Wearing clothes several times before washing? - Page 5

[Village Mama]

Our kids can rarely rewear clothes... really we are always pretty dirty! But we live in a small town where noone really cares.I already have enough laundry to do without changing thier clothes 5 times a day!
Regarding the clean smelling thing... we use unscented laundry detergent and never use dryer sheets or anything. Our clothes come out of the dryer still smelling like "us" ... not when we stink! But still have the distinct smell that we have! I have a freaky sense of smell... its like my superpower! But I am obviously not bothered by the way we smell... I actually love the smell of my partners shirts after its been worn (if it wasnt an especially stinky day!) I sure hope people dont think we reek! ( I bet we often smell like a delicious curry dinner! lol ... not so delicious to some!) But really... I think that we are wayyyyy to focused here in N America on having absolutely no smell to our bodies... not just bad BO.... its like we dont want to smell like human bodies at all!... and that we are supposed to be paranoid about how we smell all of the time.Its all about keeping you in that place in order to sell you stuff!

[nikirj]

Yes, I agree. We're obsessed with the 'smelling good' which in the commercial world, means 'smelling like what I'm selling you'.

I don't think that scent of laundry detergent = clean. Which is almost certainly what the pp who said she can smell when clothes are a day old is identifying. My sense of smell is not so hot but DH's is really irritatingly good (complains endlessly that he can still smell this or that or the other thing from what we were doing earlier). Smelling like people isn't a bad thing. I personally detest smelling 'like' something.

[rareimer]

oh and the same thing goes for our bodies too...i only bath my kids if they are obviously dirty or smelly. they average maybe one bath a week. yet they don't look unclean. i think their immune systems are better for it. my sister will bath her kids EVERY NIGHT whether they need it or not...seems like overkill to me.

[MomToKandE]

My jeans and dress pants/skirts for work get reworn unless I've spilled on them. Most of the time they can be worn several times. Tops get reworn if they don't smell or have visible dirt. About 50% of the time they need to be washed after the first wearing. I don't usually get more than 2 wearings out of them before they need to be washed.

Dh's pants get reworn several times but his shirts almost always go in the wash. The kids clothes almost always go in the wash after one wearing too.

Things that are going to be reworn go back in the dresser or closet with the "clean" things. If they're not clean enough to hang next to my unworn shirts then they're not clean enough to wear again.

Towels get reused a few times unless they've been used to mop up water from the floor. I can't remember the last time I washed my bath robe... now that I'm thinking about it that seems kind of gross so it's getting washed today!

[BabyBumblebee]

Dh and I change our underwear (and socks, for dh) daily, but I will wear the same pair of pants for at least 2 days - assuming I have managed to keep them clean. I change my shirts daily, 'cos I perspire a *lot*, and find that the sweat is easier to wash out when it's fresh (sorry )

I *hate* the really strong smell of clothes washed with 'mainstream' detergents and softeners - I find the perfumes really obtrusive, and harsh. I'd much rather be able to smell 'clean' skin, than manufactured 'clean' smells...the smell of dd's head after she's been playing outside is just heaven

Looking back, when we were kids we used to wear our pj's for at least 3 or 4 days....and that was normal, at least in Europe.

I wash towels weekly, and sheets weekly (unless the dog has stunk them up too much!)

I honestly think that the 'need' to wash clothes all the time has been cooked up by the manufacturers of detergents, clothes and washing machines in order to make us spend more - I would certainly think twice about washing everything if I had to do it by hand, boil water in a copper and run everything through a wringer...