CleaN Clothes Every Time?

My daughter (2-1/2 years old) wears a clean outfit every morning. That lasts her through the day unless she spills something on it or gets particulary dirty, which doesn't happen often. For her pajamas, she will wear them 3 or 4 times before I wash them, unless she wears them for breakfast and spills on them.

Clean clothes everyday period! Except the nite nite. She can wear that a few times as long as its clean! Guess ill have to join y'all at the support group!

WOW, I love that you brought this up! My 2 1/2 year old changes clothes every day and Pjs every night, but I think I can start using pjs a little more often if they are clean! I think the comment about after diapers and bed wetting... so this is the time for me to consider it. Plus, her pjs get so worn out! I think she would like to re-wear them. I hadn't thought this out yet, so again Thank you!

From: Didn't know I was in the Over-Washers Anonymous Club :)

Updated

WOW, I love that you brought this up! My 2 1/2 year old changes clothes every day and Pjs every night, but I think I can start using pjs a little more often if they are clean! I think the comment about after diapers and bed wetting... so this is the time for me to consider it. Plus, her pjs get so worn out! I think she would like to re-wear them. I hadn't thought this out yet, so again Thank you!

From: Didn't know I was in the Over-Washers Anonymous Club :)

It's got to be sweaty or dirty before I'll wash it.
If you wash everything constantly all the time, your washer/dryer will wear the clothes out before your child has a chance to.
You know all that lint that collects in the lint trap?
Where do you think it comes from?
That's how things become threadbare because they are losing fibers every time they are washed.
All the wash water and detergent for washing clothes that are not sweaty/dirty is just a waste.

Definitely wear things more than once. It's wasteful of wash water & detergent (and therefore expensive), and it wears the clothes out sooner. It might seem like a small thing, but think of all the hotels now that are asking people if they will use their towels more than once. It really adds up if every family washes every single thing after one wearing. Obviously, if they've been playing in the dirt or have spilled food on something, it goes in the wash. Underwear and socks go in the wash. PJs at least a week unless they sweat a lot. The kids really aren't getting that dirty overnight! Give yourself a break.

When your kids get older and sweat/body odor is an issue, that's another thing. When my son got to that point, jeans and shorts were worn at least 3 times, and shirts twice unless sweaty. Dress pants could be worn more than that because they never got dirty. I started having him do his own laundry, and he really changed his tune then! I think giving the kids more realistic expectations for the future is a good thing. They learn to really evaluate what is necessary and what is a luxury.

Once children stop wetting the bed or being in diapers, I think it's very wasteful to wash PJs every night. Depending on the weather and the child, I would think once or twice a week is fine. You can always alternate, and air them out between wearings. You are right about the waste of water and soap, and also it wears them out much faster.

I raised 7 children -- and yes, they probably ate in PJs some of the time, although on school mornings, they were dressed. My children were always clean and neatly and attractively dressed -- even to play, since I made most of their clothes and purchased so things harmonized. I washed so many clothes I didn't just have dark and light -- I actually had red loads and blue loads as well! But ease up on yourself -- and you don't want your children to become compulsive, either!

S. Toji

Yuck. I don't wear anything twice or use a towel twice and I probably go through 15 rags a day because I like to have fresh rags every time I wipe down counters and do dishes. We live in the new millennium where washing machines are located inside our homes and we can shower everyday too! Yay for being clean.

My kids throw everything into the laundry even if they only had it on for an hour which makes me nuts. I am trying to show them that jeans & shorts can be worn a 2nd time unless they look dirty. Most shirts & all socks/undies get washed after 1 wear. PJ's are worn for 2 or 3 nights till they are washed. I have to laugh about people worried germs come home on clothes so they need to be washed everytime......we are such a germaphobe society makes you wonder how we survived as a species this long.(sarcasm) Also I like to think it helps the environment to reduce the number of times I run the water/washer/dryer etc.

I go with the general rule of unless there is breakfast all over the pj's from the morning or they are wet from him leaking out over night (he is still under two and can fill a diaper like a pro) then they are okay for the next night. I do this for a few days or until it needs to be changed. same with shorts/pants. T-shirts tend to get messy regardless of the days activity so I err on the side of new for those. We are so busy as it is, why make more work for ourselves!

I wash sheets and towels once a week. Clothes (ESP my 8yo son's) after they've been worn once. Sometimes my son burns through 3 sets of clothes in a day.

For the way we live, having fun is usually dirty, sweaty, and comes with a band aid or two. My son climbs trees, plays with the dog, plays sports, digs in the garden, helps cook... and he gets himself and his clothes dirty. If he's just gone out and gotten muddy, he strips off at the door, brushes the mud off and puts his clothes in the machine then fills the load and starts the wash. If we come back from a sport (at least once a day) he strips his uniform off and puts it in the wash. If we've been cooking and he's covered in flour/ sauce/ drips/ whatever... he strips and puts his clothes in the wash.

Lifes messy. Clean it up.

((Now if ONLY I could convince him to wash his hair without prodding. I swear. That boy. Swear to god a few months ago got my "8yo quote for the year". AKA "Mom. Soap's for losers."))

To me, being clean is worth the extra $5 a month a few loads will cost. It just FEELS good to climb into clean PJs and sheets every night (not to mention smells one whole heckuva lot better). The human body produces oils at EVERY age... and the smell of stale sweat or decaying oils is one of the grossest things on the planet to me. Add in "pee drips" from not shaking off entirely, sigh, much less first few years after potty training with periodic tiny accidents... and you have a bed that's been soaked for years in sweat, oil, and urine. GROSS. I mean, drool and snot I supposed aren't so bad (at least they don't smell) but sleeping in old bodily fluids is just something that I will not willingly do, nor make anyone I care for do. Icky. Icky. Icky.

LOL... and just for "just" fresh PJs... 7 pairs of PJs only equal a quarter to a third of a load in my house. Now, I do buy expensive clothes, so they've been worn for 1.5-2 years by my son and have now (the oldest of them) been handed down twice. The suckers stand up to getting worn AND washed. I only buy him new clothes twice a year (pants and shorts). They just *last*.

No we don't wash everything everyday. PJ usually go for a few days before they are dirty. We sometimes east breakfast in them, then they are usually done.
We do fresh underwear every day, usually a fresh shirt, simply because they get dirty. Pants it depends - during the winter the sand box at school was closed and they played inside a lot more and often her pants were still clean, now that it's nicer out they usually only last a day.
I approach it the same way as the shower question: with the exception of underwear things get washed as needed.

Wow! are you overthinking this! Que sera, sera - whatever will be, will be. If my daughters wear the same pjs for a week I am happy - less washing to be done, and little kids don't start having that funky smell until they start puberty, so I don't worry about it. My 6-year-old takes a bath and washes her hair twice a week, with a "poor man's bath" (wash rag for obvious dirt or minimal stinkiness!) as necessary. She is healthy and happy, and it saves me lots of time, as I am a single mom with three daughters. Regarding regular clothes, I would be thrilled if my girls would STOP changing clothes so much! My little one will change after playing in the yard in the sprinkler, even though the clothes she had on before she put on her bathing suit are perfectly fine to use for the rest of the day! And let's not get started about my middle teen! Just relax, and use the time you normally use for washing to do your nails or take a nap!

It really depends on the age of the kids! The short answer is yes - usually its breakfast first, then wash and get into clothes for the day. Obviously, if they mess on their PJs, I'll put them straight in the wash. If not, they get to wear the same PJs that night. Hope this helps! Again, there's no "right" or "wrong" here - just do what feels best for you and your family! :)

IF he only wore if for a couple of hours IN the house I put it back in the drawer BUT if we leave the house it'll go into the wash.

It's too easy to pick up evil germs and make the entire house sick.

I change towels every 2 days (kids usually go a little longer). Jeans they can wear twice before they're washed, unless visibly dirty. PJs for the kids are the same every night for a week... I usually switch my every night or every other night, depends. Shirts almost always need to be washed after one wear in my house. The baby gets new clothes a few times a day because he ATTRACTS dirt better than a swiffer ;)

I do the same thing, I dont ever recall putting dirty (or unwashed) clothes on my kids. Im okay with it...

We wash pajamas once, sometimes twice a week, jeans a couple of times unless visibly dirty or noticeably smelly. We encourage underwear changes frequently, but I'm sorry to say, at least one of them does not always follow through (ewww! can't stand that!).

My daughter sweats a lot. I may have her re-wear pants, but her socks and shirts and PJs need to change. In cool weather, she re-wears hoodies and sweaters before I wash them. My family re-uses towels but I can't bring myself to do so personally. Sheets are once every week or two. I don't keep track of the "big kids" (really a teen and young adult). If they want their beds to stink, then that's their problem. They do most of their own laundry.

I don't have time (before pregnancy between my working and school schedule) or the motivation and strength now (currently 8 months pregnant) to be washing a lot of unnecessary 'dirty clothes'. We usually wear panties at least 2 days and clothing - depending on if they are still clean and wrinkle free for more than 2 days, sometimes switching tops and bottoms as needed.

If something isn't dirty, sweaty, starting to have a slight worn smell, etc - I don't see why it needs to be washed (unless it is my work scrubs, which I wear once and wash - due to germs and stuff I can pick up at work).

I change the bed once a week and we each have our own towel we use which I usually wash once a week. My husband is the only one who showers everyday, due to his construction/remodeling job. My daughter and I shower 3-4 times a week.

I don't know about other Moms, but I completely agree with you on the clean clothes question. Living here in Las Vegas, the temp is warm most of the time. Because of this reason, my boys are used to put on clean clothes after their shower. During the summer, they shower twice and change twice a day - especially after sport.

I also agree with you on the PJs. Rarely they get breakfast food on their clothes, so it's alright to reuse the PJs for the week. Glad to know I am not the only one!

This explains why I have so much laundry all the time!

Well I guess I am an over washer, too. I just couldn't imagine putting PJ's on a child after a bath at say, 8pm, then that child wearing them to sleep, sweating in their sleep and what have you, and then having that child put those same PJ's on night after night. But, perhaps I would have less laundry if I did!

ETA - I wear my same pjs three nights or so in a row. But, I have walked in on my son while he is sleeping. He is drenched in sweat most times! I just cannot put those PJS back on him! lol!

=)

Shirts, generally fresh every day, and socks and underwear every day. My son sleeps in undies and a T-shirt--he might wear the t-shirt 2 nights since he's clean when he puts it on.
Jeans, shorts, etc. can go twice except if he's been in a "sliding" mood!

PJs: every 4-5 days a new pair. You only wear to bed and unless there is an accident no need to get a new fresh pair every night.

Daily clothes: Usually fresh and clean.

Jackets/coats/zipper sweaters: Washed when dirty.

Towels & sheets: usually washed once a week.

Blankets & stuff animals: washed after being sick and when dirty.

I let them wear pjs for a few nights, as long as they're not dirty. My almost 4 year old eats breakfast in his, but my 16 month old does not (too messy). If they change in the evening for some reason, they may rewear the shorts the next day. I will wear my pjs for 2-3 nights. I will also rewear shorts or capris. I wear a clean shirt everyday.

My kids get a bath usually every other night. Sometimes during winter it may be a bit longer if we're not outside/doing anything messy, etc. and sometimes during the summer it might be more due to sunscreen, sweat, etc. Anyway, they get clean undies every time they bathe. We use the same jammies for about a week unless something gross happened in them. Yes, they do eat breakfast in their jammies. This is really only an issue for my son (20 mos) b/c he's a LOT messier of an eater than my 3.5 year old! He probably goes through 2-3 pairs of jammies/week due to an over abundance of food spillage...oatmeal and yogurt are the worst!

Other than that, they really only wear their clothes once b/c they play hard and get dirty, again, especially the little one! I will say though that if they change into something halfway through the day, for whatever reason, then I might let them reuse if it still looks/smells fine at the end of the day. I also try and avoid outfit changes unless absolutely necessary b/c I think it just creates more laundry.

I am not perfect when it comes to being completely eco friendly, a girl still loves her bleach, but I do try and cut down on water usage, soap, hot water, etc. to save not only myself but the environment too!

Clean underwear everyday but as far as reusing clothes, definately! Unless they are obviously dirty, they are not allowed on their beds with their clothes on, only jammies, so no outside yuckies from their clothes get on their sleeping area.
Shirts usually get washed after they come off but pants usually get 2 day use.
Way easier on the washer and myself!;<)))))!!!

Undies, fresh pair every day. Other clothes can be worn more than once as long as there are no viable drips or food crusties on them. My kid isn't old enough to suffer from body oder yet so she doesn't stink up her clothes like us big people do but she compensates for this by taking a scatter shot approach to getting food into her mouth, so she usually needs a fresh outfit every day.

Pj's are good for a few days, like sheets on the bed. Unless she eats breakfast in them and spills. On the pj's that is. Not the sheets.

My daughter is a hot mess and can't wear any day time clothes more than once before needing to be washed, especially now that it's extremely hot here and we are outside a lot. PJs she goes about 2 or 3 nights and towels 2 to 3 baths.

My son will wear the same pajamas for a couple of days, then pitch them in the hamper (read toss on the floor). Jeans wise, if he has done nothing more that run a weekend errand or two then he will sometimes re-wear them. Shirts - no, he wears fresh ones every day. Church clothes - he will hang those back up after services - he figures he only wears them for a couple of hours sitting in the pew so they aren't dirty.

But, mine is almost 15, so he does his own laundry. Yippee.

every once in awhile we wear jeans twice - but only if i'm desperate for laundry and I can't see anything on them! Pajamas we wear a few nights before washing. Socks only one day before washing. Bras I'll wear twice in the winter sometimes three (again depending on desperation!) but summer wash after one day - I feel like I get too sweaty. Always clean underwear in the morning and after bathing. Towels I use twice - the inside (with the tag) one day, the outside the next - separate one for hair and body. I used to use clean ones everyday until my college roommate asked me if that was really necessary since it's for a "clean" body. But my baby Iuse a clean towel on every bath. Sheets are usually washed once a week - unless like last weekend I was out of it most of weekend with migraine! then it waited til Monday. My boss changes her sheets everyday!! that's too much laundry for me! LOL