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Original poster

Help me to cull the towel usage in my house!

96 replies

fedup21 · 22/02/2020 11:14

There are 5 of us- 11/15/17 and two adults.

All have a shower every day, DS often has a bath too. DDs will use a bath towel for hair and one for body each time. I have just done a tidy up and found one or two towels in every bedroom (some wet on the floor) and 5 (5!!!) hanging on the back of the bathroom door. I have no idea how many times they have been used and as I washed the whole lot of towels on Monday-am sick of this!

What happens in your house?
Own towels? Colour coordinated?
One use only and in the wash?
Own washing?
Fewer towels?!

Advice needed before the teens get back from work and the family meeting starts....

OP posts:

BikeRunSki · 22/02/2020 12:15

Same as @fedupandlookingforchange, plus sports towels.

Runnerduck34 · 22/02/2020 12:22

Since my kids became teenagers I have same problem. They refuse to share towels and will only want to use a towel once as it's unhygienic apparently to use it again!
Before teenager years we used to all share towels that were washed once a week, interestingly now my eldest is at uni she is happy to wash her towels once a term!!
I think the only way forward is different colour towels for different people but I have have 4 DC and already have a stack of lovely fluffy grey and blue bath sheets so it seems expensive and unnecessary go and buy a load more with colours that won't coordinate with our single family bathroom, tbf hanging 6 bathsheets on our towel rail would be quite hard so maybe they'd have to keep them on their bedroom floor anyway!! But the washing drives me mad, as does walking into their rooms and seeing a pile of wet towels on the floor. Which they insist are dirty but usually I will hang them up in bathroom rather than wash . However that doesn't fool them so they get a clean towel out of airing cupboard again- I never know how much any towel has a really been used!

woodencoffeetable · 22/02/2020 12:24

we all have our own hooks on the bathroom wall.
towels get hung up after use and I change them after one week.

ShirleyPhallus · 22/02/2020 12:25

lilgreen · 22/02/2020 12:28

Own towels. DH and I use one bath towel each for about a week before washing and we shower daily. I wash my hair x 3 a week and use same towel. Ours go on a heated towel rail after use. Teen DDs have a towel each too but often use a second for their loooong hair. They tend to keep on radiator in their rooms or on a hook in the bathroom.

peony68 · 22/02/2020 12:28

Yes four of us here , own bath sheets x 2 in different colours washed every few days and rotated , hand towel in bathroom changed daily .

woodencoffeetable · 22/02/2020 12:29

if we have visitors or are camping we use coloured clip-on loops like this so everyone knows which towel is who's

drspouse · 22/02/2020 12:30

4 of us (DCs are younger). Own towels, hung on a rack in the bathroom, washed about once a week.
Not a big issue at all.

WhateverHappenedToBathPearls · 22/02/2020 12:30

Hand towels in each bathroom and 1 towel each for bath/shower. No separate hair towels ( I have long hair and never found it a problem). Towels all changed/washed weekly unless someone is I'll.

lilgreen · 22/02/2020 12:31

Oh and one hand towel in the bathrooms changed weekly.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 22/02/2020 12:33

Get her a hair turban (a quid from wilkos) rather than her use a bath towel.

They each get two bath sheets and a bath towel in their own colours. Wash once a week.

lollybee1 · 22/02/2020 12:34

DP will take a fresh one out. He then takes a new one next day and I put yesterday's back in the cupboard. He then takes out the one I put back the next day thinking it is clean (cause it is) etc... then both get washed the end of the week

NannyR · 22/02/2020 12:36

To reduce the amount of laundry you are doing, can you use smaller towels (and therefore fit more in the machine at a time). I use the Ikea hand towels, they seem to be a bit bigger than other hand towels and are plenty big enough to get dried with after a shower and to use for wet hair. I only wash them once a week though.

Original poster

fedup21 · 22/02/2020 12:38

They each get two bath sheets and a bath towel in their own colours.Wash once a week

Washing 15 towels a week-that just seems a lot .

OP posts:

okiedokieme · 22/02/2020 12:40

Communal towels washed when I remember . Just me and dd mostly

dementedpixie · 22/02/2020 12:40

Own towel, hung up after drying yourself. Washed when they are no longer drying out in time for next use

okiedokieme · 22/02/2020 12:41

We have a heated towel rail btw

drspouse · 22/02/2020 12:41

When I had long hair I still used one towel for my hair and my body (bath towel not bath sheet size). Why would you need two?

ChateauMyself · 22/02/2020 12:43

Keep spares in your room (under lock & key / guard dog) and dole out new ones once a week.

Smaller / thinner towels.

Hair turbans.

ShirleyPhallus · 22/02/2020 12:43

I use the Ikea hand towels, they seem to be a bit bigger than other hand towels and are plenty big enough to get dried with after a shower and to use for wet hair.

I was joking about using hand towels to as a bath towel but someone else isn’t. How on earth is a hand towel big enough to dry your whole body and hair without being freezing cold while you get to your bedroom?!

YappityYapYap · 22/02/2020 12:44

3 towels are put on the back of the bathroom door for me, DH and DS to use. We know which towel is ours so we use our own. A new hand drying towel, bath mat and face cloths are put in at the same time. We use these items for 3-4 days. I then take the 3 towels, face cloths, hand drying towel and bath mat away after 3-4 days, replace with new from the airing cupboard and wash what I took away to replace the others once 3-4 days is up. Basically I have 2 sets of towels, face clothes, bath mats and hand towels to rotate every 3-4 days then we have a pile of spare towels and hand towels incase of guests/spills etc

HelloYouTwo · 22/02/2020 12:51

One bath towel each, one towel for hair for those with long hair.
All have own towels.
Hang up on heated rail after use.
Wash once a week (max )

DO NOT HAVE SPARE TOWELS AVAILABLE

That way they have to get used to hanging up their towel to dry so it is good for another use. Soggy / smelly towel? That’s their problem to learn from and fix.

Also, how can a towel used to dry a freshly-washed body be dirty?

I like to remind my children that is selfish adults are trying to save the planet for them and they need to get involved too. More towel washing= worse for the environment.

woodencoffeetable · 22/02/2020 12:52

How on earth is a hand towel big enough to dry your whole body and hair without being freezing cold while you get to your bedroom?!

really?
by rubbing yourself dry?
by using a robe after you have dried yourself?

adaline · 22/02/2020 12:54

Washing 15 towels a week-that just seems a lot

But there's five of you, so there's always going to be a lot of laundry to do regardless!

StCharlotte · 22/02/2020 12:58

Huge basket of towels in the bathroom that get used as and when.

Well get rid of that for starters!

I use a towelling robe and dry "as I go" plus a small towel for hair. The robe gets washed every couple of weeks. DH uses one large bath towel for a few days. He has no hair

(These are the times I'm quite glad to have no DC!)

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