Too much laundry

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sparrowgrass

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I live alone, but it seems like I am always swamped in laundry, so I have a question for you all.

I recently read an article, somewhere, talking about how often women washed their bras--apparently some wear them for days or weeks. I guess I am a little OCD--I rarely wear anything more than once.

How bout you guys? Clean from the skin out every day, or do you hang things and rewear? Can I relax a little?

Just to clarify, my office is very casual--jeans/khakis and polos are the uniform. (The only people I see in suits or stockings are lawyers or defendants--I work for Extension in the courthouse.)
 
The skin out?
I wear the same pair of pants for several days if they don't get visibly dirty, such as from me kneeling somewhere or dripping chicken wing sauce on them ;) They touch my skin. In the cold months I'll wear an outer sweatshirt over a T shirt, that will usually last me a few days, also.
As far as clothing that touches either private parts, feet or arm pits, that gets changed every day.
Can't help you with the bras. I don't wear one :rolleyes:
:LOL:
 
I also have mountains of laundry. I change clothes several times a day...for example, when I get up at 2:00 a.m. to start work, in the summer, I will wear sweats and a sweatshirt if the house is cool...then when it gets hot, I'll put on a t-shirt, later a sundress or shorts. And, everything goes in the laundry, doesn't matter that I only wore it for a few hours. I know, I probably could learn to curb that habit. I have been like this since a child--I was one of those children who changed clothes several times a day. I still do. I did three loads of laundry Monday night, I have three more to go to get caught up...I rarely seem to get caught up. The only thing is, I don't wear a bra unless I'm leaving the house...
 
This is an interesting discussion!

Unless you have really sensitive skin, or sweat excessively, or wear the bra like 10 hours in a row, you don't have to change it evrey single day. I went to be fitted at a fancy bra shoppe and that's what they said. You're best off letting it rest a day in between wearings, too - which I don't do.

I have a big washing machine and buying and storing enough stuff to run a full load of bras or work clothes or whatever means I have a LOT of stuff, which equals a lot of laundry. But I don't see any way around it.

Don't get me started on The Towel Thing.
 
I toss undies into the laundry daily, sometimes twice daily if there has been a workout. Depending on the workplace and the bra worn is whether it gets washed daily or not. I wear sports bras to one workplace and they get tossed daily. Teaching is not quite as physical and I can rewear many of those bras.

As for clothes, I don't toss dress pants in the laundry until they've been worn several times. Jeans, sweats and yoga pants come in for harder wear and might go in after one wearing, but not necessarily. Whatever shirt I've worn will likely go in the laundry that evening.

PJs are worn a couple of times. Towels are a couple of uses.

I try to be conscious of the water I'm using. I don't like to wash things unless I'm sure they're dirty.
 
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If I don't get sweaty I can wear a bra maybe 3 times before washing. PJs maybe 2-3 wearings. Everything else including towels gets washed after one use. DH would propably use the same bath towel forever if I didn't put up a new clean one once a week.
 
As usual, I will step into my thermal long john complete with trapdoor on Bonfire night.I have them removed surgically on Easter Monday.
 
Bras for work-two days, bras that might get worn on my days off-3 days. Jeans can last a week. At home I tend to wander in nightgowns or pj's, holdover from working nights. I only get dressed when I may need to answer the door or I'm going out of the apartment.
 
Bras for work-two days, bras that might get worn on my days off-3 days. Jeans can last a week. At home I tend to wander in nightgowns or pj's, holdover from working nights. I only get dressed when I may need to answer the door or I'm going out of the apartment.

I'm never caught with my pants off (in my bedtime outfit).
Last year I took some of the neighbor's mail over to her I got by mistake. She just flings the door open in a tiny pink nighty. Not that I minded, but it was 1:00 in the afternoon! Get off the couch and get some clothes on! :LOL:
I like to stay dressed for anything until I'm in bed, then I dress when I get out of bed. I'm not one of those people that likes to scramble to get dressed to answer the door. And apparently neither was she :LOL:
 
If you saw me in my PJ's you wouldn't know they were my PJ's. T-shirts and lounge pants. There are no short, pink nighties in my repertoire...:ROFLMAO: I'm a 100% cotton kinda girl. From neck to toes.
 
I hope you can relax a little:).

Some of my life's experiences include living in the high desert in New Mexico, hauling every drop of water I used, and living through I don't know how many droughts here in southern Ohio. I changed my criteria during one of the droughts. My water usage depended on whether we would have to start to haul water for the holding tank, or not. My current practices are; shower daily, wash sheets and towels every two weeks, jeans every week unless heavily soiled, underpants and washcloths after every use, bras on an as needed basis which is usually every 4 days or sooner. I have a front loading washer and have to scramble to find enough for a load, because it holds about two loads worth of clothes that my old top loader would hold.

Decades ago I read an article in the magazine, Countryside and Small Stock Journal, on how much water, electricity and detergent could be saved if people wore nothing to bed and therefore had no pajamas to wash....just sayin':mrgreen:
 
Decades ago I read an article in the magazine, Countryside and Small Stock Journal, on how much water, electricity and detergent could be saved if people wore nothing to bed and therefore had no pajamas to wash....just sayin':mrgreen:

Then there is the population boom...;)
 
I can still hear my mother telling us to change our clothes and hang up your good clothes etc...

I have indoor clothes and outdoor clothes!

I get more than one day out of each but in my poor befuddled mind I figure I am only wearing each set the equivalent of one day.:ermm:

I usually do two loads of laundry a week and that works most of the time.
 
I hope you can relax a little:).

Some of my life's experiences include living in the high desert in New Mexico, hauling every drop of water I used, and living through I don't know how many droughts here in southern Ohio.

Been there; done that, but in rural Quebec, in the mountains. But I didn't have a washer, so I used a laundromat. Carrying water up that hill was bad enough without having to feed a washer. A little bit of hand laundry did get done.

I changed my criteria during one of the droughts. My water usage depended on whether we would have to start to haul water for the holding tank, or not. My current practices are; shower daily, wash sheets and towels every two weeks, jeans every week unless heavily soiled, underpants and washcloths after every use, bras on an as needed basis which is usually every 4 days or sooner. I have a front loading washer and have to scramble to find enough for a load, because it holds about two loads worth of clothes that my old top loader would hold.

My front loader adjusts the amount of water to the amount of laundry. So, I can do tiny loads of laundry without wasting water. You should check if yours does.

Decades ago I read an article in the magazine, Countryside and Small Stock Journal, on how much water, electricity and detergent could be saved if people wore nothing to bed and therefore had no pajamas to wash....just sayin':mrgreen:
 
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I, too, find myself with tons of laundry for a small household (2 of us). It doesn't help that what I have in my house is an over-and-under, apartment size washer and dryer. So I'm constantly washing.

I won't say that I wash from the skin out, every day. On the other hand, I do go to a gym or exercise class, and walk a lot. It isn't unusual for me to wear (and wash) more than one pair of panties/bras a day, especially in the summer. AND I'm a very sloppy cook. I keep trying, trying, trying to remember to put on an apron. Friends, relatives, and husband keep buying me them, and I keep forgetting to put them on. So when having company I'm cooking for, I need to change before they arrive.

I'm also a woman who sweats. I mean, really seriously sweats.

So ... lots of laundry.

On the other hand, I go out at least once a week for drinks and dinner with friends, and those clothes have only been worn for a few hours.

For the latter, a very, very good trick is to buy some fabric refreshing spray (febreeze, dryell), and the next morning give your outer clothing & bra a good spray and toss in the dryer on very low (or even no) heat for a few minutes. Immediately remove and place on a hanger. Now that IL no longer allows smoking in bars/restaurants, this is enough (forget it a few years ago, I'd feel like jumping in the shower, clothes and all when I got home!).

This also works if your jeans aren't dirty, but have "knees" or "fanny" in them (will re-shape them and freshen the smell). If you have a pet that sheds, this also will remove some of the hair from dark clothing (don't need heat at all, just tumble).

Most days I wear 3 or more changes of clothes. Most get washed. But (a) hanging your clothes when you take them off (even things you normally fold) and (b) the dryer trick can reduce your overall laundry load.
 
We have a well and septic. So theoretically, the water comes into the house, and goes back into the ground as it passes through the septic system. And, I wash clothes only using cold water. Fortunately, we have deep wells and have never had one go dry. Hot water, that's another story. The hot water heater is turned off during peak electricity usage hours, so showers and other hot water requirements have to be taken between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. I usually only leave the tank on for 45-60 minutes and then turn it back off. There's usually enough hot water to take a shower and handwash the dishes. The dishwasher (yeah!) has to wait until the weekend when I turn the hot water heater on Friday evenings and leave it on until Sunday evening.

Dr. Oz had a segment on today re: body shaping undergarments. They need to be washed every day. I'll leave it at that.

And, I knew there was a reason for sleeping in the buff. But, I do keep something handy incase of fire, etc.
 
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