Over-laundering clothes

What's your routine?

Do you wash an article of clothing each time you wear it? Or, do you wear it more than once before laundering?

Lately I've been observing the slow "wear" of some clothing articles and decided to not wash them as often. Thankfully, with my new Crystal deodorant stick , my perspiration is kept at quite a minimum, even in hot New Mexico!

Useful question.

I wear a garment several times before I launder it. It terms of frequency: it depends on colour of garmet, fibre and what I wore the garment for.

For bottoms, ie. jeans..I might wear it 10-15 times before I launder it. I seldom do "dirty" work since I live in a condo with no yardwork required.

Handwashing some fine/good clothing would make the whole garment last alot longer. I used to handwash alot of my clothing, but I've become lazier over the years.

Did I disgust anyone?

Didn't disgust me! I wear panty shields to prolong the life of my pants etc! Jeans I wear about 2-3 times. Crops etc about twice. Shorts, twice as well. Unless I get 'em dirty.

I have separate soap-making attire.....so please don't EVER drop in on a production day!! LOL!!

Interesting question! I don't wash my clothes every time I wear them, unless I spill something, or one of the dogs leaves something on them (like mud or dogspit! LOL). We have a Bosch front loader with a delicate cycle and a handwash cycle if I need them, and I've heard the front loaders are gentler on clothes than the top loaders (don't know if that's true or not).

I wear my clothes once, then in the clothes hamper they go! I sweat and get dirty too much from yard and house work to wear the same clothes more than once.

Yonuh, I have a Bosch front loader (and dryer) too. I love it! The wash cycle is so quiet, I forget I'm doing laundry. I have also washed items that should have gone to the dry cleaners on the handwash cycle, and they all came out just fine.

I have a sniff test and a dirt test. If it fails either one, an item goes into the wash.

However, most days I'm home at my bead desk or on the computer, and unless we're mid-summer, I can wear things a lot before they need washing. (And no one really sees me, so I don't care.)

We're in semi-desert climate and under drought conditions more often than not. It seems ecologically untenable to wash clothing after every wearing.

I'm like Cookie. I wear my clothes once and toss them in the laundry basket. There really is'nt much choice when using public transport to and from work, as well as running all over the place. I even change my towel everyday. I use two and the one I use to dry my body gets thrown in the wash as the last thing it dries after a shower are my feet. I would not want it back on my face the next time.

However, I use my suit jackets a week's worth before they get sent to the dry cleaners because they get hung behind the door in my office and I use a black kimono in its place in the office. I change that twice a year as it never touches my body anyway.

It depends on the fabric and what I'm wearing them for. Most things go in after one wear and others like church clothes get worn many times before cleaning or laundering. Cottons get worn once and fabrics like wool, not quite so often.

I try very hard not to buy clothes that need dry cleaning because paying for dry cleaning is one of my pet peeves. However, Ross is forever having clothes dry cleaned. Every shirt he wears to work, after one day, goes to the dry cleaners. It's an expense that I wish we didn't have, but I'm not ironing all those shirts. Been there, done that ages ago and they hardly looked as good as they do when dry cleaned.

Anyone found a way around dry cleaning?

Maybe find a gal who will iron for you. Just might be cheaper than dry cleaning. Not sure. How 'bout your daughter? Pay her maybe?

I cannot recall the last time I had something dry cleaned. WAY too expensive for me. Everything I wear is washed or not purchased. And since our dryer is not hooked up (due to some future laundry room renovations), everything has to look good off the line, too. I fold it immediately......hang it out at night so the sun does not bleach. Uses the Permanent Press cycle on the washer. It's all fine. I'm at a time in my life that clothing I wear does NOT have to look perfect. I love the age I'm at now!!

I'm pretty much like Meredith: sniff or dirt, into the wash. I don't wash everything after one wearing at all unless something fairly catastrophic has happened (except my underpants; those get worn once). Mostly I do not buy anything that has to be dry cleaned; seeing that tag makes me decline to order or put the item back. I have a couple of things that benefit from an ironing touch-up, but it's no big deal. I'm a good ironer and it only takes a few minutes.

Otherwise, if my stuff is still decent, it gets folded or hung back up and worn again.

Living in the south it's wear once and into the wash...here's one for you...have you had clothes in the dryer and having clothes in the washer...the dryer stops before the washing machine and you forget about them...then when the washer stop you find all the clothes in the dryer are wrinkled so I toss in a damp wash cloth to regenerate the moisture to dewrinkle the clothes...then I get busy doing something else and it's the next day before I realize I've forgotten the laundry...which means another damp wash cloth goes into the dryer to regenerate the moisture to dewrinkle the clothes and the load in the washer gets washed again because they smell funny...and on and on it goes...Anyone else this dysfunctional with their laundry?

Dee,

Absolutely! I hate when I do that!

Laundry is just one of those things!

:0)

Danita

I line dry everything.wash everyday .During senior school we were taught Home Economics which included laundry by a formidible lady .cooking from scratch .Exams set by Scottish standard countrywide.
How to hang a washing....presoak...boil linens starch mens collars..tablecovers ..nurses caps ..all the old stuff.
How to iron a hankerchief..where an intial or embroidery was on the corner..what had to be washed outside in..
so my automatic washing machiene is my best frien in the kitchen..
I DO have a system where the towels dry best..bedlinen gets the best blow from the wind..and panties and bras discretly away from my door where callers would see my cup size(No kidding)
having been taught old school when a family member hangs stuff out not to my system I itch to change things but dont..I dont think I am obsessive about laundry but always believed the subject was as important as science..which indeed was the basis of my first career.
The culture/climate we grow up in will be a factor in our belief system.Terry nappies(diapers)with muslin linings were used by me and all my peers. at that time I had a drier way before most people in order to keep the baby laundry on target.I air laundry on a wooden clothes rack and iron almost everything..
My daughter did not have this training..a modified cookery course only for two years.One generation changed the sylabus.

I use a timer when I'm doing laundry. Otherwise I'd be in the same boat as you.

Does your dryer have a "done buzzer"? Mine does, but I don't use it, it's too obnoxious. And I can hear the dryer from just about every room in the house.

Okay, I'd love to see you gals poll this and see what different opinions are. If your kitchen cabinets are new with laminated shelfs do you n eed to put in shelf paper? Do you use it? Thanks for opinions.