Is it gross to rewear clothes?

[Sparksi]

I have one pair of maternity leggings that fit. I had them on yesterday all day and want to wear them again today. I didn’t go anywhere in them other than a brief trip to the shop and was otherwise at home all day. Is it fine or bad hygiene to wear them again today?

YABU - gross, find something else
YANBU - things like that are definitely fine for a second day

I worked with someone who lived on her own but seemed to be forever washing. She even washed the towel she used to dry her hair after every use.

That is properly mad. Have people not heard of airing things?

I go camping a lot. everything I wear is subjected to the "sniff test" every day. If it pongs, it gets washed. If not, I wear it again.

I know people Iike this. They tend to not have much going on in their lives and see it as something to do. I direct them towards the library, local care home who needs volunteers, the job centre to see if there are any community projects they could help with, and failing that I roll my eyes and suggest they get a life.

They are the type of people who also shower several times a day, put their heating and tumble dryer on full blast rather than the alternatives, boil a full kettle to make one small cup of tea, leave their car engines running unnecessarily and are generally bored with life.

No concern whatsoever for the environment and seem to have a liking for ordering things they don't need from Amazon, selecting as many items as possible at the supermarket that are double or triple wrapped in plastic, then complain about there not being enough of something they wanted. Entitled, uninformed and selfish. Not bothered at all about the planet or future generations or people in third world countries who are already sweltering to death or struggling with flooded villages and famine.

I can never decide whether to feel angry at their ignorance or jealous of their seemingly serene and trouble free lives tbh.

And off they toddle to chuck a couple of small clean items into the wash for something to do.

Of course it's fine.

I do wear clean tops daily as I'm prone to underarm sweating but I'd wear the same trousers a couple of days in a row.

It's not often heard on British TV and Radio, but I do remember it from this advert in the 1980s .......

I wouldn’t re-wear leggings. I treat them more like tights rather than trousers. I sometimes re-wear trousers but never tights.

I wear joggers for a few days before they go in the washing basket.

Same goes for tops which I wear when I finish work.

No, that's not how it works.*

Lets say, for simplicity, that the machine capacity is seven separate outfits (and, also for simplicity, we're not worrying about mixing colours and whites).

If you wear a new outfit every day, you will have enough for a full load after a week. If you wear a new outfit every two days you will need to put the machine on after two weeks. If you change your outfit every three days, the machine will be full after three weeks. Etc.

Or, to put it another way, if you change your clothes every day you are filling up the machine twice as fast as if you changed them every other day (roughly, as some clothes are bulkier than others).

*Assuming you're not putting the machine on every Saturday (or whenever) regardless of whether it's full.

Along with the towels that on MN seem to get washed if someone looks at them.

I once went with a friend to stay at his parents' second home. When we arrived the heating was on high, even though they hadn't been there for several weeks and it was April. I opened the dishwasher and they had clearly put it on before they left - there were about two bowels and a knife in there.

They have more money than they know what to do with, but it's no excuse for the utter wastefulness of resources.

You didn't even read my response, did you? 😂

I work outdoors with animals. My work clothes are filthy at the end of the day and can't be re-worn. They don't make up a full load but they all get washed on a Friday night anyway. So adding my leggings (and t-shirts) to that load doesn't create any extra laundry or any extra work. My machine runs for the same amount of time no matter what...

But of course, you know best.

Edit: Nice edit, btw

One time I wore the same jumper to work two days in a row. It was a comfy, baggy jumper and I was a few weeks pg. I didn't wear it at home while cooking etc, just for office work. Of all the people, my male manager noticed and commented on it - I was so embarrassed!

But yes, if it's not smelly and messy I wouldn't put it in the wash. Wish people didn't think rewearing is something worthy of a comment/ noticing.

Crikey I would never notice if people wore the same thing to work.

I tend not to wear the same thing on consecutive days to work but for bottoms and jumpers etc... I wouldn't wash it, just hang it up and rewear later in the week or the next week.

This time of year where a cardie or jumper may be needed occasionally, I often keep the same one at work for weeks.

I'm the opposite, clothes that get sweaty under the arms I only wear once.

Trousers with clean underwear I rewear loads.

No nor would I. However, I think for some people it is a thing. I told a lady I loved her outfit and that I'd noticed she looked really trendy but formal the day before too and that I was loving her summer formal wardrobe. She responded by telling me that she wasn't wearing the same trousers two days in a row and that she in fact had 2 pairs. I hadn't even noticed that the trousers were the same as the overall outfits looked completely different.

There are not many things that I would re wear to be honest.
Things like jumpers still come into contact with my underarms and jeans with my crotch area.
I also do things like cooking and cleaning in them so even though I have an office job my clothes still get food/cleaning smells absorbed into the fabric.
They just don't smell fresh the following day.
People also don't realise how 'noseblind' they get to their own aroma! I had to call at the supermarket on the way home last night and I would say I could smell something 'off' on at least a quarter of the people in there! Out of those there were a few people that I held my breath to walk past......and others that were just mildly unpleasant.
I don't trust the sniff test for my own clothes, the only way to ensure I am fresh smelling is to shower daily, use strong deodorant and regularly wash clothes and bedding.

When I was teaching I had three suits that I wore for two days each, my least favourite I wore on Friday. Wednesday morning I caught my foot in the hem of the trousers and changed into another one. In a large school, 1000+, the number of pupils, some who I'd never taught, who said Why are you wearing your Friday suit? was amazing, one even asked if we could have the next day of as he thought it was Saturday.

I wash socks, pants, t-shirts, leggings after every wear. Oh, and nightwear. Wool sweaters, jeans, hoodies, work dresses, work trousers and bras can be worn several times unless I’ve slittered some food down the front - as I am prone to do!

Have constant ongoing battle with teen over what’s needing washed - daily extractions of once worn jeans and hoodies to be returned to wardrobes (like a ninja!).

If it looks and smells clean, it's absolutely normal to rewear
Could you look on Vinted for a couple more pairs of bottoms?
I wouldn't spend too much on maternity clothes but it saves washing them and saves energy.. for yourself and the environment!

I find this a very odd thing to say.

Many women use panty liners to keep their knickers clean and their trousers.

If you think the crotch smells after one day then you're possibly not washing yourself enough.

Honestly- what do people do with pure wool smart trousers if they think they all need laundering after one wear?

Why would you wash nightwear after one night?

I wear nighties/ chemises and wear them for around a week unless it's very very hot and then I might wash them mid-week.

I also don't wash a T-shirt after one wear. I work mainly from home, don't 'sweat' much sitting at my desk. I would wash it after a day out, or wear clean clothes if meeting people.

This idea that women all have stinky crotches!
Is this something that women are subtly made to feel self conscious about?

Honestly, just wear a panty liner if you feel you need to.
Change your pants daily, shower in the morning and evening and your trousers will be fine. Unless your jeans are actually absorbing discharge, they won't smell.

Things like jumpers still come into contact with my underarms and jeans with my crotch area.

I think people are talking about jumpers worn over a T-shirt. Unless you don't wear underwear or are exceptionally sweaty, washing trousers and jeans after only one wear is overly and unhealthily fastidious. Why don't you hang them by an open window and them see if they pass the sniff test the next day instead of wasting time and resources by doing humungous amounts of laundry?