Things you wouldn't know unless you live without central heating...

So many of you know that experiencing a Japanese winter has been a bit shocking for my SoCal acclimated body. Some of my very favorite things right now are my long underwear, my electric blanket, and my blanket sized scarf. I'm not quite sure how Japanese people do this winter after winter without central heating. Hypothetically it makes sense to only heat the room you are in, instead of wasting money heating the rest of the house while you aren't in it, but the implications of this are much more far reaching than you'd think. So I thought I might enlighten you.

When your space heater lives in the living room:
*Toothpaste gets very cold and is much harder to apply to your toothbrush.
*It is unnecessary to worry about putting dinner left overs away quickly for the kitchen is near the same temperature as the refrigerator.
*Motivation to do things such as laundry, involving being in an unheated part of the house for any length of time, is incredibly low.
*It is very difficult to thaw frozen foods by simply setting them out of the fridge.
*Nail polish becomes much thicker as it reaches temperatures near freezing.
*If you wish to ever leave the living room, slippers are essential.
*A heated toilet seat is no longer an awkward feeling, but a necessary one.
*Drinking a truly hot beverage is difficult unless sitting near the heater.
*Money spent on tissues increases due to the constant change between hot and cold between rooms causing a constant drippyness.
*My straightener beeps continuously when initially heating when it does not start at room temp.
*You no longer have to worry about keeping the front door open.
*Getting out of bed in the morning is beyond difficult, but it is very handy to keep a warm throw on top the bed to immediately wrap yourself in.
-I will likely add to this list in the future...

You know, Japan is not really all that cold compared to many places like Illinois or Minnesota, but when you live in the states you drive everywhere, no walking or biking in the frigid cold (a couple days ago I rode my bike while snow was falling to get to Japanese class). Then when you arrive at your destination, you can look forward to walking in the front door into a warm room.