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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Clean PJ's? Lighthearted

376 replies

rabbitheadlights · 09/04/2021 09:26

Do your DC wear clean (matching optional) PJs every night?

I'm a little bit ott about it but for me they have to match and must be fresh every night but after another thread about laundry and a discussion with DP apparently I'm weird??

YABU ... You can wear PJs for a few nights (shudder)

YANBU ... clean, fresh, matching PJs every night!

OP posts:
Original poster
rabbitheadlights · 11/04/2021 13:51

@HeyGirlHeyBoy yes ... 3 of my DC and DP have quite severe contact dermatitis, the chemicals on new clothes, bedding and towels can cause really angry flare ups.

OP posts:
HeyGirlHeyBoy · 11/04/2021 13:59

Ah yes I can understand that, but that is different to it being the default.

Original poster
rabbitheadlights · 11/04/2021 15:54

@HeyGirlHeyBoy

I don't have any skin conditions at all, but a few weeks ago DP put new sheets on the bed without washing (thought he had washed them) and I came up in horrendous hives, if the chemicals are strong enough it can affect anyone.

OP posts:
RampantIvy · 11/04/2021 16:02

I always wash new clothes/towels/bedding before use.

SunsetBeetch · 11/04/2021 16:34

I often wash new things, yes. You don't know who may have handled them beforehand, and they also often have an unpleasant smell, particularly if they've been bought online. (Do they get treated with chemicals or something? They ming, anyway.)

SunsetBeetch · 11/04/2021 16:39

As for PJs: every 2-3 days...or every day when I'm having night sweats.

ilovecarbs90 · 11/04/2021 16:43

I don't have kids but I wear PJs for two nights before washing. I think that's fine unless you sweat a lot. I also wash every morning and night.

I don't bother wearing PJs in the summer, which cuts down on washing.

DeadGood · 11/04/2021 17:00

“ The sheer pride a lot of mumsnetters seem to take in the ridiculous amount of unnecessary washing and use of cleaning products is really something. I know the thread is supposed to be lighthearted but it's not a lighthearted, harmless quirk to waste water, energy and resources in this way.”

Well said

thebillyotea · 11/04/2021 18:17

@DeadGood

“ The sheer pride a lot of mumsnetters seem to take in the ridiculous amount of unnecessary washing and use of cleaning products is really something. I know the thread is supposed to be lighthearted but it's not a lighthearted, harmless quirk to waste water, energy and resources in this way.”

Well said

the competitive absurdity on MN never disappoints Grin.

Yes, some of us wash their underwear and their nightwear after one use.
Some of us don't wear underwear with nightwear...
Some of us also wash our dishes after one use!

How does it have to end up in abusive posts is a mystery. It's funny though.

Wanderlust20 · 11/04/2021 19:09

Omg, I must be disgusting as I get a week out my own pyjamas 😂 I shower before bed though and I don't sweat much?!

SweetAsANutt · 11/04/2021 19:14

@HeyGirlHeyBoy

Washing new clothes before wearing them? Huh? Confused
Why wouldn't you?
thebillyotea · 11/04/2021 19:54

Because the same way the ideal MN poster makes family diner for one month with the same chicken,

the ideal Mnetter survives on 3 loads of laundry a year.

It's a skill.

andoutofhere · 11/04/2021 20:13

It's not pride at all but me and dc clean fresh pjs every night - I couldn't relax going to bed in dirty clothes. We're all bathed, make up off and clean pjs every night. When they were little were matching but now rarely - often just a t-shirt and pants but always clean.

LucilleTheVampireBat · 11/04/2021 20:24

@Oneearringlost

Mine are 24, 21 and 19. They had a weekly bath, wore the same school uniform Mon -Fri unless obviously stained. They've never smelt. They looked after their own hygiene from adolescence onwards. I am wondering whether this urge for everything to be clean is more of a modern day internal insistence that validates the value of " clean means good parenting"? I can really understand this but the environmental impact would be huge if everyone did this, surely?
I do think most of the hygiene competitiveness you read on MN is made up but I agree with your post. There's some strange moral judgement linked to who can be the most obsessively (and unnecessarily) clean and it's a relatively new phenomenon, as is the idea that having kids puts you in a special club rather than something that most people just did and got on with.
thebillyotea · 11/04/2021 20:39

If you read the thread, the only moral judgment come from people who disagree with the OP. I wonder why that is...

SunsetBeetch · 11/04/2021 20:54

@thebillyotea

If you read the thread, the only moral judgment come from people who disagree with the OP. I wonder why that is...
Definitely on a wind-up.
Marjoriesdoor · 11/04/2021 20:58

It’s interesting that quite a few people have suggested that bathing your kids every night and putting them in fresh clothes seems over the top - I remembered earlier today that both my son’s primary school and my daughter’s nursery have specifically asked that children’s clothes are washed each day and that children are bathed every day because of Covid (alongside all of the other requirements in terms of not bringing personal items/large bags in etc). I assumed this would be the same for all schools and nurseries but maybe not?

HeyGirlHeyBoy · 11/04/2021 21:05

SweetAsANutt why would I? Never heard of it before, except for newborns.

Kittykatmacbill · 11/04/2021 21:14

Two nights here, pjs come in pairs but do you mean the children have to wear the same ones as their siblings? In which case no.

I have clean pjs every second or third night. don’t want more laundry than I can actually deal with.

dementedma · 11/04/2021 21:41

Bloody hell. Clean pjs every night? No chance. Lucky if clean once a week tbh.

SweetAsANutt · 11/04/2021 21:53

@HeyGirlHeyBoy

SweetAsANutt why would I? Never heard of it before, except for newborns.
Oh okay. I thought it was pretty standard tbh.
thebillyotea · 11/04/2021 22:16

SunsetBeetch
you are getting boring

thebillyotea · 11/04/2021 22:17

SunsetBeetch
apologies, wrong user name... Blush
please ignore

HeyGirlHeyBoy · 11/04/2021 22:42

Because of chemicals SweetAsANutt? I've never had a reaction, nor have my dc or dh. My sister works in dermatology and doesn't do this.. As I say I did it for newborn clothes but can't say I knew why Grin My friend didn't dry her dc's clothes outside in case of sensitivities to pollen I think. I do think we are overdoing things and even thinking in general tbh but while it's each to their own, when we're all sharing finite resources, it is hard to see others wasting what many make a really conscious effort to save.

SexyGiraffe · 11/04/2021 22:55

Definitely too much! I do prefer PJs to be matching but they don't 'have' to be, and DD (7) doesn't need clean ones every night - she's not a sweaty sleeper. Bath every other night and PJs are worn for three or four nights. If she's hot she just takes them off anyway.