..to think its ok to put clothes back in wardrobe after wearing?!

[tinklykeys]

Ok so it's my first AIBU and I'm scared, so be nice. I'm just intrigued to know others thoughts are on this...

My DH is a very naturally clean, neat, organised person. I'm not, but I've worked at it since we got married 12 years ago and things are in a reasonable state now..

So, the crux of the problem. DH believes that once clothes have been worn, they can't be returned to the wardrobe/chest of drawers until they've been washed, as they might contaminate the clean clothes in there. I've gone along with this as he did the laundry when we first got married and both worked. Now I do mine and the DCs as I'm a SAHM I've been thinking about it more and it bugs me because...

1. There are some clothes that don't need washing immediately, such as jeans, woollies, maybe a t-shirt. I can't put these clothes away at the end of the day so they end up in a pile on the sofa, or on the floor, or over a chair.

2. I end up wearing the same clothes (especially jeans) as I'd rather wear something that is already out than pull out something else.

So, AIBU to think it would be ok to put clothes that have been worn but are not visibly dirty, back in the cupboard at the end of the day? What does everyone else do??

Sorry if it makes no sense..

I hang after a second wear. I can't see why it's unhygienic to hang worn (but not obviously dirty) clothes with clean but preferable to leave them strewn around the room. we don't like clutter, and I have a lot of silk and cashmere that would be destroyed if it got washed every time. Agree on undies though :)
I have never knowingly been smelly either!

Hahaha clothes worn once 'contaminating' clean clothes, how filthy are you people to make these clothes so dirty/smelly/moth attracting??

very filthy....very filthy indeed.

With a toddler smearing food all the time, and we all shed skin cells every day.... anything that itty bitty tiny moth lava love to munch on. Sweat, anything....that a normal body exudes. Will be a feast to Moths.

I have a lot of silk and cashmere that would be destroyed if it got washed every time

I hope your protecting it, I had to throw away THREE beautiful cashmere jumpers, never worn actually, due to fecking moths THREE. I won't be able to afford to replace them either, Oh well.

Heard it all now, unwashed clothes contaminating clean clothes!! Hilarious.

Not much in this household stays clean after one wear, but I wouldn't think twice about putting it back in the wardrobe.

I have never heard of people having problems with moths either! Thought that was a very old thing!

With a toddler smearing food all the time, and we all shed skin cells every day....

Obviously properly dirty clothes need washing but if you've worn something and not had it smeared by a toddler people are suggesting it needs washing anyway simply because it's been worn

I've never heard anyone in real life ever mention having moths, where are all these moths, I'm seriously bewildered by them!

I'm with you, OP. The other day I got a top out of the wardrobe and it had massive bogeys all over it was slightly more worn than I'd thought.

I usually do leave things out if I intend on wearing them again (trousers, skirts, tops worn for a couple of hours), but I hate having things piled up everywhere so I sometimes put them away. Unless there is actual snot muck on them I can't see how it's unhygienic (unless you've been somewhere gross and could be contaminated)

It seems to be the people who wash clothes after every wear that have the problem with moths!

Can't a drawer or section of the wardrobe be designated for 'not clean but not ready to be washed' stuff?

Surely that solves the whole thread and I win?

I am genuinely amazed that there are people who have a box on the floor to keep worn clothes in. This is seriously mental. Do you not care about the impact all this washing is having on the environment?! And the use of water? I blame the detergent advertising making people feel as if there is dirt festering in every corner that needs exterminating. It's unnecessary and bordering on obsessive compulsive behaviour. Don't you have anything else to do other than clean flipping clothes?

And no one answered my question... Why do moths attack clothes in the wardrobe but not clothes draped on a chair?

But I still want someone to explain to me how the designated drawer or piles of half worn stuff doesn't attract the moths of doom but hanging stuff next to freshly washed clothes does??

Bumpandgrind, jinx ish... :)

I asked up thread but everyone suspiciously ignored it

Ours ends up draped over a chair/end of bed, but usually if I am going to wear something again I do it again the next time I am getting dressed so they don't hang around that long before getting worn/washed again.

Jeans in particularly are at their most comfortable on about the 3rd wear. :)

Crikey...people do like to make work for themselves! For me it's underwear, socks, usually tops in the laundry basket on first wear. Everything else gets at least one more outing. It goes back in the wardrobe until then. No moths in there! How incredibly wasteful of water and electricity to wash more often than that, and as for doing more than one washing load a day? Life is too short...

YANBU! I had no idea some people washed clothes so regularly! I like to think I'm a pretty clean person, and very tidy, but I often wear tops twice, trousers three times, and skirts (if they've been worn with tights) even four times! Even bras I wear a few times. The only things I invariably wash straight away are tight tops, knickers, and tights.

Well, thanks to this thread I've discovered that I am, in fact, very unhygienic. I have a growing hatred of the pile of clothes that gathers on top of the washing basket , clothes that have been worn but not ready to wash yet. Dp is the perpetrator but I have got dragged into it (piling, not actually into the basket) unwillingly.

However, I do also regularly put worn clothes back into the wardrobe. Not underwear obviously, or tshirts, but most other things get worn again. I seriously can't justify washing everything after just one wear and consider it totally unethical to do so. Love the idea of a box of "to wear again" stuff, but it's never going to happen. But then again, I am what my mother refers to as a "slut" when it comes to housekeeping!!

Moths like dark, undisturbed places - as do carpet beetles (woolly bears) both will munch holes in your clothes. And both prefer natural fibres and 'worn' clothes....
So you put your 'dirty' clothes back in the wardrobe and in theory you attract the moths/carpet beetles into the wardrobe - the clothes you wear often they may lay eggs on - you maybe even get tiny holes as the larvae hatch but they won't be there long enough before being worn again to get seriously damaged...but others are feasting on the party dress you bought before DC1 and don't have a hope of fitting into every again but can't bear to part with...
Although hanging up clothes tend to suffer less than ones that are in a drawer/bedding box nice and dark, undisturbed for months and stored flat...
You might not even realise you have these pests for a long time - might find the odd small hole in a shirt etc and think you must have plucked it/caught it on something. By the time you see serious damage you have a real problem ...cos the little feckers will have been breeding everywhere ...
(I have had both moths and carpet beetle - I am sure my DM has moths - she thinks not but I have seen the odd adult clothes moth and there was a telltale holes in a bed sheet - a small hole on four corners of the bed - where it had been folded up...)
Be afraid - be very very afraid - and get some vac storage bags for anything you don't wear often and care about...

I hang worn but clean clothes in the wardrobe, at one end of the rail, with unworn clothes at the other end, and leave a small gap between the two. DH is like OP's husband, in that he thinks that any worn clothes will somehow 'contaminate' the others and shouldn't go back in the wardrobe. However, I work part time in a clean, smart office with air con, whilst he works in property maintenance, so his work clothes do get a lot dirtier than mine (brick dust, paint etc) so he has a point. DH tends to use the floordrobe for his work trousers, for that reason.

All socks and underwear gets washed after one wear, as do DH's work t shirts/tops, as his job is quite physical. My office blouses might get worn two or three times between washes, but if I've been gardening or out for a long walk on a hot day then my clothes will go straight in the wash afterwards.

Re new clothes... I wash most things (esp. items that are worn next to the skin) before wearing/putting in wardrobe/drawers, because although they often look clean/pristine, lots of people have handled them during manufacturing/packing etc and there are plenty of people around who seem to think it's fine to have a poo and not bother to wash their hands afterwards. I've got a bit of OCD about certain things so the thought of wearing items next to my skin that someone with zero hygiene has handled just makes my skin crawl. I don't always wash new skirts/trousers/jumpers before wearing, but wouldn't hang them in my wardrobe until I've worn and washed them. Those items are left folded neatly in the shopping bags, then worn once before going in the wash.

I don't buy any items that require dry cleaning - too expensive, plus I don't see how the dry cleaning process can really clean things as well as a decent wash. DH has a special section of his wardrobe where he hangs suit jackets/waistcoats that are dry clean only - I wouldn't like those things near other clothes, due to my OCD thoughts as above, even if they've just been dry cleaned - due to all those chemicals they use (sensitive skin).

I am genuinely amazed that there are people who have a box on the floor to keep worn clothes in. This is seriously mental. Do you not care about the impact all this washing is having on the environment?! And the use of water? I blame the detergent advertising making people feel as if there is dirt festering in every corner that needs exterminating. It's unnecessary and bordering on obsessive compulsive behaviour. Don't you have anything else to do other than clean flipping clothes?
I agree it's unnecessary to wash everything after one wear when some things don't need it. But I don't think most people are saying that, they're just saying that still clean but worn stuff doesn't go back in the wardrobe/drawer, it still gets re-worn.

Love these threads. Love the frothing.

I'm a 'after one wear' washer. Other then jumpers/cardigans ... and maybe jeans depending.

Life's too short for manky clothes.

What I meant to say was, hygiene/OCD issues aside, I don't like the smell of the chemicals they use for dry cleaning and as I have sensitive skin I avoid harsh chemicals.

Ah bugger. I've got the Heebie Jeebies about moths now.

I actually have aspergers, so I have 4 almost identical outfits that are on a constant rotation of in the wash, floor and being worn. But have a couple of special dresses for occasions, plus stuff I really like but don't wear because of sensory issues. I buy it thinking I can change but I'll put it on a few times, take it off after 10 minutes each time and then it gets put on the wardrobe with the special dresses.

I feel like a bit of a fraud being in the thread tbh because I just don't 'get' clothes. I buy staples from asda, normally in the sale section and replace when worn until it can't be worn no more I wear on average 7 layers on my top half and 2 on the bottom when out the house. I have a real issue with clothes.