Cynthia, from the US, was cleaning out her mum’s closet a year after she passed away and discovered the secret system that will make you go: hang on a minute, that’s pretty smart.
If you’re tired of seeing piles of “technically clean” clothes lying around waiting to be washed, this system is perfect for you. All you need is a hanger, some clothes pegs, and a pen.
“[My mum] numbered clothespins and would put them on the hanger of an item she wore. Once she wore it 3 times … in the wash it went. This kept her from piling up clothes in a chair,” she shared in a post to a Facebook group.
Many were impressed with this simple tidiness trick and shared their own hacks.
“What a great idea! I put the hanger backwards after the first wear and into the laundry after the second. Your mum’s method may be even better,” wrote one person.
“’I use different colour hangers. Whites are fresh, red has been worn once, and for a short period of time,” commented another.
One woman shared that she uses dividers to separate parts of her closet for clothes she wears often, and clothes she doesn’t.
“I use the ‘left’ system – I check the left side of my closet every six months because I hang everything I wash to the right of a separator. You can also use them for clothes that need to go in the laundry,” she wrote.
Others have commented about their tried-and-true, which mostly include the sniff and stain test, with the general rule: “If it doesn’t smell and has no stains, I guess I’m wearing it”.
However, others were horrified that people don’t wash their clothes after every wear.
“I personally can’t wear anything (nightgown sometimes is an exception) without washing it. If I wore it for an hour, I have to wash it before wearing it again,” wrote one woman.
“Don’t you wash most clothes after every wear? Maybe it’s because I live in a hot country, but I would never wear a shirt twice. Jeans maybe, everything else is in the wash after every wear,” commented another.
Image: Kmart Hacks and Decor Facebook
This article first appeared on Over60.