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AIBU?

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Original poster

Why is there no solution to the 'used-once-but-not-dirty' clothes pile?

320 replies

Hicc · 21/07/2026 17:59

We all have this, don't we? A pile of clothes on a chair in the bedroom that aren't dirty enough to wash but not clean enough to go back in the wardrobe.

Mine sit on a chair looking untidy.

Try as I might, I can't find a solution. Blanket ladders aren't sturdy enough to put up with daily use, chairs take up a lot of space, hooks don't work for two people's worth of clothes.

AIBU for being frustrated there is not a magical solution to this? Or is there one that is being gate-kept by the eternally tidy and house proud crew?

OP posts:
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5
katepilar · 21/07/2026 22:04

NullaEffugium · 21/07/2026 19:50

Also feeling ill at some of the responses. Unless you’re in some sort of war torn country with no running water or on a backpacking holiday there is really no excuse.

Are you trying to say that you only wear everything once and that everyone should do the same? There is no reason for such a waste of resources.

OverOrUnderprotective · 21/07/2026 22:01

HoppityBun · 21/07/2026 18:20

No. Some of us just can’t do that

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I couldn't put them back in the wardrobe. I usually wear freshly washed clothes to the office or if I'm meeting anyone but then I might wear them one more time to work from home. At the moment I just hang them either behind the bedroom door or behind the bathroom door but neither option is ideal.

Franjipanl8r · 21/07/2026 21:57

Some people would rather have a pile of clothes on the floor in their own “worn once” category than let them mix with a different category of clothes (the unworn) in the wardrobe. It might not make sense, but it’s just the way it is.

TheKeatingFive · 21/07/2026 21:55

I've never understood this. If its clean enough to wear again, it's clean enough to be put away surely?

katepilar · 21/07/2026 21:53

I keep wondering - if you put your half-warn clothes back into the wardrobe do you mix them with the clean stuff or do you keep them somehow separate? Do you manage to wear them soon enough again?

I cant imagine how I would keep track of what is worn and what is not, especially with things like T-shirts that are stored in piles.

I usually simply wear everything until it needs a wash. Its on a chair overnight.

SummerPeonies2026 · 21/07/2026 21:45

I just wash everything

TheYorkshirePudding · 21/07/2026 21:38

If it’s clean enough to wear again then fold it back up and put it in your drawers or hang it up

Betadelta · 21/07/2026 21:37

I have a shelf for this. It's deliberately left clear from clothes for exactly this reason.

ChocolateCinderToffee · 21/07/2026 21:35

I have hooks and hangers on my bedroom wall and anything worn for a short time goes on them until I wear it again a couple of days later. I would not put once-worn clothes back in the wardrobe because eventually you'll get a musty smell.

PhoebeBuffay1234 · 21/07/2026 21:33

I have a big coat hanger (one of those multi trouser ones) and anything that’s clean enough to wear again goes to the left of that.

Grammarnut · 21/07/2026 21:32

Hang them up. If they are clean enough to wear they are clean enough to put in the wardrobe.

hopingforabigchange · 21/07/2026 21:27

I'm confused, I though the solution was the chair!😂
My DH uses a chair (he rewears jeans for ages) and I have several stick on hooks on the side of the wardrobe that I use. I mostly wear leggings and vests/tees and I never rewear leggings, so might have a top or two hanging up. We both tend to not have loads of clothes currently 'in wear' so not really an issue in our house.

Advocodo · 21/07/2026 21:25

You could hang them back in the wardrobe but face the coat hanger the other way. Works for me.

saffy2 · 21/07/2026 21:18

The solution is back in the wardrobe. I’ve never had this issue. Dirty enough to be washed, into the laundry basket. Everything else into the wardrobe. I’ve never lived with piles of clothes all over my bedroom floor. I think that’s genuinely crazy!

RafaFan · 21/07/2026 21:18

I remember somebody on Dragon's Den years ago thought they had the solution to this, but were shot down by Theo Paphitis for displaying what he described as "basically an MDF box." Anyway, I have never found the solution...some things just get hung back up in the wardrobe, others hang over the end of the bed.

UnbeatenMum · 21/07/2026 21:17

FoxRedPuppy · 21/07/2026 21:09

The jumpers won’t last long being washed that often surely?

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I'm allergic to wool so I wear cotton jumpers, they don't seem to last too badly.

IAMFLUFF · 21/07/2026 21:17

Hang back in the wardrobe but turn the hanger the other way so you know it’s been worn before

MsAmerica · 21/07/2026 21:16

For me, only skirts and pants fall into that category, and they go back into the closet.

lmnabc · 21/07/2026 21:15

I hang them over the bedroom door. All eventually get worn again Grin

MrsTerryPratchett · 21/07/2026 21:15

Exercise bike. I thought everyone used these as floordrobes.

HelloDaisy · 21/07/2026 21:12

I have one of the freestanding mirrors from ikea with hooks on the back for hanging worn but not dirty clothes. I do try to wear them 2-3 days in a row so I don’t have too much our at once but sometimes can’t be helped.

Not necessary, or good for the planet, to wash everything after one wash!

FoxRedPuppy · 21/07/2026 21:09

UnbeatenMum · 21/07/2026 21:07

Yes, I may sweat more than average I guess???

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The jumpers won’t last long being washed that often surely?

UnbeatenMum · 21/07/2026 21:07

pragmatismuniversalsentimentalist · 21/07/2026 20:36

So in January when it's freezing if you wear a long sleeved top with a woolly jumper on top, you're washing the jumper when it hasn't even touched your skin??

Surely you can see there would be times something simply doesnt need washing. Eg you change into a specific top to smarten up for an evening event and its only been worn for 2-3 hours?? Surely you don't wash something in that scenario, its so wasteful of water and energy? Or are you quite a sweaty/smelly person generally

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Yes, I may sweat more than average I guess???

Willyoujust · 21/07/2026 20:59

The only clothes I would rewear are jackets, trousers or jeans. I never wear tops or dresses twice as I worry they will smell. I hang the shorts / trousers over the end of my bed!

Loulou4022 · 21/07/2026 20:58

I drape it over the bannister to give it a bit of an airing and then turn it inside out and hang back in the wardrobe so I know it’s been worn once

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