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Comment by torpfactory | Hacker News Reader

There’s an easy way to cut down on laundry - wear your clothes multiple times between cleanings.... honestly I usually wear jeans 2-3 days between washes. Everything else is single day only... except when I go backpacking and then wear the same thing for a week straight. The smell is... complex.

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Chinos are fine with 2-3 days of wear between washes, jeans should be fine with a lot more. Unless you're a really sweaty person.

There's an even easier way. Work at home naked.

I thought it's well known that jeans don't get dirty.

Any minute now, I'm expecting someone to pipe up "Oh, I just shower clothed..."

I did this once when I spent a week in a hotel near company HQ and forgot to pack a rotation of shirts in my luggage. I wore my one shirt into the shower each night and shampooed/rinsed it using my body as a support form. To dry it after wringing out I left it on my upside-down laptop overnight, with a busy-wait program running on the laptop to make it nice and toasty.

I actually saw that advice on a running forum as a solution to handle laundry between morning and afternoon runs.

When you go on long hikes, you bring two boxer shorts: one that you wear the entire time, then on the last evening before returning to civilization, you burn it in the campfire and put on the clean one.

It’s also worth looking at what materials you are buying. Typically clothes made from natural fibres breath better, which reduces moisture and odors. Merino wool is especially good for this, so you can wear it longer between washes.

I've gone several years without washing merino wool clothing. You just need to air it out after use.

Unless you're particularly active, or there are other contaminants (spills, mud etc.), a pair of jeans should be fine for a fair bit longer than that.

in most cases, the only reason your clothes get smelly is if you get smelly, so cleaning yourself more often might help. you dont have to shower every day, but cleaning the key areas does help and can easily be done just using the sink and warm water.

even socks will last a lot longer if you just quickly wash your feet every morning or twice a day if you have the time

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