartening to bring your clothes in from wear they hang to dry outside, only to see that they are dirtier than before you put them in the wash. If you have to wash your clothes again, you are wasting energy AND water.
Also, I have always been a proponent of washing towels, socks, and underwear, sheets, etc... in hot water and drying them. This process kills germs. I don't like putting this stuff outside to dry where little bugs often rest...EWW! I refuse to hang some of it outside. I now have a laundry tree for the smaller stuff.
All of those other issues aside, let's not forget that Japan is a humid place and the rainy season is upon us. It's hot and humid. Many times, we are walking to and from school in the rain. Because it is hot though, we often become a little sweaty. When we get home, our clothes are wet from the rain and perspiration. I often peel off my clothes and put them into the washer when I get home. So you can imagine, that hanging them to dry is not very effective when you have to hang them outside to dry (where it's raining!). The window of drying opportunity is really limited (especially when you're gone during most of the day). I think it's gross when my clothes are damp for 2-3 days because they won't dry :+(
So anyway, yesterday was a nice laundry day (aside from the neighbors burning). I washed clothes, I brought them in. I didn't have many bugs on my stuff (yeah!) I planned what I would wear today. Noticed that nothing needed ironing immediately and didn't worry about it.
Well, I went to get dressed this morning, I noticed that my pants had streaks (from the smoke that carried over from the neighbor's trash!). I didn't notice it yesterday, because the pants were damp enough not to see it. I had to spend extra time this morning using a damp sponge on my pants just to be presentable today.
I'm really tired of doing laundry this way! I just don't have the extra space that I need to hang all of my clothes inside :+(
Granted, I used to hang my dress pants to dry back home, I had a place to do this. I was also able to dry everything else, so space wasn't an issue.
Anyways, that's something that I miss and can't wait to get back to (although it will be another year).