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I think (and I practice it myself) that people should change their street clothes to house clothes. Then a minor stain is not a problem that needs immediate attention.
For messy jobs and that includes eating and feeding kids, wearing a protective apron is very useful.
I've lived alone for most of my adult life. It takes a while for me to generate enough dirty clothing worth a load of laundry. For energy/water conservation reasons alone, I wouldn't run the machines just for a few sets of underwear and socks. I might hand wash some in a pinch, but my current house doesn't have a utility sink that makes that very convenient. It seems incredibly obvious and common sense to me to wear undergarments and socks once before washing them. They lie most directly against a person's skin so they absorb the majority of sweat, body residues, salt, and odor.
Over many years of office dress codes or being required to wear an agency uniform, I started the "street clothes/house clothes/grimy chore clothes" idea and still use it even though I'm now retired. Cleaning them aside, if I take better care of the street-office attire, it lasts longer.
Once I arrive home, I change out of my street/professional clothes, let them air out a bit, then put them back in the closet to wear again unless they really are scented/sweaty/dirty. I change into loungy sweats type clothing or PJs for kicking around the house. If there happens to be minor dirt or a spot on those, so be it. Then there are clothes for the truly grubby jobs: gardening, home maintenance, working on the car, etc. Those are another step down from house clothing. They probably have permanent stains, frayed cuffs or hems, faded, etc already. They get washed when even I can't stand wearing them again !
As for keeping very young children's clothing clean during meals, once we were older than infants, my mother used to tie larger cheap cotton dish towels around our necks. I even recall her using one of my dad's old worn cotton undershirts. They covered more area than the typical bib, were inexpensive, quick and easy to wash. Didn't matter if they accumulated permanent minor stains.
Last edited by Parnassia; 11-17-2022 at 01:41 PM..
Soiling of clothes is just one aspect of dirt. What about dust, sweat, smell? I don't get get when you say you are fed up with washing clothes.
As far as tops/shirts go they need to be worn once. Same with undergaments. Could wear socks a few times before washing. Pants can be worn for several days and jackets can also be washed infrequently.
A 16 yr old wearing an apron duing meals is OVER THE TOP.
That sounds almost as disgusting to me as wearing undergarments more than once.
I think (and I practice it myself) that people should change their street clothes to house clothes. Then a minor stain is not a problem that needs immediate attention.
For messy jobs and that includes eating and feeding kids, wearing a protective apron is very useful.
Kids pre-school age should learn (most already know) how to eat without making a mess.
A 16 y.o. shouldn't wear an apron because of messy eating habits. Unless she is disabled.
My middle-eastern MIL was like this. She taught me that it was a very good thing to do. I'd frankly never thought of it. She had beautiful high-quality clothing that had lasted more than 30 years because she only wore them out in public. Changed to house dresses as soon as she returned home. I can still remember her going to the local mall after arriving in the U.S. for her 6-month stays and getting all those house dresses from Sears, J.C. Penney or The May Company. I can still see her in them. She was a very smart, pragmatic lady. Over the years I've tried to do that. If you don't do it right away, it doesn't get done.
I think the wearing of aprons is a great idea. Maybe a better idea is having the teenagers do their own laundry, for various reasons.
My middle-eastern MIL was like this. She taught me that it was a very good thing to do. I'd frankly never thought of it. She had beautiful high-quality clothing that had lasted more than 30 years because she only wore them out in public. Changed to house dresses as soon as she returned home. I can still remember her going to the local mall after arriving in the U.S. for her 6-month stays and getting all those house dresses from Sears, J.C. Penney or The May Company. I can still see her in them. She was a very smart, pragmatic lady. Over the years I've tried to do that. If you don't do it right away, it doesn't get done.
I think the wearing of aprons is a great idea. Maybe a better idea is having the teenagers do their own laundry, for various reasons.
Those house dresses are hard to find in stores now, every year I get my friend one in a different design and color for Christmas and have to order it from Amazon, they have some very pretty ones. I always change from street clothes to pajamas or a house dress once I'm home, I don't want to be wearing clothes inside that have outside allergens on them, and my street clothes don't get stained from cooking and eating.
I won't use a towel twice. If I go out in the morning and at night that's 2 pair of socks. T shirts are single use. Jeans I wear several times. Underwear is single use. Polo shirts are single use as are golf clothes.
Detergent is about $12 for 130 loads. Dryer sheets are about 3 or 4 cents each. I only wash in cold water. Buy basic appliances.
If I use an apron for cooking, I will often times keep it on when I eat.
I cannot imagine requiring my teenagers to wear one to eat each meal. Most of them do their own laundry.
Until they turned five, they would mostly just wear a diaper or undies and maybe pajama pants while inside our home. This greatly reduced our laundry needs. We never did bibs past the regular age for them.
I buy dark colored clothes....it makes washing so much easier.
Light/bright clothing that very easily shows every bit of discoloration/dirt/grime/grease, necessitates more care when washing, a lot more often, when compared to dark clothing.
ANYone -- at any age -- can get a stain on a top, or have food fall off a fork into their lap.
So let's not act like it never happens. Eat "without making a mess?" Yes. But it's not an absolute that a person should be able to eat without ever getting a stain or spill on their clothing. That's life. It happens.
Can anyone of us say they've never had spaghetti flip a dollop of sauce on them? Or they've never spilled any soup? Or that nothing has ever fallen from a forK?
For those reasons I do put a napkin in my lap or tuck one in my neckline. Depending on what I'm wearing, food being eaten, the likelihood of a mishap, and fanciness of the restaurant
But immediately upon getting home I also change out of "public /street clothes." And all at home clothes can get stains without it being an issue -- or already have stains.
Is a 16-year-old wearing a bib over the top? I think so. But OP, you do you.
As kids are being trained in their table manners, I'd suggest being careful of the explanation for the bib. It's not that the the child is a slob. It's that they have to learn to eat so food doesn't spill. But the bib could be a reverse incentive.
If a person wears a bib all the time, they don't have to eat neatly -- they can be as sloppy as they want with no consequences. They may not develop the desire to not want to spill. Why should they?
As for doing laundry often, being single I can go months without doing laundry. That's how much clothing I have.
IMO different people sweat more/less and require fresh clothes at different rates.
I (not a slob lol) could wear same clothes 3-4 days, yes including underwear. My spouse changes to fresh clothes every day and his laundry usage reflects that. I don't wear the same clothes day after day mainly so it looks like I'm trying haha. If I were single it would be different (meaning at retired age I'd wear whatever clothes as many days as wanted).
I change into work clothes when gardening or hobbies.
I don't wear my "public" clothes at home so they get less wear and need less laundering.
There are clothes in my wardrobe from 20 years back, still worn by me and looking good.
Last edited by twinkletwinkle22; 11-26-2022 at 08:30 AM..
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She was a very smart, pragmatic lady. Over the years I've tried to do that. If you don't do it right away, it doesn't get done. 
