To agree with Stella McCartney that we don't need to wash our clothes so often

[LauraMontreville]

And the experts on Jeremy Vine (R2) agree with her.
And so does some bloke who sells Levis.

I know MN loves excessive laundering but apparently it's better for our clothes and the planet to wash them less.

It depends on the clothes though. I have jeans that I wash after 4 or 5 wears but my work uniform would be crawling by then.

link to interview in the Guardian Don't think the interviewer likes her much.

I've always worn outer clothes a few times before washing. It depends on spillages really.

Summer is great, turn clothes inside out, hang them on the line and let the sunshine do the work!

YANBU. I tend to wash clothes when they need it rather than after 1 wear, although in general, t-shirts etc. will only get 1 wear anyway. I had this discussion with an American colleague and she was horrified at the idea of wearing anything more than once - even the kids clothes. No idea if this is cultural or just her. Or maybe I'm out of step and slovenly

I agree.

I do one set of laundry a week - well, 3x small loads.

My husband wants his work shirts done after one wash, but we generally wear casual clothes 3-4 times at least before washing. We change when we get into the house usually (him out of said shirts, me into something I don't mind getting cat hair on). If I washed my home clothes after each wear, each item would only have been worn a few hours.

Humans are the only species that is so ridiculously disgusted by their own bodies. Even more absurd that they waste so much of their own time, energy and mental load addressing this 'problem'.

I not so secretly judge those who fart about endlessly washing clothes whilst I'm doing actually enjoyable things.

Don't think the interviewer likes her much. Given what happened during the interview I am not surprised

She can't help it though, she has always lived in a very different word to the majority of us. The closest I ever got to importing a rock pool into the house was emptying grains of sand out of my shoes!

I only wash clothes after a couple of days wear, unless they're scruffy or really sweaty.

what happened during the interview I am not surprised

What did I miss?

Completely agree.
'If it's not dirty wash at 30'- wtf?! 'If it's not dirty, dont wash at all' surely?!

That's a very funny interview, to be fair. Esp the last few lines

What did I miss? Just the weird juxtaposition between what she was trying to impart and what the journalist was seeing and hearing. I mean come on... dad sent me some Mull of Kintyre rocks... wrong colour so now we spray them... I had to do it all myself... I want my wife back!

So ... clean knickers and socks everyday.
Everything else - do the sniff test?

Sponge stains. Wash jeans as little as possible as Levi man says washing ruins them.

I had to do it all myself - yes, she said that she didn't use an architect or interior designer when doing up her shop and it almost killed her. Maybe she's tight like she says her dad was.

My husband's work shirts get done daily because he's a sweaty sod but I'm like a sergeant major here, flinging clothes back in rooms and telling everyone we don't wear and wash unless they are visibly dirty, there's been a spill that can't be wiped off or the clothes smell.

Same with bed sheets, bi weekly wash except in the summer when said sweaty husband when they get washed 7-10 days.

I agree with her on that point, but she did come off really weird in the interview. I really like her style but think she does seem a bit strange!

I change underwear everyday, other than that it depends whether it I have spilled something on it or if it's sweaty.

Depends how less. Most people wouldn't wear a shirt or top more than once without washing it. Jeans, trousers and skirts can usually be worn twice, maybe three times unless something is spilled on them. Pyjamas twice unless it's hot and sweaty weather.

(Saying nothing about underclothes and socks because presume everyone changes those every day.)

Yes, washing clothes gradually wears them out but so what? Nothing lasts forever and it's far better to have clean clothes than grubby ones.

Is now the time to say I have had the same 2 pairs of jeans for about 20 years and I have probably only washed them about 20 times!?

Seriously, hanging stuff out in the sun works really well. Just airing clothes works, inside out, maybe a quick sponge where needed.

You have to be sure they are 100% dry though.

Socks and knickers after one wear, bras after 3 or 4 unless it's really warm. Everything else it depends how dirty they look or smell. I am a great one for chucking food down myself so that's usually a clue

The trick is to spread out your wears. I usually wear my clothes once a week, air dry in between, and this allows me to get away with 4 weeks between washes. Things like underwear and hoisery need to be washed after 1 use but we make sure we have enough so we can get away with only having one big laundry day every 3-4 weeks.

I wash anything that directly touches pits, bits and feet after one wash, apart from my thick winter slipper-socks that will get three or four wears, and delicate bras which can be ruined by too much washing so I air them out between wears and do the sniff test.

Anything else I use my judgement - if it looks clean and smells clean, then I'll wear it until it doesn't.

Nice to see some sensible posters braving the inevitable "dirty sod" posts that will probably follow later

Totally agree OP.

I wish I wasn't such a Sweaty Betty. I hate washing clothes and I do care about the environment, but my armpits stink so it's unusual for me to get more than one or two wears out of anything that goes on my top half. Trousers are fine though - jeans won't be washed until I spill something on them or they start to smell, which can be a long time.

It depends on the person, doesn't it? I'm a sweaty, minging mess. I sometimes put on fresh clothes if I'm going out later that day. Do what works for you.