I always thought that was the accumulated dust, etc. on the clothes (for the most part). That’s why I always thought that a drying machine gets clothes the cleanest.

But then, I hear a lot of hard-to-believe-things from the US.
If I already feel Germany to be way over-regulated and partly oppressive, what would I do in the US?
Better not go there, latin america seems to be a lot more relaxed.
Actually, my little brother has chosen “simple life”, with assignments in Siberia, Ecuador (2years) and now Guatemala, and although standard of living is fairly low – water? Safely drinkable? Better care of that yourself… reliable electricity? Did you say reliable? – he is not complaining. When I saw him last christmas, he told me what he liked about europe: that you could rely on everything to be working as intended. The next sentence, that he would never trade his freedom for that.

Back to topic:
I too have the impression you cannot get decent clothing any more. If I buy jeans, they wear out in less than a year, regardless of their price – 10€ oder 90€, there is no difference.
On the other hand, I seem to walk a lot more than most people, and seem to do so at a much higher pace (that is, I walk! Others creep. There should be a minimum speed on sidewalks…) The same with shoes: I used to buy high quality, all leather (usually 100€+), but soles continued ti wear out after a couple of months. Fitting a new sole every three moths or so is a.) inconvenient (shoe-makers tend to have opening hours that are incompatible with my duty hours) and b.) more expensive than buing a cheap pair of shoes at Deichmann (30€) and disposing of them when worn out and buying new.
It’s a pity.

Damn, that blew my mind… that’s all I will be able to think of today, and my long-suffering DW will get served another rant, I’m afraid

USA, Land of the Free indeed. I lived there for one year, and it was the most restrictive and oppressive place I’ve ever lived (OK, it was mainly in fun-hating Boston but my sense of freedom was strongly inhibited everywhere else too.).

Not me. I agree with underwear daily (although in a pinch I have turned a pair inside out and worn them a second time), but I wear my socks more than once. That’s because I wear my socks ONLY when I’m wearing my shoes. As soon as I get home from work, the shoes and socks come off. I have a different pair of socks that I wear with my running shoes, and I wear them more than once b/c I only where them when I’m running.

I don’t agree with Jacob’s idea of having the number of clothes to match the laundry cycle. I’ve had occasions when my clothes weren’t dry by the next day (on a drying rack inside during a damp, cold Oregon winter). So, I will wash when I still have a couple of days of stuff left. But I don’t use a machine. I wash by hand in the sink or in a five-gallon bucket. So, when I have two pairs of underwear left, I’ll wash some underwear so that if they take more than a day to dry, I should be OK.

It’s funny how germ-phobic Americans are these days. As long as I smell nice, who cares how many times I’ve worn a piece of clothing before?

Anyhow, I’m new to your blog and really glad I discovered it!

http://www.laundrylist.org/

I never really thought about this statement, but I think it is absolutely correct: “Thus once laundry got faster we simply started doing more of it.”

My schedule – I wear my office clothes 2-3 times before washing and change into my play clothes (shorts/t-shirt) when I come home from work. I usually do one load of laundry each week – t-shirts/socks/underwear and another every other week or so – work clothes, etc.

Plenty examples from the animal world. Humans are no different—it’s simply a result of a focus on hyperconsumption.

For all us nonconsumers, it’s a pretty sad sight actually

I kept the kid habit to change clothes after work, and every time I’m at home I dress comfortably and absolutely without shoes (barefoot as much as I can!)

@MoneyHangry: I agree, dress code in the office is very annoying, glad I don’t have one!!