On a recent vacation with my sister, I came to realize I may be nasty. I don’t feel like I’m nasty, but given the volume of clothes she brought and how much she did laundry, it made me reconsider this.
I don’t do a lot of laundry. As a matter of fact, I wash clothes once a week. I use almost everything multiple times before I wash it. Obviously, not underwear, but you get the idea. It should be noted that I shower on the regular—almost every day.
Let’s take jeans for example. Providing, I do not spill something on them, I will wear a pair of jeans every day for a month. There is nothing like a good broken-in pair of jeans. I hate to see them go to the wash. In fact, I’ve been told some people never wash their denim, so I’m definitely cleaner than those people. I’ve even heard tales of just putting your jeans in the freezer overnight to kill the germs. I’ve never done that. I do eventually wash my jeans. I’m not an animal.
My sister wears everything only once. I realized this when, about three days into the trip, I saw her in yet another pair of pajama bottoms. What?! I wear the same pajamas for a week. I change PJs when I change my sheets every Sunday. Yes. I’m religious about washing my sheets once a week. I love fresh sheets and I sleep with dogs.
How about towels? Yes, I use a towel for multiple days. I’m clean when I get out of the shower. I can’t afford, nor do I have a place to store, a ton of towels. Towels are made to be reused. I stand by that.
My husband does wash his clothes more than I do, but he is a big stinky boy. To be honest, we really do not make a ton of laundry. I wash about one tall basket of laundry a week.
I think it all goes back to my granny. I can remember staying with her in the summer and putting my clothes in the laundry daily only to have her dig them out and tell me, “You wash your clothes to death.” She was right. I laid around and watched The Price is Right and soaps all day. There was no reason I couldn’t wear those clothes again.
Maybe the hippie in me has taken it to an extreme, but I believe in conservation. I’m conserving resources such as water and electricity by doing laundry less often. I’m also saving money so I can buy the bougie laundry detergent that I like.
I would also like to point out that I do not stink. If something smells, I wash it. For example, I wash my workout clothes way more often. If I get sweaty, it gets washed. I just don’t sweat that much and don’t see the point in wearing things only once.
Am I crazy or a friend to the environment? I will leave that for you to decide, but please consider wearing those jeans or PJs an extra day. If we all did it, the impact could be huge for our plant. Lord knows it needs all the help it can get.
Angela Traver
What is this blog about? Well, it's a general blog, but it is also a very specific blog. If you get that reference, you get a gold star! I have been a public relations professional and writer of press releases for more than 20 years—primarily in the booze biz. I decided to do some writing for fun and embrace the humor that gets me through most days. Hopefully it will make you chuckle—or at least smile. I’m a certified crazy magnet, and more than a little nutty myself, so buckle up. Also, I have two vices—profanity and red wine/whiskey. You’ve been warned. It should also be noted, that I’m a HUGE Bob & Sheri fan. I’ve been a listener for more than 20 years. This opportunity is a dream come true and it may have made me cry. That being said, I cry at everything. If you are into booze, dogs, food and/or knitting, hit me up on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter (although I’m terrible at Twitter and it scares me) @kyspiritsgal. You can also find all my previous blog posts at www.kyspiritsgal.com.
