We wash our clothes to keep ourselves, our families, and our favourite items smelling and feeling fresh, but there is actually such a thing as washing too much or too little! There are downsides to both: laundering your clothes more than necessary can shorten their lifespan and ultimately wear them out more quickly, and washing them too infrequently can be unhygienic and lead to bacteria growth. Yuck! Here are our general laundry guides for you and your family:

For your clothes

Bras: After three to four wears

Underwear: After every wear, of course!

Stocks and stockings: After every wear

Sports and swimwear: After every wear

Jeans: five to six wears, although some advocate washing as little as possible

Tops: One to two wears

Dresses: One to two wears

Pants, skirts, and shorts: Three to four wears

Jackets and blazers: Five to six wears

Coats: Once every two months of wear, and before storing away for the season

Pajamas: Three to four wears

Get your clothes fresh and clean, but don't sacrifice your health and the environment! Wash clothes (and towels, bedding, etc.) with Nellie's Laundry Soda, and remove tough stains with the WOW Stick. If your clothes need some extra brightening or whitening, choose Nellie's Oxygen Brightener instead of toxic bleach.

For your kids' clothes

Washing your kids' clothes doesn't need to be a massive chore! Most experts say you can wash their clothing along with yours anytime you see stains or they don't pass the sniff test. The problem is that kids tend to get dirtier more often than adults do, so those stains and smells come up more frequently. Here's a handy guideline: the lighter and softer the fabric, and the closer it hugs the body, the more you need to was it. But as long as you don't notice dirty patches or stains, kids can wear clothes multiple times before they're ready for the laundry pile, just like you.

For your baby's washing

It seems like the hamper is constantly overflowing with onesies, blankets, burp cloths, bibs, rompers, and tiny adorable socks! Unlike grownups, who typically wear one or two outfits per day (not to mention wear an item of clothing more than once before washing), babies are mess machines with their spit up, drool, diaper leaks, or the dreaded blow out. Because of this, it's not uncommon to change their clothes as much as 5 times per day! So when it comes to washing your baby's clothes, there are two schools of thought:

1) Wash one load every day because it can be done quickly and won't pile up

2) Wash everything once each week so that you only have to spend one day dealing with laundry

Whichever one you choose, make sure you're washing with Nellie's All-Natural Baby Laundry Soda, which is formulated with baby's soft skin and messy mishaps in mind. Thanks to a concentration of sodium percarbonate for natural brightening, as well as the addition of pure vegetable soap, there is no need for an additional whiteners or brighteners. The stain-fighting formula is effective on cloth diapers and removes stubborn baby stains such as milk, baby formula, and spit-up. The formula is derived from plant-based and mineral-based ingredients and is non-allergenic, leaves no residue on fabrics, and contains no fragrance.

In the dryer

When drying your laundry, use the Lamby Wool Dryerballs to cut down on drying time, soften fabrics, and reduce wrinkles, naturally! Then, smooth out any remaining wrinkles and creases with the new Wrinkle-B-Gone.

Of course, these guides don't apply when excessive sweating or accidental spills occur, or to those that have different hygiene preferences.

Skip the Bleach and Switch to Oxygen

Bleach is often the first product most of us think of when we need a product that can brighten white clothes, remove stains, disinfect objects, and more. It may get your clothes and linens looking bright, but it poses dangerous risks for your health and the environment.
Bleach is a chlorine-based corrosive substance, and even when it has been diluted it can cause burns, irritation, and damage home surfaces. Since bleach is strong enough to kill even the worst bacteria, it makes sense that it poses a danger to those who use it and anyone exposed to it. It can be especially harmful to infants, young children, and pets because their immune systems can’t fight off the harsh chemicals.
The serious effects of bleach can include skin burns, respiratory problems, damage to the nervous system, asthma flares, headaches, and vomiting. Bleach is not only toxic to humans, but to animals and our environment! It's a known contributor to water pollution. When it makes its way into our water systems, it reacts with other minerals and elements to create a host of dangerous toxins that can take years to break down. Even the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has banned the use of bleach in restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and schools. We should do the same in our homes!

Thankfully, Nellie’s All-Natural Oxygen Brightener brightens your whites and penetrate stains without hurting you, your family, or the environment. The power of oxygen strips away dirt, grit, odor, and grime. The chlorine-free formula is color-safe, septic safe, hypoallergenic, environmentally-friendly and biodegradable, like all of Nellie’s products.
Why powder? Liquid detergents are made up of at least 50% water. At Nellie’s, we don’t believe selling you water and moving water around the planet is a very good idea. The fact is, more cleaning power can be packed into a smaller space using powder.