How Many Changes of Clothes?

Updated on May 16, 2011
V.M. asks from Conneaut, OH
18 answers

So kids went to school in one outfit, came home changed into playclothes, put the school clothes in the laundry (yea kids) got an unexpected call and had to take them to an appointment at 5pm, I took them in their playclothes but was wondering what people were thinking of me. I feel like i am constantly doing huge loads of laundry. I want my kids to be kids and not to have to worry if they get dirty, but I'm also realizing appearances do count for alot. So how many changes do your kids do a day, and how much do you worry about the grass stains on their knees and the drip of jelly on their shirt?

I guess i am thinking ahead to summer, It would be ideal if i could schedule things so that we can start off in the nicer stuff. change once and stay that way, but If we have a moring at home and they want to paint, then we go out for some type of lesson say piano, then we meet friends at the playground then go out to a nice dinner with grandma, i'm going to spend more time nagging them to get changed than I am actually letting them be kids..

Oh and i'm not talking babies here, somehow i think they should always have a bib on and you can just change that out real quick if they drool too much or what ever.

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So What Happened?

We dont have school uniforms, but my son puts holes in the knees of his jeans like crazy, I bought 6 pair this year and only 2 have really survived- no wind pants at school so it's jeans almost everyday. AND i made him change once he got home hoping they would last longer. And my daughter spills things on her shirts EVERYDAY so i can't just hang it back up. Wish i could.

So not a serious life changing question, but just looking to make life easier for mommy, while still looking presentable.

Featured Answers

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M.M.

answers from Washington DC on

My youngest is 10 and forever I have kept a clean shirt in the car. Jeans hide dirt pretty well. I also have babywipes for instant face cleanups and hand washing.

Whatever my kids wear to school is what they wear to play in.

Also go to Sears and get on their Kidvantage plan. Then when he ruins a pair of jeans bring them back and get a new one. Same size and you need to keep the receipts, but so worth it if you have a rough and tumble boy.

1 mom found this helpful

C.M.

answers from Washington DC on

for us, what we put on in the morning, stays on until we go to bed. I can't imagine changing clothes that many times in a day. The laundry would drive me crazy!

1 mom found this helpful

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T.S.

answers from San Francisco on

Well I never had separate school and play clothes for my kids, unless you go to private school and wear a uniform what's the difference?
I was more concerned that everything fit, was appropriate (for the weather/situation) and did not have holes.
Kids are kids and stains happen. I wouldn't worry about it unless it was really gross. I actually get mad at my kids if they come home from school and want to change (hellloo, that shirt is not dirty, do not add to my laundry pile unless it's absolutely necessary!) And they do brush their teeth and hair every morning, which (as I'm sure you know) makes a big difference in their appearance :)

2 moms found this helpful
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R..

answers from Chattanooga on

We never had seperate school and play clothes. We just played in it all, unless we were doing something especially messy, then we wore our work clothes. (we used to help on my grandma's ranch, plus we had work on our own, so work clothes were a must... Nothing like caking your pants in cow doodie! lol)

1 mom found this helpful

D.G.

answers from Lincoln on

My daughter doesn't really (or had when younger) separate play clothes from school clothes. I just didn't worry and scrub and soak a lot! So usually just one! Sometimes on Sundays if she wears something a little more dressy she will come home and change but then I have her hang it up unless I know she spilled on it. Because I can't keep up with the laundry as it is!

1 mom found this helpful
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H.W.

answers from Portland on

I let my son wear it until he shouldn't. Usually, he wears the same clothes morning til night, unless they are wet or muddy from play. If it's an appointment with the doctor or we are meeting for dinner at a nicer place, I might change his clothes. And no, I don't worry too much about the jelly or the stains. If someone is offended, that's their problem. If they want to judge me as a mom, have at it...I've got better stuff to do than worry about what some stuffed shirt thinks. Kids are kids, kids are messy. I can't imagine torturing my son with tucking in his shirt and running around behind him all day, cleaning him up.:)

1 mom found this helpful
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D.R.

answers from New York on

omg i swear i spend half my waking hours doing laundry. im sitting amongst mounds of it right now, and thats just from not doing it for 2 or 3 days... you would crack up if you saw me here on the corner of our sectional with piles of folded laundry covering every bit of the couches, seats and backs. with 2 more loads to come up before i start putting away. at midnight. always.... i wish i could post a pic. anyway, now that its baseball season, my kids can change up to 3 times a day, before pjs,,, the little guy sometimes 4 or 5. and almost everything they take off is mildly dirty to absolutely filthy. they are so gross! my little guy is so gross its funny. hes like pigpen. nothing more fascinating than dirt, i swear he seeks it out. but he is so damn cute and they are having fun. i try to have fun with them when i can, you cant do laundry every minute. i dont have any scheduled changes at all,, we get changed when we have to. seems like we always have to. i leave them in whatever they are in until its too gross. i cant. its exhausting. and in the summer, omg it is at least doubled. they are always wet. and so much showering/swimming equals more towels too! many days i can see what any of them ate all day by looking at their clothes. or in my daughters hair. grosss. ....anyway, i use prespot stain remover from melaleuca, i keep a spray bottle by the laundry and one upstairs by the hamper, and everything i care about gets a soaking and i throw it right in the hamper. if it comes out, great. it usually does, that stuff is great. i cant be changing them in and out of playclothes after school. i used to. in the winter i still do sometimes, im so germophobic in the winter, all the windows closed all the time, always sick, etc.... but really, the school is so gross anyway, i consider school clothes to be playclothes for the most part. when they come home, shoes off, wash up, and homework and play/baseball/dance, whatever..... they arent allowed to even touch any of the beds in their school clothes. mostly, they clean up at the end of the day, change and get into clean beds with a clean body and pjs. im happy i have leather furniture in the living room, i wipe it down. ok, just wanted to commiserate... back to the laundry!!!!

1 mom found this helpful
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S.S.

answers from Cincinnati on

my toddler is constantly getting his lunch on his shirt(despite the bib) yesterday his shirt was coated in orange from spegetti os, and it is not uncommon to see oatmeal in his hair. I really dont worry about it.

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S.C.

answers from Fort Wayne on

We have good clothes and play clothes. The good clothes are the things they wear to the store, appointments, parties, school, etc. The play clothes are the ones that they can get all stained up and ripped and I don't care. We generally only do the play clothes thing in the summer. In the winter, we're inside and there's a lot less of a chance that the clothes are going to get ruined.
When they take off their good clothes, they go right back in the drawer or on the hanger. There's no need to wash them if they only wore them for a little bit.
Chances are no one cares if your kids clothes have stains. They most likely aren't going to look or even notice. Personally, I like my kids to look neat if we're going to be out and about. A little stain or whatever isn't a big deal. But, you care more about it than a stranger is ever going to.

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R.M.

answers from Topeka on

I had 3 girls so our laundry was a never ending cycle. Especially as they get older it is 2 showers a day, and trying on 6 different outfits before they found what was JUST RIGHT for school that day. It sounds to me like your children are pretty "normal"...and I wouldnt worry about changing their clothes for a run to the store or something like that. Just use your own judgement....if it is something special...sure clean em up...wash their faces and put clean clothes on them..if not...don't worry!!! Relax...enjoy your summer

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P.W.

answers from San Francisco on

My kids wore one outfit each day. Unless on a rare occasion they got filthy, or got a shirt covered in ice cream, or something.

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J.S.

answers from Detroit on

Normally, i change my son in the morning and then again after we play outside (or he just wears his diaper). And yes I feel as though I am forever doing laundry. Just last night I spent an hour folding, matching socks and putting away dd's clothes. Son's just went back into basket.

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

My kids wake up, change out of jammies, put on clothes for the day.
Then they are in those same clothes, until they take a bath.
They don't get, unbearably soiled.

AT home though, IF they are going to do something dirty, I have them put on "home clothes." ie: these are clothes that are JUST for home and I don't care if they get dirty. Because, they although clean & washed, are clothes I could not get the stains out or are clothes/t-shirts my kids use for 'dirty' things only. Or clothes that are a tad too small. Its only for home, for dirty things/activities.

IF we go out, again.... well they are already in their clothes for the day. I don't make them change outfits, again, just to go out, again.
They are not stink/dirty/busted up clothes.

So, at home, they know, the difference between "home clothes" and clothes they wear out.

And, in the car, I have back-up clothes. Always.

I don't know, but I never have a problem with my kids clothes or when we are out and in and out and in and then segue to other places.

IF their 'home clothes' is not all messed up/soiled... then fine they go out like that too.

Get, iron-on patches for your kids' jeans.

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A.D.

answers from Washington DC on

Fun all day...wear the same clothes (unless wet with something). Then, if dinner with grandma or something, we'll put on another outfit. But we go for playdates and bike rides sporting the "lunch leftovers" and "moon sand" and whatever else they manage to get on them. They are kids going to play...not on a job interview! And I STILL have tons of laundry! LOL

C.W.

answers from Las Vegas on

The way I do it now (nice clothes for going out to stores or whatever vs play clothes) is she will have her cute outfit on and when we go out (depending on how hard it is to get stains out of) she can change into play clothes/shoes and then if we go somewhere change back into that same cute outfit she had on before. Usually goes along with washing the dirt off her face, arms, and legs lol. But it also depends where she's playing, outside in our backyard means play clothes but going to the neighborhood park where it's grassy I don't bother putting on play clothes. Do they have a school uniform or something?

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K.B.

answers from Philadelphia on

One set of clothes a day in our house! I can't afford to keep doing laundry. The only time they change out their clothes is if we are going somewhere like dinner or doctor (not just to the store) and something has a huge mess on it, mainly the shirt. Kids get knee dirt. No one cares. I do not have school clothes vs play clothes. I don't dress my kids up for school so they wear their clothes all day and night until bath time. My kids where jeans, sweats, and a cute top I buy at Walmart for a few dollars. My triplets are 6. My daughter wore a pink tie dye shirt with a heart on the chest. One son wore a Spiderman tee. The other son wore a red tee that said, "I work 4 football". All were bought at Walmart for about $5 each. Nothing fancy but nothing grubby. I use Shout to spray on stains. There are days I feel they're infants again they have so many stains on them, mostly the boys with food, and dirt with my daughter because she's a nature lover and is constantly exploring around trees and such. But if we're home there's absolutely no reason I'm going to change their clothes. I can't afford the extra electricity, detergent and wear on my washer and dryer to wash double the clothes. And when it's time for bath and their clothes look like a train wreck we laugh and say, "You must have had a fun day!" It's funny though. Their bodies don't get dirty, per se, just their clothes sometimes, and their hands some. I mean, they don't walk around with blackened faces and filth up and down their bare legs. If they ever did I'd grab baby wipes and give them a quick wipe down and let them back out, lol.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

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K.B.

answers from Tulsa on

I let her wear the same clothes all day which means her leggings don't last very long at all. $4 at Target so I hope she learns to like jeans soon.

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D.N.

answers from Chicago on

Sometimes, if they get clothes dirty and we have to get out the door, I take a washcloth and spot clean that jelly off the shirt. By the time we get where we're going, its dry. When my older ones were little (3 or 4) they were ALWAYS dirty since we have a huge yard. grass stains on the knees can stay their, they are kids afterall.

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