How many towels do I really need? How many do you have?

[Kay in Cal]

I'm still in decluttering mode since we moved. Tonight I decided to weed down the linen closet so that everything could fit IN the linen closet.

 

I kept: 10 bath-sheets (the really big towels dh and I use), 10 regular sized towels, about a dozen hand towels, assorted wash cloths. I kept the nice ones and a couple of "special" towels--one has the first page of P&P on it, one is my dh's childhood Star Wars towel. He loves it.

 

Is this enough for a family of four? I'm trying to be better about doing laundry daily, and we often hang up towels to use more than once... do I have enough? Will I end up desperately searching for a clean towel in an emergency? I've got about 20 that went into my "Goodwill" box, but I can fish them out if need be!

 

What about sheets? How many per bed? I think I've got about 5 or six for each bed now... sigh.

[KidsHappen]

We have 20 bathsheets for a family of 7 but I have to wash towels everyday. I have three sets of sheets for my bed and two for each kids bed. That is plenty.

[Trivium Academy]

Ya' know I wash towels almost every 3 days, the kids have 6 bath towels, and we have 12. In a pinch, I used a hand towel and realized it worked very well! It's not for those with long hair but I had the crazy idea of replacing all our bath towels with hand towels. They are cheaper, smaller loads of laundry and they take up less space. Economical!

 

Just spreading the crazy around...

[love2read]

I've noticed everyone seems to wash towels more than we do and I'm wondering, does every person in all of your families take a shower every day?

[joannqn]

We have five people in our family and we have....

 

8 bath towels

4 hand towels

4 wash clothes

assorted kids washcloths

 

I have hooks for everyone to hand their towel when they are done. We use them 3-4 times before they get washed unless they are obviously dirty or smelly before then.

 

Edited to add the bedding info:

 

My bed has 2 sets in case an infant/toddler leaks or throws up.

Each child has 1 set.

 

I wash and replace the bedding before bedtime.

Edited November 12, 2008 by joannqn

[Nicole M]

Good grief! No wonder my towels are in tatters. We have only about a 8 regular sized towels and that's it. Maybe ten hand towels. Oh. And a few beach towels. We use our towels for several days until they stink. If you use those mongo ones, where do you hang them to dry? Our one bathroom is about 5 x 7, so we hang the towels on a second curtain rod inside the tub.

 

Each bed has two sets of sheets, flannel and regular. I'm allowed to buy more? Is that what I'm reading in these posts?

[Peela]

Basically we have two good quality bath towels (bath sheets) per person, one beach towel per person, and two sets of good sheets and doona covers per bed. We also have some older towels and sheets for spare (great for when vomiting occurs, the washing machine floods, or we have neighbourhood kids in the pool and they didnt bring towels!).

I wash towels only once a week or so, not daily.

Flylady taught me this system, and I love it. Each person has one towel on the back of their door (each person can have a different colour), the other in the wash or folded. The spare set of sheets for each bed can actually be kept under the mattress, eliminating the need for a linen cupboard- opening space for a 2nd pantry for bulk food storage. I don't do that- but I like the idea!

[The Governess]

I have six towels in our bathroom for dh and I (with matching hand towels). In our other bathroom I have four sets of towels for guests to use and the girls each have two towels. We wash them once a week unless someone forgot to hang one up and it got icky. :001_smile:

[tibbyl]

Two sets of sheets per bed.

 

Towels: not sure of exact count but not many. Since person is clean when use towel, one towel can be used couple weeks before laundering as long as it is hung properly to dry free of odor.

[abbeyej]

8 towels, 4 hand towels, and three beach towels (for pool use in summer -- dh doesn't go) for our family of four. Each towel gets used about twice between washes.

[Kay in Cal]

OK... thank you all so much! It sounds like my collection of 40+ towels was indeed excessive! I'll do another cull soon, but it is wonderful that they all fit in our big linen closet without squeezing them in. I really need to sort out the sheets, but we're still not totally unpacked here, you know. I moved a huge amount of dirty laundry and unsorted old clothes that are now almost done. It's an enormous relief to be getting rid of so much--I've taken load after load to give away at Goodwill!

 

I think my views are skewed because of my mom--there are just two of them in her home (mom and step-dad) and they probably have 100 towels. She has four walk-in closets full of clothes--one in each bedroom of her four bedroom house. Last time I visited, I found a bathing suit in her closet that I remember from when I was my kids' age--around 1974 or so. I started to throw it out, and she said "Don't! I love that bathing suit!" Not like she could wear a brown tafetta like suit with a beige ruffle that's 40 years old or anything. Pack-rat, much?

[Tap]

8 towels, 4 hand towels, 4 wash clothes for our bathroom (dh, ds14 and I)

8 towels, 4 hand towels, 4 wash clothes for the kids bathroom (dd10 and dd2 and guests)

 

We have two different colors one for each bath so it makes it easy to see which goes where.

 

We also have 8 swimming towels for the kids because of swim team 5-6 days a week.

 

We all reuse bath towels once but never reuse swimming towels.

 

I wash towels 2-3 times a week including kitchen towels and hand towels from the main bath.

 

If it wasn't for the swimming we would be fine with the 16 main towels and a few towels for outside in the summer.

[Nestof3]

We are a family of five. We each have our own bath towel which hangs in the bathroom. I wash them on the same day (about once a week) and return them. I do the same thing with sheets, BTW.

 

I have five extra towels used for things like swim lessons, to surround food I carry in our laundry basket to the Sunday meeting, etc.

 

I have 8 washcloths and 8 hand towels.

 

I then have four special hand towels.

 

We don't have special guest towels because our house is too small to actually have guests stay the night.

 

I just don't have room for too many extras.

[Peela]

I've noticed everyone seems to wash towels more than we do and I'm wondering, does every person in all of your families take a shower every day?

 

Yes, pretty much, although ds13 will avoid when he can! In fact, its not unusual for dh, dd and I to have 2 showers sometimes.

However we use the same towel for about a week or so before washing. We hang it to dry between uses.

[mamaof2andtwins]

We have 6 bathtowels. The children each have one and dh and I have one plus two extra for guests or rotation. There are 6 in our family.

 

My littles shower every other day. One of those days is after swim class so they use a different towel. I wash bathroom towels once a week. The teen/preteen shower a little more often because one works in a horse barn and the other plays hockey.

 

I also have 6 hand towels that get changed daily and 6 wash clothes. That seems to be plenty and work for us.

 

Jennie

[Quiver0f10]

We have 2 twoels for each person, but I still wash towels every day. I have a lot of wash cloths, but I have no idea how many is a lot lol.

[Nestof3]

I've noticed everyone seems to wash towels more than we do and I'm wondering, does every person in all of your families take a shower every day?

 

 

The three adults shower daily. The little guys just a couple of times a week unless they've been in the sand box, the dirt, or it's summer time, then more often.

 

I still don't wash my towels that often -- once a week or a little more often than that. I use a different washcloth and hand towel each night to wash my face, though. I don't see a need to wash towels that are clean and that are designated for a certain person that often.

 

I have been to people's houses and never see bath towels hanging anywhere, so I'm assuming once they are used, they're put in the hamper. Perhaps these people have a hard time keeping up with whose towel is whose. Ours go right on towel rods once we are done with them.

 

I always have a fresh guest hand towel for company.

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

I always go with a minimum of 2 bath towels per person and 2 hand towels per bathroom (including half baths). I probably keep 2-3 wash clothes per person around, we don't use them often but when we do it seems to be in multiples. I also try to keep on hand a towel set of bath, hand, & wash for each guest (I usually figure on 2 adult guests with a set each and then the kids can double up with our kids extras as necessary).

 

Now we also have beach towels, older not so great towels for projects or floor spills or outdoors or dog baths, etc., and kitchen towels.

[Ellie]

How often do you want to do laundry?

 

In our home, for many years there was one towel per person. Baths were at night, and wet towels were hung on towel bars or on the shower curtain rod to dry overnight; in the morning I folded them and hung them on the towel bars so they'd look pretty :-) (Towels hung on hooks don't always dry completely).

 

Eventually older dd decided that was not ok and began using a clean towel every time she showered. ::heavy sigh:: so I just made sure there were two towels for each person and washed towels every other day (we don't use a clean bath towel for hair).

 

Now that it's back to just Mr. Ellie and me, I wash towels once a week; we hang the towels, unfolded, on the towel bars after bathing, and then I fold them (in thirds) in the morning and hang them back on the towel bars (can't have those towels just draped any old way--how gauche!).

[abbeyej]

8 towels, 4 hand towels, and three beach towels (for pool use in summer -- dh doesn't go) for our family of four. Each towel gets used about twice between washes.

 

BTW, I find this convenient because all of our towels make up one laundry load. I wash towels about once a week.

 

I have two sets of sheets for each child's bed and three sets for dh and my bed. I have one set for guests (using an air mattress or making up a bed on the couch).

[chai]

I reduced my collection of towels and sheets a few years ago and have never regretted it! We have about 2 towel sets per person, plus 2 guest towel sets. (We have lots of guests.) We have 4 beach towels; in the summer, they are used 5 days a week.

 

I love having only one set of sheets per bed. I strip the bed, wash the sheets and put them back on right away. I NEVER have to fold the sheets! Now, I don't have to mess with that dratted fitted sheet! (To be honest, I kept one extra set, just in case, but I've never needed it.)

[Garga]

So that I'm not washing as many towels this is what I do per person: 1 bath towel for hair; 1 bath towel for body; 1 HAND towel for private parts. This way, the 2 bath towels can be used for a good week without needing to be washed. I throw the hand towel in the laundry every day. It really cuts down on towel laundry. Sheets: 4 pair per bed: 2 cotton, 2 flannel.

[gardening momma]

 

Since person is clean when use towel, one towel can be used couple weeks before laundering as long as it is hung properly to dry free of odor.

I don't know about that...dh's towels stink for some reason (and mine don't! ;) ).

[LisaKinVA]

We currently have:

 

1 beach towel per person.

8 full-size towels (mainly for dh and I)

8 hand-towels

8 wash cloths and a bunch of kiddie ones.

The children each have one towel a piece.

I have about a 1/2 dozen baby bath towels.

We have 2 sets of sheets for everyone's bed.

 

My mom, otoh, has: 8 towels for dad and herself, 4 towels for my youngest brother, and about (I kid you not) 12 extra towels (just in case) AND every holy, thread-bare towel they have owned in the past 40 years (because they are great to have on hand when the toilet overflows... or the washing machine leaks... in 15 years, the washing machine has leaked twice, and we've never had a toilet overflow. It's a sickness. I swear.) Sheets, 4 sets of sheets for the master bed (1 regular, 2 back up and 1 flannel), and 3 sets of sheets for the others. Blankets... 6 BINS full of blankets (because the grandkids need them when they come, oh, did I mention she ALSO has 10 sleeping bags for the grandkids when they come too). Can you tell I'm having to sort through my mom's stuff? UGH. We won't even get into the office supplies and cleaning supplies!!! We have enough to set up 4 households to clean for a year. But, I digress...

 

IMO, 2 full size towels per person (unless said person is a girl with long hair, in which case, 4 full-size towels), 2 hand-towels, at least 4 washcloths -- and a washer to do towels twice a week. Sheets? Two sets per bed, an additional set if you have a child with an accident, or a baby that spits up :D; an electric blanket for the winter and a light blanket for the rest of the year. Plus, one "fleece throw" per person (to cuddle on the couch, take a quick nap, or add an extra layer of warmth.

[cajunrose]

Does anybody else not know how many towels they own or sheets? I guess it's time to weed through it all..roflmao

[texascamps]

We are simple, simple, simple. Everyone has one bath sheet of their own color. I have guest towels (super soft) that I keep in one of those zippered bags under the guest bed and I only bring them out when guests come. I have black decorator towels hanging in the master. I have a tub of about 20 washclothes that are ugly and are used for bodies, cleaning, and kitchen, so there is no sorting. A few go in the kitchen and the rest under the bathroom sink for folks to use as washcloths or cleaning rags. I have 2 bathtowels under the kitchen sink to be used for huge spills or to be thrown by the door when it snows or rains. There are two hand towels in the public bathroom that I rotate. There is one towel in the kids bathroom for wiping hands.

 

Every few years or so I throw a few towels in the garage for spills, throw out the other towels and get everyone a new soft one.

 

Oh, and everyone has one beach towel we keep together in a rubbermaid tub that we put away in winter and get out in summer....their bathing suits are kept in there too,

 

We have a family of 6 soon to be 7 and I hate doing extra laundry. I do towels once a week and sheets every few weeks. I pull them off, wash them and the kids put them back on before bed. We have no extras.

 

My husband and I both grew up in cluttered households and we are working to just keep it simple, its hard for us not to want to revert back to our upbringing though.

 

Every bed only has two sets of sheets. One regular, one set of flannel for winter. I store them in the off seasons between the box spring and mattress.

 

Now blankets are another matter. I've got tons of blankets that I have stored in a large chest. In the winter it seems that everyone wants a blanket to watch TV or just to snuggle, plus the kids like to have "Slumber parties" (with themselves) and that requires lots of blankets, as well.

 

That reminds me of another thread.

[Pretty in Pink]

dh and i each have two towels and the kids each have a towel, plus we have a a pile of beach towels because the kids often invite friends to the beach in the summer with us.

[Hannah]

In a pinch, I used a hand towel and realized it worked very well! ..[snip]... They are cheaper, smaller loads of laundry and they take up less space. Economical!

Just spreading the crazy around...

 

When I lived with family in the Netherlands I had to get used to using small towels. They were a bit bigger than a hand towel, but not the normal bath towel size we are used to here. Definitely not big enough to wrap around oneself. It makes sense, though, in a wet climate and in small living spaces.

 

We have four sets of towels of 2 large bath sheets for dh and I and matching smaller bath towels for the girls. There are hand towels hanging next to every bason. Towels get washed every second day.

 

We also have about 6 pool towels.

[lynn]

6 towels, 2nice for guests sets, and 2 to rotate on wash days in case I forget to change over laundry.

[shalom22]

Basically we have two good quality bath towels (bath sheets) per person, one beach towel per person, and two sets of good sheets and doona covers per bed. We also have some older towels and sheets for spare (great for when vomiting occurs, the washing machine floods, or we have neighbourhood kids in the pool and they didnt bring towels!).

I wash towels only once a week or so, not daily.

Flylady taught me this system, and I love it. Each person has one towel on the back of their door (each person can have a different colour), the other in the wash or folded. The spare set of sheets for each bed can actually be kept under the mattress, eliminating the need for a linen cupboard- opening space for a 2nd pantry for bulk food storage. I don't do that- but I like the idea!

 

Ditto for us. Family of four, two towels each, one beach towel each, some hand towels and washcloths. I wash towels once a week. For the sheets, I have one set per kids bed and two sets for our bed (only because I love these sheets. We used to have a king bed and now have a queen size bed, these sheets are kings but I won't get rid of them until they are threadbare.)

[mom2abcd]

I guess we have a lot more than most people. We're still using our nearly thread-bare towels from wedding gifts, though, since I have so many good memories:o)

 

When we were packing to move into a smaller house, I told the kids to each choose two bath towels and one beach towel. They couldn't believe it! They reminded me that when they go to camp, they need about five towels a week.

 

Since we all love summer camp and we have enough stress around here, we've squished most of our towels into our little house:o)