Ivy says:
The problem with writing for many, many other blogs is that eventally, you won’t be able to find a post you have written that you want to share with people. More than a year ago, I wrote a cute post about how often you should wash various clothing and household items. I could have sworn I had written it for this site, but I just spent an hour searching and it’s not on this site.
The good thing about being a writer is, you can always write it again, so that’s what I’ll do. The comments from the SSA post and the linen closet post are what reminded me of this post. By the way, now is a good time for me to thank you guys for all your comment love. I once said, every comment I get is like handing me a five dollar bill. I said this back in the day when I was first blogging, and it still holds true to this day. Except for the spam comments and the occasionally really ugly comments, I get super happy with each comment. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Now, let’s talk about how often I wash things. Shirts, underwear and socks are always washed after one wearing. Underwear and socks for obvious reasons, shirts because a. I sweat and b. I have a tendency to spill things. I’d wash my bras as often, but I don’t have a whole lot of them and when I buy a bra, I buy expensive. So I usually rinse the one I’m wearing that day out and hang it to dry. I let them do the rinse thing about 3 times before I toss them into the Pile Of The Great Unwashed, also known as my laundry pile.
Now, pants and especially jeans I wash after about 2 days of wearing. When I was really, really poor and didn’t have a washing machine in my apartment, that stretched to about 3 days of wearing- I’d hang the jeans up to let them air out a bit, it seemed to help. As far as dresses/skirts, since I started going to a church that’s all about the casual, so I wear skirts and dresses so rarely that I automatically just toss them in the laundry. When I went to Our Lady Of The Cadillac, I’d hang the dresses up to be worn another time, sometimes.
Now, for kid clothes. My oldest son is kind of snotty* and won’t wear anything that’s not spotlessly clean, so he does some of his own laundry. My younger kids are instructed to put shirts in the laundry after wearing and jeans/pants/shorts/skirts are to be laid over the chair in their room for weekend and/or outside play.
Bath towels are to be used about 3ish days. We hang them up on towel racks after use so they don’t get mildewy. (Thanks to the commenters for reminding me of this, so I could point this out to my husband! I won the linen closet argument handily!) Hand towels hang on the hand towel rings until my kids steal them to clean something up or I clean the bathroom.
Bed sheets I wash about every 2 weeks. Blankets and comforters are washed at the end of the season, with the exception of the blanket throws that are in my living room, which get washed weekly since they get tossed on the floor and are the relaxing place of choice for my kitties.
Being able to keep down the amount of times things are worn is key to being able to keep the laundry pile under control. It’s also the more eco-friendly way to do things. Have a happy Saturday, Home Eccers!
*This is the second time I’ve said my oldest son is snotty. I don’t want you guys to think he’s actually a snotty person, because he’s not. He is a very, very good kid and very responsible. He’s just funny about clothing for the reasons I explained in the comments about the SSA post. He’s also 14 years old, which is a snotty age.
HA! My kid is often snotty, too, but in the "literal" sense of the word. He's 6, and he insists on rubbing his nose on his sleeves. So yeah. Another reason to always wash his shirts after each wear.
Great site, by the way! I just got pointed over here today by Blair at Wise Craft.
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