How often do you wash your towels?

rosieben

I always re use my towels several times. I'm using it to dry myself after a shower so I'm clean! I think changing towels daily is unnecessary and creates loads of pointless laundry which we can all do without

I'm just sorting out my airing cupboard and already have earmarked a pile of towels to offer on freecycle for pet bedding/towels or rags. I'll keep a few back and tear them into small squares to use as floor cloths etc

rising_from_the_ashes

Towels can certainly be used more than once - and this will hugely cut down on your washing!

I'd say have a set for each person and a couple of spare sets - in the winter it can take a while for them to dry so you don't want to not have any dry ones to use.

ivyleaf

i know what you mean about "too much stuff"! Seems a waste to actually bin any towels though, could you perhaps designate one to each member of the household but hang on to the rest? Towels last a long time and they are sure to be needed one day, when kids go to uni or leave home. Or some could go to a charity shop?

Alternatively, maybe you just love new towels and want to buy some more......:D

ETA: As posters 2 and 3 have said, towels can be used more than once before washing - after all, they've only been used to dry clean bodies!

rachbc

we have 2 sets of towels that get swapped over every week - everyone has there own and uses it til its washed - so each one gets used 7 times if you are my hubby and once if you are my son!

SailorSam

I couldn't even think about downsizing.
I'm a terrible hoarder and i've got cupboards and drawers full of stuff i never use. Even the loft and garage are packed out with 'things' that i find hard to throw away.
I can't help but think they'll come in useful one day.

euronorris

lovesabargain123 wrote: »

Hiya
Having a bit if a clear out and post winter clean today! It's got me wondering if we just have too much stuff?
So far I have put a big bag of clothes for charity, mainly the kids summer stuff that I know won't get used again but would normally keep just in case!
Anyway my main issues is towels, they seem to be breeding and we tend to shower daily and get a fresh one then leave in bedroom to dry but it never gets used again and normally ends up on the kids floor! In fact I have just picked up 6 towels from ds floor to wash!!!!?!!
So I thought, what if I bin all the towels, get one each for us and a couple of hand towels. Wash them sy Wednesday and sunday and in between they have to reuse their own towel!
Does this sound feesable or am I missing a need to have more of them
Thanks x

Sounds like a good idea to me.

OH and I have a set of towels each, and we cope just fine with that alone.

We only have a couple of extras, stored, for when we have guests.

rising_from_the_ashes

Slightly off topic but if anyone is thinking of giving away old towels / linen etc, please ask at local animal rescue's if they'd like them. They can put them to great use.

My old towels are now being put to good use for the dog - at the doorways for muddy feet when he comes in, drying him off and in his bed!

euronorris

SailorSam wrote: »

I couldn't even think about downsizing.
I'm a terrible hoarder and i've got cupboards and drawers full of stuff i never use. Even the loft and garage are packed out with 'things' that i find hard to throw away.
I can't help but think they'll come in useful one day.

Would it help to think 'If I haven't used this by XX date, then I obviously won't use it and it can go out'?

That's what I tend to do, and it does seem to keep the clutter down. I am quite ruthless though. Good job too, as OH can be like you and needs some persuasion to get rid of stuff.

GreyQueen

Hmmmm, sounds to me that the household might not have too many towels per se, there may just be too many towels too accessible at any one time.

If it were my household, I would assign 2-3 towels by colour (if poss) to each family member, plus have about half a dozen hand-towels to serve in kitchen or bathroom.

Any towels over and above that, I'd bag up and hide (loft? inaccessible cupboard?) and use to replenish the regular towel supply once they wear out.

Towels should be able to serve for many days (best to not share a bath towel even with your nearest and dearest) as long as they are hung up to dry out between uses.

If you have a lot of clean dry towels accessible in a cupboard, people will tend to dump the damp and grab a fresh one, making lots of extra work and mess for you.

You can also sluice water off your body with your hands or a flannel (facecloth if you speak American) and this will mean that your towel stays drier. If you have an outside line and it isn't raining, you can also peg out a wet towel for a blow, and the return it to the bathroom. HTH.

JulieGeorgiana

We re-use our towels, but you have to hang them up when not in use or they don't dry.

My husband has 1 blue one, I have two white ones and DS has a Brown one... if you tell the children where to place the towels to dry and make them use them, there is no problem with that. I only put on a dark wash 3 times a week now i've stamped down on re-using towels (instead of 5 times a week). I replace handtowels each time I wash though.