AIBU to have only just realised..

[petalsinthegarden]

.. that actually, my toddler and baby don't need fresh PJ's every day?

I complain about the amount of laundry all the time and have only just clocked that I control what the kids wear. They don't need fresh PJ's every day.

What have you realised recently that's actually common sense?

(she's 16 months, I'd add, not a teenager!)

If you overwash clothes that don't need washing, then they wear out and get holes much more quickly, too. And it's even worse if you tumble dry them! It's really bad for the clothes.

I mean, wash them if they are dirty or smell. But don't go overboard when they are fine.

@wingardium8 I feel like my family and yours would get on great we are equally 'scuzzy' according to this thread!

My kids have a bath once a week. I shower every 2 or 3 days (or straight after exercise if exercising). We all re-use clothes frequently, pending armpit sniff tests.

We don't seem to be pariahs so either it's ok or everyone around us is jolly polite

My friend taught me to stop ironing! We rarely iron anything now, hubby mostly does shirts for special occasions but doesn't wear them for work (outdoors). We don't have a tumble dryer so to keep clothes crinkle free we

• use two - three clothes airers (family of four)
• hang washing quickly after machine finishes
• shake heavy or crease prone items a lot before hanging

Remember a lot of wrinkles will drop out within an hour of wearing just from your body heat.

My kids clothes get washed after two wears unless dirty (which they usually are) but I think the rule which a PP posted about is sensible. Washing clothes once they have bodily fluid/stains on them.
They are bathed every other day unless they are particularly grimy!

School dresses, polo shirts, cardigans and school shirts are all hung straight into hangers onto this in our utility space.

Hands up I do this. Not because I think they're dirty, I just got in to the habit of making them tidy up and put clothes they have had on in the washing basket.

I think somewhere along the line I thought it was easier, but you're right it definitely makes more work.

@BikeRunSki - Think I know which town that is by the precise shades of colours you specified, I support that rugby team but am also a Harry Potter fan (but identify as a Hufflepuff which can be very conflicting.)

i wash all
clothes after one wear except coats

@BikeRunSki 😂😂😂 that's exactly the sort of thing I would do/not realise

Clean pjs every day are lovely. Just saying.

I agree with pancaketosser - When babies, I generally followed the rule that clothes stayed on until it contained any bodily fluid.

DS had reflux until about 15months. Up until about 6months old I would put him in a sleepsuit, and keep him in that until he was sick over it. So he would have a few clothing changes a day (more when he was first born until we started wrapping muslins around his neck), but would go to bed in what he had been wearing earlier, as most likely I would have to change his clothes a couple of times in the night as well. Unless he had a bath (twice a week at that age) when I would get him clean clothes. So I was still washing his clothes a few times a week but that was because we were going through so many.

Now he's older, he wears a new change of clothes every day (usually gets messy with food), but wears the same PJs for a week. He only wears them to sleep. He's either has a bath or a wipe down before bed so he's not dirty, so his PJs won't get dirty either.

My DD is 2.5 and she gets clean pyjamas every day! Nothing nicer then fresh clean ones 

When my DC take off their uniforms I check them over, if they have a stain I wash them, if not I give them a sniff and if they smell fresh they wear them again the next day. No way would I wash clothes that look and smell clean, what a waste of time and energy! Just out of interest, does anyone encourage their DC to keep their clothes clean? So many people say their DC get filthy every day, do they really, or is it just very small children that they are talking about? Surely by school age they can take a little care while eating. Over-washing clothes definitely ruins them, my dds both only had one skirt all through secondary school, admittedly expensive and very good quality but still. My youngest is 9 and has had the same skirt for 3 years and the jumper for 2, they are still in excellent condition.

Can I ask why people wash uniform every day instead of having multiple shirts etc and then doing one big wash at the end of the week? I get that some people can't afford it but for the rest, especially when kids are in primary & so can usually buy cheap shirts etc. from supermarkets, surely it would be miles easier to do one big weekly wash (and save money on water & washing liquid)

I live in pyjamas at home so like to have a clean pair everyday. And fresh pyjamas feel so nice...

We wash clothes and pyjamas (including school uniform) when it’s dirty or smells - when it needs it. That goes for adult clothes as well as kids - dh normally needs a fresh t shirt every day, but my tops normally last two days, and a couple of days for trousers. Washing is so wearing for clothes, and while just putting a load in the washer isn’t a big deal, hanging it up/folding/ironing/putting it away takes a lot of time I could be doing something else.

RangeRider
I think most people do! My kids have 5 full set of uniform each, so get changed when needed and everything is washed regularly. I still need to run at least one load a day - towels, bedding, clothes pile up, but not of uniforms specifically.

It's only on MN that I discovered that some women do wash their tops every day, but not their bras.

Clean pyjamas after a bath every day! Absolutely!

ChristmassyContessa, eww.

Who washes their bra everyday? That's just silly unless you're a seriously sweaty Betty

My scuzzy kid wears a set of pjs for a week (she does wear pants at night), has a bath and hair wash twice per week, re-wears any school uniform that still smells fresh and isn't grubby for as long as it smells fresh and isn't grubby, has her bed changed about once per week. She does do her teeth twice per day and washes her face morning and evening! She is 7. She always looks and smells clean.

To be honest I do similar although I shower and wash hair every other day rather than twice per week. My clothes are also ALWAYS grubby due to walking a bouncy puppy in the mid twice per day.

In the summer we wash more often!

Who washes their bra everyday?

people who wear at least fresh underwear, tops and socks every day.

I remember a woman moaning on here about a bad review on ebay, because she sold a "dirty" cardigan: her reasoning was that, because it did not touch her skin, it was perfectly reasonable to sell it unwashed

I like putting my kids in clean clothes, even if they don't stay clean for very long.