SORABYCO | Life in Japan

Stuffed animals can sit on a bed or shelf for months, quietly collecting dust. Then one day you pick one up and wonder: Can I just put this stuffed animal in the washing machine? Sometimes, yes. But not every stuffed toy is machine washable. The first thing to check is the care label or the manufacturer’s cleaning instructions. A toy that can be washed with water is not necessarily safe for a washing machine, and some stuffed animals are meant to be washed only by hand. Toys with batteries, sound units, delicate decorations, glued parts, or fragile seams may need a different type of care. There is another question that comes up when living in Japan: What if the stuffed animal is too big for the washing machine at home? Can you take it to a coin laundry? That depends on the laundromat. Large machines do not automatically mean stuffed animals are allowed. So before choosing detergent or a washing cycle, find out two things: how the stuffed animal itself can be cleaned and whether the mac...

Online shopping is convenient, especially in Japan where deliveries are fast and reliable. The downside is that cardboard boxes can pile up before you realize it. That happens in my home too. If a few packages arrive in the same week, I sometimes end up with two or three empty boxes near the entrance. Since cardboard is collected only on certain recycling days where I live, I cannot always get rid of it right away. So I started wondering: Is it okay to keep cardboard boxes inside the house for a few days? Can they really attract cockroaches or other bugs? The short answer is: clean, dry cardboard can usually stay indoors temporarily until recycling day, but it is better not to keep delivery boxes for weeks or months. Cardboard absorbs moisture, and corrugated layers create narrow, dark spaces where insects can hide. The bigger issue is not that every box is “dirty” or dangerous, but that old cardboard can become part of a damp, cluttered environment that pests like. A simple routine wo...

When I first started thinking about dust mites in bedding, I assumed the usual Japanese routine was simple: wait for a sunny day and put the futon outside. But that is not always realistic when you live in Japan. Rainy season can bring days of damp weather, pollen can make outdoor drying unpleasant, and some apartments simply do not have enough balcony space for bulky bedding. So what can you do if you can’t dry your futon outside? The good news is that outdoor drying is not essential for dust mite care . If you have a futon dryer (布団乾燥機), you can use the appropriate heat setting, then slowly vacuum the surface of the bedding and wash removable sheets and covers. If you do not own a futon dryer, a coin laundry with a large dryer can also be an option for bedding that is safe for tumble drying. A dust mite spray may be useful too, depending on the product, but spraying alone does not remove mite waste and debris already left in the bedding. For me, the easiest routine to remember is: Us...

I keep a tiny refrigerator upstairs near our bedroom. It is not our main fridge. We bought it simply because going downstairs to the kitchen every time we wanted a drink at night was inconvenient. Most of the time, it holds only bottled water and a few other drinks. There is also a very small freezer compartment at the top, but we rarely use it. Recently, though, I started noticing water underneath that little freezer compartment. At first, I assumed one of the bottles had leaked. I wiped everything dry, but the moisture came back. That made me wonder: Is the mini fridge leaking, or is it just condensation? Water Inside a Mini Fridge Does Not Always Mean It Is Broken If you find a small amount of water inside a mini fridge, especially directly below the freezer compartment, condensation or melting frost may be one possible cause . Before assuming the fridge has failed, wipe the area dry and take a closer look at what is happening. A few simple things are worth checking first: Is there ...

Living in Japan with three cats means I somehow ended up with more cat beds, cushions, and little blankets than I ever expected. Some are soft winter beds, some are lighter cushions for warmer months, and a few are simply blankets that the cats decided belonged to them. For a long time, I washed them the easy way. I put the bed into a large mesh laundry bag and placed it in the washing machine. Then one day I looked closely at the seams and corners. There was far more cat hair packed into those little spaces than I had realized. Since then, I have changed one thing: I remove as much loose fur as I reasonably can while the bed is still dry, then I check the care label before washing it. You do not need to remove every single hair. The goal is simply to stop a large amount of loose pet hair from going into the washing machine at once. Remove Loose Cat Hair Before Washing The easiest time to deal with pet hair is usually before the bed gets wet. I start by looking over the whole bed and r...

Have you ever picked up a freshly washed towel, used it after a shower, and suddenly noticed a musty smell? That happened to me recently with the towels we dry indoors at home in Japan. The towels had been washed, dried, and folded as usual, so I was confused when one of them started smelling again as soon as it became slightly damp. My first thought was simple: Should I just wash it again? After looking into it, I realized that repeatedly putting the same towel through a normal wash may not solve the problem. If your towels still smell after washing, start by checking four things: 1. Check the towel’s care label. 2. If the fabric allows it, consider an appropriate laundry treatment such as oxygen bleach. 3. Check whether you are using too much detergent or fabric softener. 4. If several items smell, not just one towel, check the washing machine too. Once the smell has been dealt with, drying laundry without leaving it damp for too long can also help keep the problem from coming back. ...

When someone in your household gets the flu, the practical questions start almost immediately. Can their clothes go into the same washing machine? Should you separate dishes and chopsticks? Do they need their own room? What about towels, door handles, and ventilation? Living in Japan, these are the kinds of everyday questions that can feel surprisingly unclear. Official advice exists, but when someone is sick at home, most of us simply want to know what needs to change right now. The short answer is this: Laundry can usually be washed as normal. Used dishes can also be washed as normal. Avoid sharing towels, cups, and utensils before they are washed. If possible, let the sick person rest in a separate room. Wash hands regularly, ventilate the home, and clean frequently touched surfaces. You do not have to turn your entire home upside down just because influenza is in the house. Can You Wash Flu Laundry With the Rest of the Family’s Clothes? In many Japanese households, everyone’s cloth...

How Often Should You Replace a Kitchen Sponge? What I Do at Home in Japan A kitchen sponge is one of those things I use every day without thinking much about it. After washing the dishes, I usually rinse the sponge thoroughly, squeeze out the water, and leave it somewhere it can dry. That has been my normal routine at home in Japan for years. Then one day I started wondering: How often should you replace a kitchen sponge? And is rinsing and drying enough, or should you disinfect it too? The short answer is that there is no single number of days that works for every household. A kitchen sponge can wear out faster or slower depending on how often you use it, what you wash with it, the material, and how well it dries between uses. For me, the most practical rule is to check the condition of the sponge rather than follow a strict calendar. If it has become flat, torn, badly discolored, difficult to rinse clean, or still smells after washing, it is probably time to replace it. For everyday ...

I usually leave the lid of my washing machine open when I’m not using it. We have a top-loading washing machine at home in Japan, and leaving the lid open after doing laundry has become such a normal habit that I never really thought about it. Recently, though, I closed the lid because I wanted to put a few things on top of the machine. When I moved them later and opened the washer again, I noticed something. It seemed to smell a little different inside. It wasn’t a strong odor, and I couldn’t say that closing the lid had caused it. But because I normally leave the machine open, it made me wonder: Should you leave a washing machine lid open after use? The simple answer is yes, at least for a while. Letting the inside dry after a wash can help reduce the damp conditions that may contribute to mold and odors. Once the inside is dry, it’s fine to close the lid. You don’t need to leave it open all day, and there isn’t one universal rule such as “leave it open for exactly two hours.” Drying...