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Wardrobe v. Washing Machine

Carol

(website)

Veteran

I have discovered I have quite fewer clothes than most women, and even sometimes that feels like too much. When you have easy access to a washer and dryer, you can do several loads a week, and therefore just keep washing the same few things.

I remember my ex-husband had 4 pairs of pants and he wanted to buy 2 more, and I thought: why? You can wear each several times already, and wash them regularly. You really only need 2 or 3.

There are two schools of thought: ample clothes for a fun, imaginative wardrobe...or minimal clothes for a peaceful home.

I can't imagine having a bigger pile of laundry than I already do. I find my just-manageable pile quite enough, and I'm fine wearing the same items over and over.

Is the size of the "laundry pile" a consideration for you? Do you have a minimal closet, or do you enjoy shopping and building your collection?

General

54 replies

Latest reply was from laura

Sal

Veteran

I am somewhere in the middle - I do a fair bit of laundry and it's not hard as we have a washer in the home, a dryer and good outside drying conditions (mostly). I rarely find bottlenecks due to laundry - I keep enough gym leggings and tops for that reason.

My wardrobe size is about 100 pieces including shoes (but not my gym wear). Our climate is less extreme than many places but I do wear a few hats in my life (work involves everything from days in jeans and boots through to smart corporate wear), a position as a Chair on a voluntary board needs smart casual wear, plus the family, friends get togethers.

I feel I have "just the right" size for me - but a ruthless editor would say I have too many heels and party dresses for how much they get worn. But I do like options here and many of them are several years old - I am reluctant to edit just for the sake of it!!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I'm like Sal -- I'm somewhere in the middle. My closet is bigger than hers but my climate is also more extreme and like her, I wear lots of different hats.

I aim for no laundry bottlenecks. But even with my substantial closet, they do arise.

I also like a neat, organized closet. I don't think the two goals are opposed, but it does take time to figure out one's real needs and the best way to store items so as to not create what I call "visual noise."

SarahD8

Veteran

I have read a bunch of minimalist advice that talks about reducing wardrobe size in order to reduce the volume of laundry you do and I have to admit this has always baffled me. I generate dirty clothes at the same rate regardless of how many items are in my closet???

Anyway, I like a large wardrobe, albeit one that will fit comfortably in my storage space. I live in a variable climate, I am not great at creative layering/proportion play (so, any given item tends to work only in a couple of outfit formulas…if I want to wear more than one silhouette it will require more pieces). And, most importantly, I don’t have great success at shopping to fill particular wardrobe holes and it stresses me out when things wear out before I tire of them and I’m unable to replace them. So, more clothes!

Barbara Diane

Veteran

I’m glad that works for you. I like more options.

Carol

(website)

Veteran

Edit: I don't have an extreme minimal wardrobe, just "enough." Enough to picture all my shirts, sweaters and bottoms in my mind without thinking about it too hard. Enough to not pack away any of it season by season, etc.

Zaeobi

(website)

Veteran

I have a personal rule to keep around two weeks' worth of underwear/ sleepwear/ sports/ basics etc no matter what, because our 2-person household runs the washing machine once a fortnight (dark colours one week, light colours the next).

That might make it sound bearable to make do with fewer clothes, but I live in a humidly subtropical climate where rewearing anything just isn't comfortable 6-9 months of the year. I even bring an extra top & undies to work for (at least) March till October, which generates a lot more laundry than when I lived in the much colder UK

Personally, I don't like constantly doing laundry but I also have to account for my muggy perpetual summers - so I think I'm also somewhere in the middle. 'Enough' is very subjective though - my closet may be small by others' standards, since it's just two cupboards and I don't pack away out-of-season clothing, but 2 weeks' worth of clothing in most categories still sounds like a lot to me! Will count it all someday...

Sisi

Veteran

I am of the school of thought "few clothes for a more peaceful home and mind". . At present I have approximately 70 pieces including footwear and it's more than enough.

Sally

Veteran

I wear the same things over and over regardless of wardrobe size so suit a smaller wardrobe. I'm due for an edit soon.

Brooklyn

Veteran

I am comfortable with a larger wardrobe for variety, but it also has some practical benefits in avoiding laundry bottlenecks. If I wear a top just once outdoors in warm weather, it will need a wash. When I come home from my morning 1-2 hour walk feeling all sweaty, I’m not going to continue wearing that top for the rest of the day. So it’s not unusual for me to change to a second top, and then maybe even a third if I go for another walk later in the day and need to change again. So that does push me towards a larger wardrobe, at least in warm weather. The warm weather period here is at least 6 months. We are already experiencing temps of 26C and winter has just ended. This explains why I have a lot of tops…

Olive Green

Veteran

I am kind of excited to hear the word ‘enough’, as I have been meditating on that lately.
I seem to have settled into a happy emotional place with what passes for my style, and am using up my present wardrobe. Anything new I want to buy, I probably have, in one iteration or another. So barring radical departures in lifestyle or climate, and replacements, I am set.
Taking some inspiration from the fabbers and Angie and buying what really works, rather than what suffices, has helped immensely. It means that I buy one good thing, rather than many inexpensive things, where I can (shoes, winter clothes). And laundry bottlenecks are seldom a problem, as it all works pretty well, and I can just wear the next tshirt or pants on the pile. I do a wash twice a week in the endless summer here, because you break a sweat walking to the car, let alone walking the dogs. If I had to use a laundromat, it would be once every ten days, and we would have a few more basics to last us.
I still read all the posts of the more maximalist wardrobe fabbers, and so enjoy their varied and playful styles and different wardrobe solutions. Like a better fashion magazine, one you can really use.
Anyway, ‘enough’ seems to be a watchword on many fronts right now.

Carol

(website)

Veteran

Sal--you know, I, too have a couple party dresses that don't get much wear, that any sane person would tell me to toss because they cost more in dry cleaning than their actual original price. So I understand the urge to keep certain things. 100 pieces still sounds like a lot to me, but I have a small space and less "hats" to wear.

Suz--I, too, like an organized closet, and for me that means a fairly small wardrobe, because my closet door is broken! I live in an apartment with sliding doors for the closet, and only one of them opens

SarahD8--great point about laundry logic. I've thought of that, too. Increasing wears on each item will reduce laundry, but not less items in general. The rate is the same!

Barbara Diane--to each her own...

Zaeobi--I can also wear most tops only once. But we have no specific laundry schedule, so I find myself doing it several times a week, giving me easy access to my whole wardrobe. 2 weeks of clothes is a lot for some people, and not enough for others.

Dee

Veteran

I live in a true 4 seasons climate so my “enough” might be considered rather large by some standards. This larger wardrobe is built around some carefully considered classics and allows me plenty of variety which I really enjoy. I’m also able to keep these clothes for much longer because they don’t get worn out as quickly and aren’t really trend specific, so no real laundry bottlenecks here. I don’t usually wash an item after just one or maybe several wears unless it some how got dirty or stained while wearing it, exceptions though for yard work, hiking etc.. I can also store my out-of- season clothes in a separate spot.

Carol

(website)

Veteran

Sisi--it is nice to have a small wardrobe. I really don't know how many pieces I have--I will have to check that out.

Sally--small wardrobe for the win. I always love editing, and the smaller the closet, the harder it is.

Brooklyn--lots of tops are great for warm weather. I tend to keep a lot of mine in a drawer--tanks and tees, so that they don't take up a lot of space.

Olive Green--"enough" is a calming word for me, though I still want to buy more things. I like Jennifer L. Scott's ten-item wardrobe idea, and watch that sometimes for inspiration.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I’m with SarahD8 and Brooklyn. I know my wardrobe is large, and I enjoy it that way. I got tired of my limited travel wardrobe after a few weeks, even though I love the pieces. Some of us crave and enjoy variety, and have the climate and space to accommodate it.

I don’t understand the laundry thing either. I rewear many items before laundering them (pants especially, and tops when the weather is not too warm, depending on fabrication, etc). I didn’t need to do laundry more or less often with a very limited travel wardrobe than I do at home with all my clothes available to me. I do all our laundry once a week, combining my husband’s and my stuff. It usually means three loads — one dark, one light, and one of towels.

I also don’t mind the “splitting wears” thing that so many people seem to find bothersome. I hate when a beloved item wears out and I have to scramble for a replacement — and I like that if one of my essentials, like a black tee, is in the laundry hamper for a week, I have at least one other black tee that I can wear instead.

That said, I think we all need to be true to our own preferences and needs, including budget and storage space. I also think that means respecting that others have different priorities as well. It’s all good.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

A little addendum:

Carol, you write:
“ample clothes for a fun, imaginative wardrobe...or minimal clothes for a peaceful home”

I don’t see this as a binary choice. I work to make a peaceful home, but it also includes ample clothes for a fun wardrobe. Both my husband and I enjoy clothes and style, and have a full closet. We shop a few times a year and enjoy it, and we also edit our wardrobes regularly. He spends more on shoes in a year than I do! LOL But we wear and enjoy our wardrobes, and we care for them well. I’m quite vigilant about washing, drying, folding, and putting away everything in its place as soon as the laundry is done, so our space feels peaceful and tidy.

Minimalism in wardrobe is only one approach towards a peaceful home.

Irina

Veteran

Honestly, not a lot of my clothes goes into a washing machine. I hand wash my sweaters and have enough of them to do it twice a season the most with airing out in between. Same with most of my pants, only instead of hand wash, I take them to dry cleaners. This is possible because I wear natural fibers and it’s easier to keep them clean. And I have enough in rotation not to wear something on repeat. I mostly wash my underwear, gym clothes , lounge wear and jeans.

More washing in the summer but still I have enough clothes so I don’t have to put it through a wringing every week like I do with my very limited gym clothes. And I dry it on a line outside.

I have my reasons - clothes last longer if you don’t wash it often, it’s the rule for all garments. I was raised in a different environment and have some old fashioned habits.

Also, we all have different ideas for how our clothes should look. Some like a patina of age and don’t mind a worn out look. I’m not one of them.

So, I have a question for you. With washing often, clothes doesn’t last long. What do you do with your worn out clothes? I only have worn out t-shirts (recycle for house use), underwear and socks (garbage). I donate or now sell my clothes when I change my style or outgrow it since it is in a decent shape.

Joy

Veteran

I do not wear everything once before washing and summer things get washed more often than other seasons. Worn underwear is always washed before wearing again.
I have almost duplicates in case of spills and a need to change. Those take up closet space. I have a large wardrobe and do not like regular repeats. I am also an emotional dresser and seldom wear the same outfit more than once. I plan around columns of a color or neutral and add on as needed.. I get bored easily and enjoy a change.
By dividing neutrals and colors by season I wear everything. Right now I am wearing autumn colors and prints. I have resisted wearing them in other seasons. Autumn and spring span warm and cold seasons so colors are collected accordingly.

Right now it is hot fall. Crops in fall colors and sleeveless tops are worn. Gradually I will add full length pants, sweaters and other warmer versions in fall colors. Still sticking to wearing a frock twice a week. Deep winter still needs work... more color and pattern rather than mostly black or grey. I worked on this last year and it helped, found my winter equivalent of summer favorites, and wore them regularly to provide relief from all black. I may have enough. I probably do.

unfrumped

Veteran

I think of laundry and wardrobe size separately. I line variety but also feel like I have too many clothes because I do store a fair amount in guest closet and under bed containers. Due to 4 season wardrobe, and that I wear bulky, fleecy things even indoors all winter, I don’t expect to stop doing a seasonal switch or storing things outside my bedroom closet, but I aspire to having just a bit less for every season or type of use, so more gets worn.

I do laundry whenever I feel like it and prefer smaller loads. I don’t like putting things away!

Carol, the “ enough “ factor does work well for me with my gardening and indoor workout clothes ( which are not the same). I am completely content to wear just a few items that vary mostly by warmth through the seasons, and wash a small load whenever.

Where I would potentially get a laundry bottleneck is in my items that I either hand wash or hang to dry ( or dry for 5 minutes on low and then hang) because theses aren’t ready the same day.

But, for almost everything like that I have something else I could wear. If fact in general I’m trying to have these alternatives be “ similar but different “ ( meaning just what I like for the role or occasion, but not exact dupes). Coukd be just a different color combo or a slightly different silhouette.

I’m also trying to pay attention to, if I would somehow “ panic” if the pants, or top or whatever I planned to wear turned out to have a stain when getting dressed, or were in the laundry or still damp, then, does that actually tell me something about my style or needs that I can use for closet editing ( stuff I have but apparently don’t want to wear WHEN the occasion actually arises) or a wardrobe hole, for either a dupe or an item- adjacent or a change in preferences.

Helena

Veteran

Hmm, this is interesting ... I've never associated wardrobe size with laundry. For me the bigger driver of size is tendency towards piece/outfit repetition which I have a high tolerance for ... I will happily wear the same piece multiple times a week if it's a current favourite. I guess that ties to laundry in that I do it weekly so I can rewear my favourites again!!

rachylou

Veteran

I definitely have too many clothes and too many laundry baskets, but I also am insane. I like to separate and I like to do full loads, because I read something once, lol! I like a once a month laundry day. Haha! Insane. I know.

judy

Veteran

Ah, laundry. It's very personal, our habits and practices. I wash sheets and towels once a week, and hand wash and hang my underwear every day, it's so easy...and even t shirts sometimes. But my other clothes I wash only when they really, really need it...and I hang them to dry, no dryer. This is perhaps why my clothes last such a long time. DH washes his own clothes. My kids are all grown and gone, so no more family laundry. Though it is one of my favorite household chores. Something about clean sheets or clothes, and the folding and putting away too, can feel therapeutic.

This thread reminds me of a delightful short film sent to me a few months ago called Clotheslines from 1981. It's a half hour long, I know long by internet video standards. Watch it if you have time, or even if you just watch a little...https://www.folkstreams.net/films/clotheslines

Runcarla

Veteran

I run laundry for a household of 4 adults who all also do some kind of fitness/sporting activity that generates laundry. I run more frequent loads in high summer (a load or two every other day) than in cooler weather (maybe 3 loads on a weekend, and one load mid week).

The bottleneck could be the ironing pile. I have been loving my linen pieces, and since DH does the ironing every second week, I’ve been pitching in in order to get my linen pieces back into rotation a little faster.

The only time I’ve bought anything due to laundry is underwear or socks. Not so much needing them around regular days at home, but needing sufficient pairs for a trip without access to laundry facilities.

My wardrobe is in Finds (with the exception of fitness kit). My numbers are generally around 80 items. I have sufficient storage to keep my stuff out year round, but I do rotate seasonal outerwear (for the entire family) between a basement storage closet and a main floor closet.

I am drawn to owning fewer things rather than being a collector, but that is a personal preference/characteristic and not a virtue or a flaw.

Anonymous

I mostly do this with dishes, since we have no dishwasher. We keep 2-3 of each type of thing- mugs, bowls, big plates (only used for pizza or corn on the cob), small plates. Then we can't end up with a big pile to wash

We do have a washer and dryer, but it's mostly my lack of storage space that keeps my wardrobe pretty small. I do laundry once or twice a week, and DH does his own. I wash most things after one use.

It is a balance though, between having the right things for all my activities and climate, and my small house and desire for minimalism.

phoebe

Absolutely.

Laundry, storage, maintenance and visual pleasure are all factors in how large my wardrobe is.

However! I also like my clothes to be very neat and show as little wear as possible which might be difficult to achieve with too few items.

Pants and t shirts are replaced 2-3 times a year with few exceptions

Val

For me, laundry routines and wardrobe size are absolutely connected. I’ve had a lot of different living situations with different laundry setups over the years, and I’ve noticed that my wardrobe shrinks when laundry is frequent and grows when laundry is less frequent.

SarahD8 is so right though, we generate dirty clothes at the same rate regardless of how many we own. That rate is more about how we wear them.

RobinF

Veteran

Hmm interesting how different we all are! I don’t have a particularly small or large wardrobe I don’t think. I like variety and rarely wear the same piece more than once a week, maybe shoes but nothing else. I also don’t wash after one wear and do laundry once a week. I have considered focusing my wardrobe on fewer colors but a little worried I might get bored.

Sal

Veteran

I think if I were to decrease the size of my closet I would have the same amount of laundry to do, but there could be pressure to do it more often? When my sons were in school uniform and playing for sports teams there was pressure to turn things around for practices and school as we only had 2-3 shirts and 2-3 pairs of shorts.

So I think if you keep a leaner closet the items get washed more, and timeliness is important, but you possibly do the same amount in total. or that's how I think about it. After starting to track wears in the last 18 months I am learning that my tops mostly seem to last about 30 wears in total, give or take (wovens longer than knits in general). My aim is to wear out the top as I get sick of it rather than it to still have lots of wear and me be over wearing it.

Carol - let's keep our party clothes!! Here's to more parties.

Jules

Veteran

I apologize that I haven’t read every reply and will come back to do so later...

I think there’s a happy medium that’s different for everyone, in different phases of their lives. At one time I had a pretty limited wardrobe, such that when my husband put some wool pants in the dryer and shrunk them I cried. Because I truly didn’t have enough clothes to wear to work without them, and no interest in what I perceived to be the chore of trying to replace them. My minimalism has ceased to serve me and was making my life more stressful.

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

We wash clothes by whites/lights, medium colors, and blacks/dark colors. We might do a load or two a week. That means that sometimes by the time I get around to washing something, the weather has changed and it feels like another season already. (Even though it technically probably isn't!) So I do feel I have a large-ish wardrobe for my actual needs. I have accumulated quite a few bike shorts, to avoid running out of them between black/darks loads! I also have quite a few pairs of undies--and I have them in lights/whites and medium colors--so I don't run out before they get through the laundry cycle!

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