s/o laundry: wearing clothes more than one day

[daniela_r]

I am used to wearing clothes more than one day, as are our kids.  And fortunately we live overseas in a culture where it is perfectly acceptable to be seen wearing the same outfit several days in a row  :thumbup1:

 

However, with little kids this is sometimes annoying.  Anyone have practical advice for these "problems" that I have with trying to get kids to wear (not dirty or smelly) clothes more than one day?

1) Our two oldest (almost 6 and 4) would be plenty old enough to put their clothes in the laundry basket at night when changing into pajamas.  But I really don't think they are capable of evaluating whether their clothes are clean enough to wear the next day (and then hanging them up or folding them neatly) or not (and then putting them in the laundry basket).  So they end up just leaving their worn clothes in a pile on the floor each night, which feels like they're not learning to pick up after themselves.

2) When they sometimes can re-wear part of outfit, and sometimes not, I feel like I have to choose their clothes for them every day. "Your blue jeans got muddy yesterday, but you can wear your turtleneck again.  Please get a clean pair of pants from your cabinet and get dressed."  I would love for them to be able to choose their own clothes more, partially because I get tired of picking out clothes for three (soon to be four) kids, partially because I feel bad saying No to the child who says, "But, Mommy, please! I really wanted to wear my kitty-cat dress today!  And I didn't get to wear it yesterday either!".

3) It often seems that we have a big pile of "worn but not yet dirty" clothes that I don't want to put back in with the clean clothes.  For example, if one day they wear nicer, dressier clothes to church or something, and then the next day is sunny and they wear short sleeves, and then the next day happens to be significantly cooler, then that third day they end up needing to wear a third outfit, but the clothes from Days 1 and 2 are still lying around waiting to get truly dirty.  :tongue_smilie:   Multiplied by multiple kids equals a pile of clothes...

 

So, any advice?  Thanks in advance!!

 

[Catwoman]

I think you're expecting too much from children who are only 4 and 6 years old.

If you want them to wear the same clothes again, you need to tell them specifically what to do with those clothes when they take them off.

I doubt that most children that age are capable of evaluating which articles of clothing are clean enough to be worn again and which need to be washed. You need to do that for them.

I also think you still need to choose their clothes for them. I'm not sure why you're expecting so much independence from such little kids.

If you want them to learn to put dirty clothes in the hamper, you need to be specific about which items need to be washed before they go into their rooms to change into their pajamas, or you need to be right there with them to show them what to do. If you find it annoying to sort through their clothes to see which can be re-worn, yet you want your children to develop a habit of putting dirty clothes in the hamper and not in a pile on the floor, the simple solution is that every time the kids change clothes, every item goes straight into the hamper for you to wash. Otherwise, you're going to have to deal with the annoyance and sort the clothes. It only takes a minute or two, anyway.

I'm sorry to say this, but I don't think you can make this as convenient for yourself as you'd like.

[Tap]

6yo, 4 and younger kids aren't going to be able to make this decision on their own.  Sorry, but you are going to have to continue assisting in this area OR just wash everything and skip this step all together.  If you want to contain the loose clothes, have them put everything in the laundry basket.  When you have a chance, go by and put back the wear-again clothes into drawers or hang them up. 

 

Personally, when I have an item that I plan to rewear, I put it back on a hanger inside out.  That way I know it has already been worn before. 

[Tap]

To help them make outfits without you: Hang the clothes up in predetermined outfits.  That way they can just select the hanger and it is already pre-selected.

 

Or since it sounds like you pretty much have boys.  Buy jeans and let them wear what ever shirt they want.  Boys don't really have outfits as much as girls unless you are a sweater vest/slacks type family.

[PrairieSong]

You could hang up the worn-but-not-dirty clothes to one side of the closet. Little kids just need help picking out clothes and evaluating whether they need to go into the wash. Can you lay out the next day's clothing at bedtime so they know what they will be wearing tomorrow? Some of my kids functioned better if they knew ahead of time what was coming, what was expected.

[Rachel]

I have a 6 & 4 year old, I do think they can start to figure out if clothes can be reworn at those ages. I have mine look for dirt/stains and smell them. They aren't always right but for some reason they are more likely to rewear dirty clothes than put clean clothes in the hamper.

I feel like clothes that are clean enough to wear again can go back in a drawer or rehung in the closet, but my husband doesn't. Our kids have hooks on the back of their doors where they can hang their worn clothes, or they lay them out on their floor to wear again the next day. I put my husband's worn shirts on the far left side of our closet instead of where they would normally go.

I guess I would sugget having a set place to keep the worn clothes. Some ideas are a special hook, folded on top of their dresser, or a certain spot in a drawer.

[NoseInABook]

Mine are that age, they can easily figure out what's too dirty to wear again. Generally, that's EVERYTHING at this age because my kids do a lot of art projects and play outside. Can you get a basket for dirty clothes and a basket for wear again clothes to make it seem like they aren't dumping everything on the floor? Have them toss the muddy jeans into the dirty and the clean sweatshirt into the wear tomorrow basket?

[daniela_r]

I think you're expecting too much from children who are only 4 and 6 years old.

If you want them to wear the same clothes again, you need to tell them specifically what to do with those clothes when they take them off.

I doubt that most children that age are capable of evaluating which articles of clothing are clean enough to be worn again and which need to be washed. You need to do that for them.

I also think you still need to choose their clothes for them. I'm not sure why you're expecting so much independence from such little kids.

If you want them to learn to put dirty clothes in the hamper, you need to be specific about which items need to be washed before they go into their rooms to change into their pajamas, or you need to be right there with them to show them what to do. If you find it annoying to sort through their clothes to see which can be re-worn, the simple solution is that every time the kids change clothes, every item goes straight into the hamper for you to wash.

I'm sorry to say this, but I don't think you can make this as convenient for yourself as you'd like.

Oh, sorry, I must not have been very clear.  I KNOW that my kids can't evaluate whether clothes are clean or not, and I think it will be years before they can do so reliably.   So I'm wondering if the most practical solution is for me (at the end of every long day) to pick up everyone's clothes off of the floor myself in order to look at them and put them wherever they should go, or if anyone has any better ideas.

 

And, I'm very willing to do this every evening because I am very aware that just washing everything would be much more work.  (Laundry is a challenge here: our electricity is very unreliable, I often have to fill the washer myself with buckets of water, and we don't have a dryer.)

 

And, they are the ones really wanting to choose their clothes.  I would like to figure out how to let them choose more often, for their sakes, not just mine.

 

I need to remind myself that it's the end of a long cold season, and it will be much easier in the summer: a) they will only need to wear one layer a day (instead of 2-4 layers) and b) their clothes will be filthy every day from playing outside, so there won't be any deciding  :tongue_smilie:

[LucyStoner]

Just have them hang their clothes on hooks at the end of the day. You grab anything that is too dirty to wear again and toss it in the wash. Or tell them what is too dirty to hang up as they take it off. They are small enough that I assume you are nearby when they are getting their pjs on?

I let my sons pick their own clothes without regard to "outfits". All of their clothes more or less go together.

[NoseInABook]

Now I'm all curious if other people are picking out their 4 and 6 year olds clothing. My kids dress themselves after they hit 3. Sometimes their outfits are slightly crazy looking but they're independent enough to get up, toss jammies into the laundry room, and get their own clothes on. 

[Tap]

My kids could pick out their own clothes at that age, as in they knew to get a shirt, pants, underwear, socks etc.  But the colors or fabric combinations were quite off. 

 

It is harder for girls than boys in my home. DD7 likes me to pick her clothes because I put together comfortable outfits for her.  ie thin leggings are more comfortable under the skirts that have shorts under them than thick leggings.....but the thick leggings are fine under a regular skirt on a cold day.....when a thin pair of leggings would be too cold when she plays outside. 

 

When dd15 was that little, she lived in Gymboree.  She could mix/match a bit easier but still had to make sure that she has appropriate clothes left at the end of the week.

 

We live in an area where you really need to layer clothes fall, winter, spring  so you have to make sure you have appropriate layers that work together.

 

 

For ds, he was easy.  Jeans,  any t-shirt, and a sweatshirt.  There wasn't much to do for him, other than make sure that the clothes in his closet fit him.

 

 

 

 

Now I'm all curious if other people are picking out their 4 and 6 year olds clothing. My kids dress themselves after they hit 3. Sometimes their outfits are slightly crazy looking but they're independent enough to get up, toss jammies into the laundry room, and get their own clothes on. 

 

[Occasionally]

Before they get their pajamas on, can you take a peek and say for example, "Darling, the pants should go into the hamper with unders and socks, but the top looks okay for another go." Have a couple of hooks for those "okay" things. They'll start picking up on what's okay to wear again and what's too dirty pretty quickly, I think.

 

As far as choosing their own clothing, I'm all for that. My kids pick all their own clothing. They also know how to adjust when they're too cold or too hot. They look crazy sometimes, but if they're happy, who am I to complain? I only put my foot down when they want to wear dress clothes for outside playing.

[Rachel]

Now I'm all curious if other people are picking out their 4 and 6 year olds clothing. My kids dress themselves after they hit 3. Sometimes their outfits are slightly crazy looking but they're independent enough to get up, toss jammies into the laundry room, and get their own clothes on.

[Rachel]

Sorry, on phone and can't seem to quote right.

My 4&6 year old pick out their own clothes. I do give guidance, if they are going to the farm I'll tell them holey jeans and a tshirt, if we are going to a nice restaurant I'll tell them to choose church clothes.

[foxbridgeacademy]

Coat hooks (the double prong type) on the wall at their height.  Pants and shirts go on hooks, socks and underwear in the hamper.  Then you can come along next day and decide if the hanging clothes are to dirty to re-wear.  Minimum 2 double prong hooks per child.