..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..

Also all these piles of half-worn clothes on chairs, chest of drawerses and floors! That would drive me mad.

Pants get washed every day but everything else waits until it doesn't pass the stain check/sniff test. Washing after every wear is unnecessary as I'm not a big sweater and my undercarriage isn't rank.

i put stuff back, can't stand clutter around the room, not if they're honking though but a shirt worn once can go back

I don't put worn clothes back in the wardrobe. Skirts and jeans are just left out, to be worn again.

Letsfacethemusic - undercarriage

OP, YANBU.

If my clothes are smelly enough that they'll make other clothes smell, then I obviously need to wash them and wouldn't put them back in the wardrobe.

If they're still clean enough to be worn again (I never wear anything other than jeans more than twice without washing anyway), then they don't smell and therefore wouldn't imbue the other clothes in the wardrobe with a smell. So they can go back in without any problems.

Oops, just re-read OP and realised the word 'contaminate' was used, not the word 'smell'! Although that's the only 'contamination' I could think of - it's not like anything actually jumps off worn clothes onto unworn clothes if they're next to each other.

Apart from fleas, obviously. I'm assuming fleas aren't an issue here.

You need to get some kind of rack/rail. We wear trousers more than once but don't put them in the wardrobe between, they are over the rack (think it's a freestanding towel rack). Things like coats and jackets obv are worn more than once and these live on pegs in the hall. I don't think you should out worn clothes into wardrobes without washing due to moths. Also there are certain fabrics I won't buy due to moths and difficulty of washing.

So all you wash after 1 wear people also change your beds everyday yes?

I'm happy to put worn things back in the drawer/wardrobe, and long as they aren't stained or smelly of course. Otherwise I would have too much clutter in the bedroom. I've never heard of doing otherwise before. I've also never had moths or heard of anyone IRL who has. If something is smelly enough to contaminate clean clothes then it needs to go in the wash before it is worn again.

Poor but happy -I was wondering that too.

Because if you have to wash a jumper that you've worn for 10 mins, presumably you have to change your bedlinen and wash all your towels daily too.

That's at least two loads a day . And it's hard to line dry that much in the British climate so they must be using a tumble dryer. And then there's the ironing .

What a waste of time and money, let alone the damage to the environment .

No wonder there are so many threads with Mumsnetter fighting about their partner not doing enough housework . I'd be stressed out too if I was stripping 4 beds and washing 5 sets of clothes and towels , then ironing two baskets full and remaking the beds .

I need to sit down for a just thinking about it

I really really want to ask how long people wear their PYJAMAS before washing now!

Some clothes can definitely be worn more than once, e.g trousers, skirts etc, unless something gets spilt on them.
I don't understand the bit about moths? Why would moths appear if once worn clothes are hung back in a wardrobe?

Mama - please dont! We will get "I and all members of my family have fresh "jammies" (boak) every day and change the sheets every two days. I just love the crisp clean feeling of climbing into a totally clean and hygienic bed EVERY NIGHT. Oh and I iron them too". There was just such a thread a few months ago. It made me feel very unclean and stick my children's PJs in the wash.

And what do they do aftre they have DTD???? do they wear a different set of nightwear before and afterwards ?

What if they sleep naked ? Do they have a shower and wash their hair straight away incase they dirty the sheets ?

Do they change the bed sheets immediately afterwards so as not to get contaminated ?

Do they put the bedlinen into the same laundry basket as the dirty clothes and risk contaminating them ?

If they DTD again in the morning, so they have to do it all again ???

It never crossed my mind that people who were not mentally ill actually behaved like this . ( no criticism of anyone with OCD BTW )

You learn something new every day on Mumsnet

I have clean pjs every day

Exactly KristinaM although weirdly MIL changes her bottom sheet daily but the pillowcases and duvet covers monthly.

I change my PJ's when I go to put them on and they smell like 'bed' or if I have a shower downstairs and can't be arsed to take them back upstairs.
Although often I only wear PJ's for an hour before bed then take them off when the bed has warmed up.

Flippin heck think of the environment people

It never crossed my mind that people who were not mentally ill actually behaved like this . ( no criticism of anyone with OCD BTW )

Kristina M, no offence taken! I have OCD and I never thought those without MH did this kind of thing either. To be honest this has freaked me out - it is making me doubt myself and what is safe/not safe and clean/not clean.

Don't wash mine after 1 wear. Never had problems with moths.

Please don't be freaked out

I think that most people posting here are saying what they like to do re washing their clothes /towels/bedlinen. As long as they are doing it out of choice , and they understand the consequences of their actions for their partner/children/budget/the environment, that's ok .

It's when it's NOT a choice, when you feel compelled to do it, that's when it's a problem, as you know.

Or when you feel that if you DONT do things, you or your children will get sick or be " dirty " .

Or when your need to do these things is interfering with your everyday life

There is no evidence that any of the suggestions on here about hygiene and contamination have any scientific basis. They are just peoples preferences

If it makes them happy, then that's fine

It's different from an illness, which usually makes people sad.

No Y.N.B.U. You do what works for you. They're your clothes. I wash my clothes after wearing the mainly just to freshen them up.

Oh no temporaryusername I would hate for my silly husband/wife debate to result in you feeling freaked out. I've learned here that everyone here has a different threshold for what is acceptable and what isn't. For those of us without any mh issue at the end of the day this isn't a life-changing issue, just one that intrigued me. Please just stick with whatever you were comfortable with before you read any of this.

I used the word contaminate in my op because that is how my DH describes it, out of fear of moths or similar crossing from used clothes to clean ones. He is always concerned with extending the life of the clothes, and to be fair his stuff is in fantastic condition.

We will soon be in a position where we have a wardrobe each, and the. I'll do what I jolly well like with my clothes

Oh, good for you! Since reading this post I have looked at every item of clothing I discard, and wondered whether I ought to wash it immediately.
(but I don't).