Managing Clean Clothes That Have Been Worn

By Jennifer Snyder

When you wear something (jeans, shorts, sweaters) once that can be worn again before heading off to the cleaners or the laundry room, where do you put it? Should it go back in the closet with very clean clothes? Should they go somewhere else? How will you know you have already worn it twice and it should be cleaned? The sad reality is that for most people, these clothes end up on the floor.

We spend a lot of money on our clothes, even shorts and t-shirts. Walking on clothes and leaving them on the floor makes them more susceptible to mites, dust, dander, and even more dirt and significantly shortens the life of the garment. Think of it this way: leaving clothes on the floor is leaving money on the floor. There is hope though and we are here to help.

Here are some suggestions to help keep your clothes off the floor. How you encourage family members to follow suit is up to you.

Dedicate a drawer to "middle of the road" clothing. When they come from this particular drawer, you will know this is the last wear. If they are clothes to be hung in the closet, turn them inside out to indicate they only have one wear left before cleaning. These are the easiest methods I have found for most. If you have additional methods, I would love to hear them.

If you are worried that your previously worn clothing will contaminate the other clothes, hang and empty hanger with a dry cleaner bag to separate those having already been worn and those that have not.

Now that you have a system, how will you get them there? Start by getting ready for bed earlier each day. You could also have a set of comfortable clothes that you move into each evening when you get home. Hang up the clothes from the day then wear your comfy outfit until bed time. I would recommend wearing the same comfy outfit for several days before laundering. Treat this outfit like pajamas – which I fold and place under my pillow each morning.

Think about your habits and the habits of your family then tweak this system into a system that will work for you. Stick to it. It takes 21 days for a new process to become a habit. If you skip a day, you start back over at 1.

Have a Neat day!

Jennifer Snyder
Certified Professional Organizer
Neat as a Pin Organizing Experts
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