Healthy Living

Sunday, November 8, 2009

How many times can you wear a bra before you're that nasty girl?

As you know, I've got an itty bitty closet situation in my post WWII bungalow. Normally, with the season change I do a complete swapout of my summer versus winter clothes, folding and reorging everything during an entire weekend marathon session, but this year, either I've run out of patience or I've finally accumulated too many garments, because I have instead devoted one wall of my bedroom to two gigantic industrial baker's racks and many little steel bins from Ikea. Yes, it looks like I sleep the middle of an Old Navy, but the fact that I no longer have to shove all of my carefully folded tees and jeans up into the single shelf in the closet has been a gigantic improvement in my well-being. (See some of our favorite plus-size fashions.)

While plotting out where I would put what on my side of the racking system, I figured that I'd devote one entire bin to my bras, but when I sorted through them and stacked them all neatly by color, I realized that, er, one basket wasn't enough. In fact, two baskets barely cut it. To think I used to shove them all into a single dresser drawer and then was wondering why the cups were getting mangled!

And while I acknowledge that I have a certain OCD quality wherein I typically match my bra to whatever I'm wearing and therefore, have many colored bras, I was still surprised to see that the beige/black contingent took up an entire giant bin all by themselves. Esteban freaked out and said, "Ok, clearly you don't need to buy bras for, like, a decade."

Granted, I do let the laundry build up sometimes, but why does it always seem like whenever I'm a little behind, I run out of bras first? Am I weird that I typically wear a bra once, let it hang out and "rest" for at least a day and then wear it again, then typically pitch it? Or does everyone else have as many bras as they do panties? If I had to guess, I'd say that my bra to panty ratio is something like 1:4, but it might be something like 1:10, because I've never counted either. (Find out why underwear is now optional.)

So here's my question: how often do you wear a bra before you wash it? Do you ditch it into the wash immediately after wearing? Do you wear it once, let it rest/air out for a 24 hour period and then wear it again? Do you put it back in the drawer and only wash it when it starts getting funky in the boob pit area? And if you had to guess, how many bras do you own?

Related: I like to go braless in the summer. Will I sag by September?

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Comments 1-10 of 42
  • Melissa Charske's Avatar
    Posted by Melissa Charske Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:23am PST

    Not vcery often for me! I'm a guy

    - Todd Charske

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  • Renaissancegirl's Avatar
    Posted by Renaissancegirl Mon Dec 29, 2008 6:19am PST

    Sports bras I wear once, then toss in the wash. But regular bras, unless it's really warm and sticky out, I'll wear several times before I wash it. They last longer that way, and really, unless it a majorly hot summer day, they really don't get that gross.

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  • opiniononly's Avatar
    Posted by opiniononly Mon Dec 29, 2008 6:20am PST

    The idea of taking a shower and putting on clean clothes but hooking up an already worn, dirty bra underneath is disgusting. I'm like you...huge selection so there is always a clean one to wear. And putting it back into a drawer without washing it...ugh.

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  • TLWGal's Avatar
    Posted by TLWGal Mon Dec 29, 2008 6:56am PST

    Normal Bras? I own four. I wear them without washing as many times as necessary. If I remember when I'm doing a load of laundry I may throw one in, but since I put them right back in the drawer I normally forget.

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  • n's Avatar
    Posted by n Mon Dec 29, 2008 7:00am PST

    Oh i.c.. women treat their underwear like men treat their jeans.. GROSS!~!!

    We wear the same jeans for a month at a time. :)

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  • RachaelT's Avatar
    Posted by RachaelT Mon Dec 29, 2008 7:00am PST

    i definitly have to say muti color selection is a must !! I wear a bra once and wash it (by hand) and no dryer!! bras will last for years this way- and give you a fresh feeling of clean clothes ALL OVER!!

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  • suzette's Avatar
    Posted by suzette Mon Dec 29, 2008 7:33am PST

    Obviously if you have been doing activities that make you sweat, or you live in a place that is hot year round, then you have to wash your bras after each use (you best have allot of bras if that's the case). If you live in a more temperate zone (4 seasons), I don't believe that washing immediately after each use is necessary. I'm not saying to wear them for a week, however, like she said earlier, hang them "out to dry", or, if you have a steamer, like myself, give them a once-over. Steam kills bacteria,etc... freshens them up, and isn't as brutal to a bra as a washing machine cycle (even with a loungerie bag). I can't tell you the many underwires that have popped out of their appointed positions, only to impale and torture me at the next wear. Anyways, that's a quick fix for me, though not a substitute to actual cleaning of the bras. I do have one suggestion, please girls, wear them(bras).....I'd rather wear one that maybe wasn't uber clean before I'd go au naturel, Im not fifteen years old, and if you aren't either, I wouldn't suggest it...that is of course, if we are talking about real breasts.....you cant fight gravity (especially after kids). If you have had augmentation done, well, I suppose that's an exception, just cover up the nips!!!! (don't want to look trashy)

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  • Spiczz's Avatar
    Posted by Spiczz Mon Dec 29, 2008 8:46am PST

    I've recently gone shopping for new bras. I think we tend to keep them even when we never wear them after they wear out. I have quite a few that don't fit right anymore but they still stay in my drawer, just in case. I have about 5 that I wear throughout the week, then wash on a hand wash cycle and hang to dry. Weekends I'm always in a sports bra and sweats.

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  • Jervis's Avatar
    Posted by Jervis Mon Dec 29, 2008 9:01am PST

    You are not the only one that coordinates...lol I thought I was the only one! Since I have loss so much weight recently I don't have as many bras that "fit", but I wear a bra air it out and re wear maybe twice or 3xs that about it.

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  • Jett's Avatar
    Posted by Jett Mon Dec 29, 2008 9:13am PST

    I'm like TLWGal. I own three bras that are exactly the same only different colors, because it's so hard to find a bra that fits me well. When I do find one, I buy three or four of the same style. But then I'm broke, because bras cost $30 or $40 each! I wear them as often as is necessary and try to wash them when I remember. I have a couple others too, but they don't fit as well, so I rarely wear them — they hurt my back. I rotate among the three that fit.

    sycx1: bras don't count as underwear, at least not in the way you're describing. I wear underwear only once before washing. And I wear a sports bra only once before washing, but just regular work bras don't get sweaty or dirty or anything, unless, like some of you have said, it's a really hot summer day. Then I'll wash them after wearing.

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Comments 1-10 of 42

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