I’ll be the first to admit that my clothes-washing schedule is haphazard. Things get thrown in the laundry bin when they start to smell, and that laundry bin gets dragged over to the washing machine in a panic when I notice the dress I was about to wear to an event is nowhere to be found. But it turns out there are much easier systems you can use to stay organized.
As this handy infographic points out, there are a few easy-to-remember accepted rules about how often clothes should be washed- and it naturally varies by item. Generally, the closer a piece of clothing is worn to your skin, the more often you’ll need to wash it. That means t-shirts, socks, underwear, tights (which should be hand-washed), workout clothes, and silks should be washed every single time you wear them.
Then there are the items of clothing that can give you a little more lee-way, depending on where you wear them to and, well, how sweaty you get. These include dress shirts, blouses, bras, shorts, dresses, and pajamas. Finally, some items really don’t need to be washed frequently, and will last longer if you don’t clean them too often: suits, skirts, sweatshirts, pants, and jeans. Of course, everyone’s lifestyle are different, so this is only a rough guide- if you only wear a pair of socks at home, you can probably wash them less often. But hopefully this guide can help you to organize your washing schedule and never run out of clean clothes.