Changing School Uniforms

[wingingit1987]

Having a chat with a friend today and I mentioned ironing the uniforms tonight for the week ahead. I said I iron a fresh uniform for each day of the week and my friend says she recycles a uniform for a few days then swaps it out. Am I giving myself more work than I should be?

fresh uniform daily- YANBU
recycling it for a day or so- YABU

Always fresh underwear, socks and tops, reuse skirts/trousers/cardigans/jumpers if they look/smell clean
Having said that DD is about to start primary and I've bought enough for clean everyday because I know she's messy!

I wash what's dirty & never iron. But I but M&S non iron shirts

Shirts new everyday (and obviously pants and socks).
Trousers/shorts - 2 pairs a week. Change end Wed after art as that's usually a disaster 😂!
Jumper spot-cleaned during the week and washed at the weekend unless a victim of lunch/art. DC1 is a hot dog so the jumper is usually ditched within 5 minutes of entering the classroom anyway, even in winter.
Tie - 😬. I washed it once after DC1 dropped it in a puddle full of cigarette ends and other crap and then ran DC2's buggy over it. It didn't survive a high cycle on our washing-machine so we bought another one.

2 DC in primary - they do have 5 logo jumpers and polos each, plus 3 pairs of trousers and 2 joggers (for PE days). All get washed at the weekend, I don’t want to faff about not having clean uniform.
mine go to afterschool care, so don’t wear any other clothes during the week. In Spring and Autumn might get more than one wear out of the jumpers as they take them off during the day, and in winter might get more than one wear out of a polo as all the dirt is on the jumper.
however, we very rarely get a second wear out of trousers.
plus uniform last longer so DC2 can inherit, and after DC2 it goes to the uniform donation - so not a waste.

Depends on age reception can be muddy , stains every day. Secondary clean top every day . Trousers if you can get more why not ?

5 sets here, sweaty sporty pre teen stinks by the time he gets home🤢

I was replying to @Enko.
You didn't have to reply to something you find tedious, with an even more tedious comment.
Line drawn.

Oh, they do. Especially the school jumpers, as not all of the population go to schools that insist upon costing the parents significantly more for wool jumpers and blazers (which start smelling rather like wet dog by half term, going by the private school kids on the same bus in the afternoon).

Once you've actually had to deal with lost property and the oily feel of waistbands and mustiness from unwashed skirts and trousers, never mind the acrid knitwear - or know exactly what kid has been in the classroom two lessons ago because the smell is distinctively him mixed with all the Lynx the others have been spraying to try and mask the smell when they've walked into next lesson, you'll know that I'm not joking.

We can smell your children. And from 10, they do smell.

And now the depths of vileness have, as is usual, been plumbed.

You've had to go through the PE department lost property bins? Poor you.

Do (did!) people change their work suits every day? No. So obviously most office based people don't have a complete set of fresh clothes every day.

PE department indicates secondary school - therefore the comment about smelly 10 year olds is head talking out of arse territory. Also, PE - indicates an activity which tends to cause perspiration rather than sitting in double maths - so again, utterly irrelevant.

You were being unjustifiably vile about people's children for internet thug-life points. Site's fucking full of it at the moment.

Oh dear.

There are PE areas in a lot of primary schools, sports centres that are attended by the primaries and then there are all through schools as well. I've also run a Brownie pack in the past, worked in Primaries complete with ten year boys who are clearly entering puberty at the same time as some of the girls and there are 10 years attending transition days and summer camps. Plus, my own kids had to reach the age of 10 at one point in their lives, as did I.

If you like to think that your kids don't smell, fine. But being in socioeconomic groups A-C1 doesn't actually mean your kids' sweat can't stink when it's been in their unwashed clothes with the bacteria acting on it for days. It just means that their sweat stinks on more expensive unform that they still have to wear.

You could massively cut down on your chore time by doing less washing - two pairs of trousers/skirt should easily last one school week. Ditto jumpers. Shirts might also last two days.
Same for you own clothes - no need to wear clean every day (if you are doing that)
And skip the ironing! Only iron what actually needs ironing - I even havent owned an ironing board in over a decade. (I air dry everything and avoid buying anything that looks like it will need ironing!)

I never iron.

Primary DC has 5 of everything (that includes 1 PE set for PE day - they never went back to changing in school) because they're a messy bugger who will get stains on daily and it's the only way to ensure at least a clean start.

Secondary DC is much cleaner and more careful. 3 pairs of trousers (so changed every other day), 5 shirts that are always worn under a blazer, so no need to iron. One blazer that is a pain to wash with all the sodding reward pins. PE kit, one set, gets washed weekly.

Obviously fresh underwear and socks daily.

I don't agree with needing clean clothes to the extent of many pps, but must agree stinkiness starts in primary. In an afternoon, a Y5 or Y6 classroom is noticeably pongier than a Y3 or Y4 one! Infants is never great but for other reasons.

I've bought DS 6 red polo shirts, 5 pairs of trousers and 2 jumpers. It's not exactly a hardship - trousers are £4 each and the polos are £8 for logoed, or 2 for 3 quid plain! I plan to do a wash on a Friday on my day off (they're red so I'll wash them on their own).

I will not be ironing though. Ever.

There are uniforms with a high percentage of cotton/wool available from M&S, it isn’t just the private schools that have this option. Spending a bit more on a wool jumper could mean saving on the costs of washing.
Your comments are very unpleasant. In my many years of teaching I came across only a few children who were neglected and, sadly, smelly and it was never just due to wearing uniform items for a few days before washing.

Clean set here each day. I was really neglected as a child and as a result I am really particular about school uniform. Clean set each day and I buy the logo uniform for their polo shirts, jumpers, pe kits and bags. Feet measured in the summer and shoes bought from Clarks. It's silly but I remember the shame of being really scruffy and dirty at school and just have to have my children looking pristine every morning.

Exactly this.