Am I Dirty?

[DirtyGirl]

Not as exciting as the title suggests, I'm afraid, but wanted to get your advice/ views on this...
I like to think I keep my family reasonably clean and healthy, but think I am realistic, and am not a 'laundry fanatic' - particularly since dh & I both work full time and we have a toddler and a baby.
Anyway, had a 'debate' with dh the other day, when I asked him whether he really needed to put his shirts into the laundry after just wearing for one day.
I should point out that we're talking about the thick, checked,Timberland-type heavy cotton sort, which he always wears open-necked with a white T shirt underneath (his company has a casual dress policy)
Well basically his response made me feel as if I was being accused of being a slovenly bitch who didn't wash....
My other general principles include:

• only wash tops/shirts/jumpers (when worn over T-shirts etc) after 2-3 wears, or if visibly dirty/ smell of food/smoke etc
• kids PJs/babygros (bedtime) get worn for 3-4 nights(unless accidents occur)
• kids trousers worn twice (unless visibily dirty, or wet etc)
• kids jumpers/tops - changed daily (always dirty/messy)
• all underwear/ socks changed daily

Is this unreasonable? Am I dirty?
(Have changed my name in case the verdict is a resounding YES, in which case I can safely skulk away in shame..)
P.S. Seemed an appropriate thread, given Persil's sponsorship of Mumsnet?

Lol, Bobbins!!

This topic reminds me of my mum and my MIL who never would agree with each other. Mum says "It costs nothing more than a bar of soap to be clean." while MIL abides by her tenet that "A good layer of dirt keeps the germs out." As they are both getting on in years they reckon they've both been proven right.

I love this thread! I'm normal! Oh yes! I'm normal. Not only do I love my grey bras, they are built like the Forth Road Bridge!
Does anyone else have a cat that takes dirty pants out of the washing basket to sleep on? Try explaining that one to a fastidious visitor!

Lambchop> eugh...I know that problem...now thins really IS gross. My girl dog, Ali (ddg?), loves dirty knickers!!!! And any dirty bits on the bed, I'm not going to do into detail about what she does with them.

suffice to say its...VERY embarrassing!

But .....not my fault. All dirty washing must be hidden away.

I have lost custody of her now, so I can throw my dirty knickers anywhere I want...so nurr! At least one good thing has come out of the split

Lambchop> eugh...I know that problem...now this really IS gross. My girl dog, Ali (ddg?), loves dirty knickers!!!! And any dirty bits on the bed, I'm not going to do into detail about what she does with them.

suffice to say its...VERY embarrassing!

But .....not my fault. All dirty washing must be hidden away.

I have lost custody of her now, so I can throw my dirty knickers anywhere I want...so nurr! At least one good thing has come out of the split

Whoops...soz! Just trying to correct one of my many, probably now infamous, typo's!

Lambchops, our cat doesn't sleep on dirty knickers but she did one day bring someone's dirty tights through the cat flap! Living in the town centre at the time I dread to think of their history!

This thread has got me thinking over the past couple of days and I am tonight wearing a jumper rescued from the washing basket, and it doesn't smell, especially after a spray of CK1, I have never done this before in my life!

Thread has got me thinking, too. Nice, isn't it, to have a bit less washing each week.

As for towels not being dirty, you should SEE DH's hand towel after he's used it!!!!! Obviously, he has his very own. When visitors come I say NOOOO, not that towel! Not unless you want to catch typhoid.........

As I lay in my 5 day old shets this morning, I thought, could I possibly sleep in these for another 9 days or even 19, sorry folks, but I'll stick with my clean ones every week!! No offence meant to anyone at all!

I'm so looking forward to Saturday as we shall be staying in a hotel for 10 days and I'll have clean sheets everyday, yippee!!

I do have to say, when my DD and Ds were little I did recycle baby clothes, body suits vest went a least a couple of days, so did jumpers and trousers etc. They just seem to have got dirter (or cleaner ?) as they got older!

What did used to annoy me was the family I used to work for as a nanny, the parents always used to put clothes back in the drawer regardless of what they looked like, I don't think they ever notice the snot on cuffs etc, so when I used to get them dressed in the morning I'd be forever taking clothes out of the drawer until I found something clean!
But when I came back after a holidaay the washing basket would always be full, they'd just empty the suitcase into it!!

Happy christmas to you all, hope I might be able to 'check in" to catch up on the "dirty Linen saga" whilst skiing!

Clean sheets rules!! Lots of love!

Personally I find any excuse to shove our towels in the washing machine. I love draping them over the radiators to dry. I have an ulterior motive though.

I am addicted to the smell of concentrated blue Comfort fabric conditioner. Towels more than any other items I wash are the best at getting nicely saturated. Steaming dry over the radiator, the whole house smells of Comfort. Bliss!

Apart from this, I am rather dirty.
great thread!!

Yes but you shouldn't use fabric softener/conditioner on towels, it ruins the absorbency! (I know what you mean though - who wants to get dried with a piece of sandpaper?)

Oh, Alibubbles I agree. I aspire to clean sheets every week. Unfortunately it simply never happens - I don't go in our bedroom until it's time to go to bed and by then it's too late to faff about with the duvet & cover.

I always change the sheets when DH is going to be away. I put fresh, clean ones on and then have a long lazy bath. Oh, the bliss of a bed all to myself with clean sheets!

I would hasten to point out that I DO have baths and change the sheets on other occasions too

PamT, I use softener AND tumble dry my towels so they're absorbant, fluffy and sweet smelling.

I just don't do it very often

I have to confess to being a great believer in the smaller pleasures in life. I just love the smell and feel of clean sheets and towels etc and so for me it's a weekly thing (and like alibubbles, it is one of the great attractions of a hotel). But I do use a top sheet under our superking duvet cover which makes the process an awful lot easier. I would hate to be washing and drying a huge duvet cover on a weekly basis.

bells, I would love to use a top sheet under our superking goose down duvet ( that I bought back from Canada in one of those vac bags!) as I find it too hot! DH hates a sheet, he says it gets all twisted round his legs!! i love using a sheet in the summer with a waffle cotton blanket.

I wash my pure cotton duvet covers in the machine at a 60 wash, reduce the spin to 600 and then tumble dry for 20 minutes, hang over the bannisters and then fold and put in the press. Perfect! What a ssad person I am!

P.S, anyone know a good source of goose down superking size pillows?

mmm, tigermoth I love that smell too. In fact I used to have an old boss who clearly used it, as his office used to smell of it first thing in the morning - it was lovely.

Did you see the latest research shows that sterilising baby bottles is unnecessary and may even contribute to the development of asthma etc? A turn in the dishwasher or just a wash in hot soapy water is better and doesn't lead to a higher rate of stomach upsets either. So pleased to read this!

PamT, us Londoners have to condition our towels on a regular basis or they would be rock 'ard. I love the Ecover fabric conditioner smell, myself, but like Tigermoth, don't take it much further than that. Ds' clothes are unquestionably cleaner and better looked after than mine, these days.
Although I do love squirting lemon verbena water on my towels and sheets when they are being ironed...

This thread makes me feel soooo much better. I've always had a reputation as a bit of a housework slut (iron? hoover?) and doing quite a bit of backpacking in my youth has taught me the value of recycled clothes. But even I shudder at the thought of 6 wears of a G string. Mind you that could be because I consider G strings a torture device designed by some sadistic fashionista.

I do aspire to better things,fluffy clean towells and crisp white sheets for example, but when it comes down to it I just can't be bothered. I've better things do do with my life - like sleeping.

Can any of you super organised clean types tell me how to deal with a husband's feet? His can kill an elephant at 40 paces and it drives me to distraction.

Ooh, Lemon Verbena water! That sounds nice ? where do you get it from? Or can you just add a few drops of essential oil into your water squirter?
Now I live in London, too, but we never use conditioner on anything since someone told me once it was bad for your skin (and of course I always believe everything anyone tells me). Towels not completely rock 'ard, but you do get a nice invigorating exfoliating scrub after the shower, which I don't mind. (Yes, I know in an ideal world/top health farm you'd expect your scrub BEFORE the shower, but ,hey, who's counting?)

Rosie, L'Occitane on Regent St and in Bluewater sell it. Also do lavender.
We put conditioner on every two to three washes when they are approaching emery board status.

I like the emery board effect and have a horror of soft towels!

I'm a crunchie towel person too. Can't bear clothing conditioner, although I don't have a properly rational reason why. I put a drop or two of lavender essential oil in the ironing water when I'm doing sheets and baby clothes. DH not too keen on it for his stuff, mumbled about smelling poofy!!!!
As far as washing powder is concerned I am a die hard Fairy user (apols to our sponsers) with Vanish and bio-tex for grim stains.
And as far as cats and dirty laundry are concerned my cat used to love snuggling into my Dad's worn shirts and was often found asleep in the laundry basket!

Have now read the whole of this thread and I am delighted to find I am not the only slutty type with 2-week old duvet cover on the bed. I would love to reach Alibubbles heights of weekly change but cannot bear the thought of the extra load of laundry. Where does all the washign come from? This thread had made me think as well as laugh, and I have now decided to try to get more wears out of eg DD's dungarees if at all poss. Did a load of smalls' coloureds last night only to find that there were so many it was in fact two loads! Gah! We might as well just hang out a sign saying Chinese laundry (esp when no 3 arrives...washable nappies to...) Mind you, I do change towels every week, that really isn't any hassle surely and I cannot bear smelly towels (tho as others have wondered, how do they get dirty? Aren't we supposed to be clean when drying ourselves? Who can say.) Dirty girl, great thread!

I used to have about 50 beautiful (honestly)different matching sets of underwear. Than I had a baby & changed breast size, and had to throw it all away....now I have 8 bras which fit and no matching sets - Caesarian scar means only big nicks are comfortable now. Sad or what!

Also I had lots of wonderful shoes and my shoe size changed permanently - anyone else experience that?

Back to the laundry - I ironed nothing pre-baby and now iron everything!!! I even want to start starching my sheets. Does anyone else do that? I confess to being a bit of a laundry fanatic although pretty useless in most other respects around the house....

Lambchops _ I've not got a cat, but our dog delights in pulling dirty knickers out of the washing, rusnning round the garden and then dropping them on the nieghbours doorstep!