Is hygiene an issue with a lot of people?

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It was going so well until the patchouli

Lately, yes, But my sensitive sense of smell means I smell me first. I had two showers yesterday because the heat in my room kept me sweating. Deodorant didn't cut it.
I'm pretty paranoid about my hygiene too. I even brush my teeth every morning and night too and that used to be very hard to remember to do. How people change when they get paranoid.
I can never wear the same shirt the next day, it has to be washed, because I just feel the dirt on it. Tactile sensitivity too.

In cooler weather I may not wash as regularly, may every other day or even an extra day, depending on if I'm at home or not. I used to wear socks for about two days and underwear as well, but this heat...ugh, it's making me me wash daily or twice daily.

It's not strong, and I rarely use alot. In the past I've used sage, mint and sandlewood. Lol, I sound like some kind of shampoo product... xD

I don't know if this will help but you could try an electric tooth brush they are a lot smoother then the manuel ones and you can get to the back teeth without retching.

It used to be a big issue for me, mostly when I was 10-15. It was a chore to shower and brush my teeth (my mom always had to remind me). Now, though, I can't stand dirty! I don't know how I lived with myself back then.

In my teens I had a habit of not remembering to take baths or showers, and I would get scolded for not properly washing my hair or whatever when I did. I've had difficulties with other elements of hygiene - both in knowing how, and in doing it whenever I am supposed to.

These days I am much better about it, although one of my first roommates kicked me out because I didn't have the bathing thing down when I moved in (at 18 ).

I prefer to avoid talking about it because people tend to get judgmental and don't seem to want to understand.

Last edited by Verdandi on 05 Jan 2012, 12:14 am, edited 1 time in total.

I've never really had issues with hygiene but I'm not a neat freak either. I'll wear a pair of jeans or sweatshirt a maximum of two times before washing and everything else just once. I hate doing laundry because folding it is time consuming but I force myself to do it anyways. I usually do heavier workouts each day so I shower everyday. Being sweaty feels gross to me. I always have found showers refreshing, especially warm showers on cold days.

There was a period while I was a teenager when I tried to avoid showers because I thought I had to wash my hair every time I showered and I'd had an episode where the scent of the shampoo made me feel very nauseous. Getting it set up so I don't have to wash my hair every time has helped a lot. (I put my hair up in a bun when I don't want to wash it and refuse to cut it short enough that that's at all difficult for me for that reason).

I've actually talked about this with my therapist. I ended up describing to her that all of these basic self care things actually take so much more than people expect. It's not just shower, put on clothing that "looks good". It's shower, be careful about how sensitive I am to scents at that point in time, make sure I dry off completely because I have issues putting on clothing when I'm not fully dry, figure out what clothing works for the temperature, figure out if that clothing is something I can wear without it being too uncomfortable, possibly find other clothing because the first try made me twitchy, spend 15 minutes brushing my hair...

As for how often I change clothing, it depends on the weather, on my tactile sensitivities, and on how much I'm trying to avoid going down to the laundry machines because the hallways smell terrible

I find it wrong to put an item of clothing that I've worn, but isn't obviously dirty enough to need washing, back into the cupboard. Even if i've only worn a shirt for an hour, i feel that putting it back in the cupboard with the clean-clean ones will contaminate them. Is this "normal"? At various times I've been told that if they're clean they should be put back in the cupboard, otherwise they should be in the wash --but It's not really a yes/no answer! Or is it?! Or is it an NT outlook?
As a result i've always got a huge pile of clean-enough-to-be-worn-again clothes in my room.

Same here, although I just like knowing what I've worn recently so I can wear it enough times to make it dirty enough to wash. NT's are so weird sometimes. I'll wear shirts twice before washing if it hasn't been worn on a hot day and I'll wear jeans for a week or two if it's in cooler weather.

I shower once a day, and wash my hair every second day. I prefer showering at night, but it's now summer and I wake up sweaty so I have to shower in the morning instead . I'm never fully awake in the morning so it takes longer than I would want. It's annoying to have to do all of this stuff so often. I cannot imagine blowdrying my hair, straightening it (it's wavy in a bedhead-like way so I usually tie it up), putting on make-up, doing nails and all that jazz as well. Shower, washing face and brushing teeth is bad enough.

I try to shower or take a bath every day or every other day. When I'm depressed it's much less often. I try and was my hair about twice a week, which is about right for my hair.

I do enjoy putting on nice clothes and fixing my hair and makeup and doing my nails, but sometimes it's just too much trouble.

I'll go through phases where every single day I'm dressed like one of the wives off the Sopranos. Nice clothes, heels, jewelry, fake nails, hair done and put up, makeup perfect. All that just to do housework or maybe go to the grocery store. Then I'll go through phases where I just shower every couple of days and dress like a hipster. There isn't a problem with that last option, except I'm 47 and there are no 47 year old hipsters.

Luckily where I live, there is always some other lady out and about who looks much worse than I do at the moment, even when I've been out at my worst.

I'm lazy about all the stuff. It just takes too much effort. At times I don't even always remember. There is no one to remind me. My mother doesn't really care about that stuff either and wouldn't say anything even if I didn't take a shower and wore the same clothes for a month straight.

I haven't even done any laundry in over a month because I moved and my old ways of doing laundry are gone and I have to do it a certain way or it doesn't get done. When I wash by hand it must be done one piece at a time in the bathroom sink (new one seems too small and hard to plug and unplug). I won't do multiple pieces at a time and I won't wash it in the bathtub. Plus here there is no place to put our second rack because we don't have an outside porch. There is a washer and dryer but I'm scared to use them because they are complicated and the neighbor won't use the washer for some reason which makes me scared to use it. I have a laundromat on the same block as me so I need to try going there some time. It's very close to my house.

I want to wash my hair today but I'm just too lazy to get started. I can't wash my hair in the shower. The water pressure isn't good enough. My hair is thick. I only wash it bent over under the tub faucet for maximum pressure for rinsing. I also want to start trying CO washing but think that won't work out unless I can get myself to do it at least every 2-3 days minimum. I read about CO (conditioner only) washing on a long hair forum.

See if you can find the website for Cabella's or Cheaper Than Dirt. They sell a little handwash crank machine for about $30. I bought one when I was sure TEOTWAWKI was coming for Y2K. It's good for delicates or handwashables still though. What it is, is a round thing with a screw on lid. About the size of a small beach ball. It sits on a stand with suction cups on the bottom to hold it to the bathtub or sink, etc. There is a handle on the side like on an old ice cream maker.

You put a few items in it, add the water and detergent, then crank it so it goes around about 50 - 100 times. That does the agitation. The momentum of it makes it easy to crank after it gets going. Then you take the lid off, wring each item out, rinse out the washer and put them back and add clean water. Crank again.

Take them out, wring them out and put them back with no water. Crank again and thats the spin cycle.

It's a lot of trouble, but if you have a good bit to do, it's a lot better than standing there doing them by hand. I've also used it when my washer broke.

As to the washer where you live, it can't hurt to try it. If you tell me what the dials are, I can tell you which ones to use. I'd run a small load of something like one towel and one pair of jeans, on small load setting, cold water, and for the dial, use whichever one says normal - or it may say cottons. I've used many a washer and can explain it if you post a picture of the dials. Have you asked your neighbor if there is something wrong with it? Check to make sure the connections are hooked up in the back and the drain hose is stuck in the drain first. Otherwise, I can't imagine any kind of bad thing happening with it. It's provided for you there, so if it does leak or something it's the landlords problem and it's his fault for not telling you not to use it.

I was told at one point the washer leaked but they tightened up the hoses I guess and then my neighbor didn't want to use it because he said it was dirty inside. He uses the dryer though.

I have trouble with new things until I get used to them. I want someone else to use it first before I do. I should see if I can get my mother or neighbor to try running a cup of bleach through it. My friend's mother does that whenever she does laundry because she has some really nasty people in her apartment building.

The apartment was advertised as having a washer and a dryer although I did later find out they were not supplied by the landlord. A previous tenant left them when they moved.

I do have a laundromat about 4 houses away from me which is nice. In my old place it was at least 3 blocks away.

The longest I've gone without washing myself or my clothes was about 3 months, but that was in conscripted army so I don't think that counts;-P (well, served them right!!)

it never was before, but since my anxiety spike and pretty recent depression, it has become really hard to make myself want to do it. which is weird because i used to HAVE to do it or i felt awful. well, it still feels awful, i just dont care/can't be bothered some days.

clothes can be reworn, i think. as long as they are not underwear. jeans, teeshirts, and definitely hoodies.