I wash my clothes. Probably more often than most people do. I am one and done as far as wearing clothes is concerned. I know some people might frown on this on an “environmental” level. I know it takes water and energy to wash and dry my clothes. And more so since I do it often. But I can’t help myself. I have an OCD personality, and it is part of my MO. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. And. Modus Operandi. Method of Operation.
I’ve always been this way. Since I was a little girl. When we were in grade school, Mom had us hang up our uniform dresses as soon as we got home from school. First thing when we walked in the door. Sometimes, we even hung up our blouses if they weren’t dirty. I can remember protesting about not washing our uniforms every time. I always made sure to throw my blouse down the laundry chute every day.
So yes. I wash every day.
Here is the “industry standard” for how often we should wash our clothes.
Item of Clothing — How Often to Wash
Anything white or silk — After every wear
Bras — After 3 to 4 wears
Down parkas and vests — 2 times a season
Dress pants and skirts — 2 times a season
Fleece jackets and sweatshirts — After 6 to 7 wears
Hats, gloves & scarves — 3 to 5 times a season
Hosiery — After every wear
Jackets and blazers —After 5 to 6 wears
Jeans — After 4 to 5 wears
Leather and suede jackets — Once a season
Leggings and yoga pants — After 1 to 3 wears
Pajamas — After 3 to 4 wears
Shapewear — After 1 to 3 wears
Shorts and khakis — After 2 to 3 wears
Sweaters: Cotton, silk, and cashmere — After 2 wears
Sweaters: Wool and synthetic blends — After 5 wears
Swimsuits — After every wear
T-Shirts, tanks, and camisoles — After every wear
Tops and dresses — After 1 to 3 wears
Formal dresses — Dry-clean after every wear
Wool coats — 1 to 2 times a season
My Chart For Washing.
Item Of Clothing No Matter What — Wash after every wear
I bring all of this up because it was on this date, April 18, 1934, that the first laundromat opened in the United States. It was called a “Washateria” and was opened by a fellow named John F. Cantrell in Fort Worth, Texas.
For whatever reason, Mr. Cantrell saw the need for people to rent a washer and dryer, so he bought a building and put four electric washing machines there. He rented out those machines to the public by the hour.
The idea caught on all around our good land. Early facilities were not necessarily coin-operated. And they weren’t very trusting either. There was always an attendant on duty. This was all before the automatic washing machine. The automatic machine didn’t come along until 1937.
By the late 1940s, the first unattended, 24-hour Laundromats were opened.
These days, there are just under 11,000 dry cleaners and coin-operated laundromats across the country. That doesn’t sound like very many to me. That equals out to about 220 in each state. So. When you put it that way, it sounds like enough. Those places employ more than 39,000 people. And they do $3.5 billion of business each year.
I’ve done my fair share of laundry in Laundromats, and I do not miss them one bit. It should have been “loads” of fun, but it wasn’t. Maybe if I had lived in the laundry capital of the world. Washington, D.C. But my poker-playing skills always came in handy. I knew how to fold.
Okay. That’s enough. I know. So, for now, I’ll say what one sock said to the other sock in the dryer.
I’ll see you the next time around.
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“I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
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“If by the quarter of the twentieth century, godliness wasn’t next to something more interesting than cleanliness, it might be time to reevaluate our notions of godliness.”
― Tom Robbins
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“But I was sure of one thing. If God were a father with children, that cleanliness I had been feeling wasn’t God.”
— Frances Farmer
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Wishy Washy. Washy. Washy.
