Well, this is a strange topic for any forum so why am I compelled to answer? Will I regret it? I change the sheets every Saturday when the family are home to help. When the kids were little, I told them that they needed a ticket to watch the Saturday morning cartoons. The ticket was their sheets and towels and laundry baskets. And the TV didn't go on til EVERYONE had brought their stuff downstairs. Lots of peer pressure going on but good habits were instilled, so I thought. They left my home with those good laundry habits. Pride goeth before a fall, however. I had the exact same experience as others have posted. Dropping our older son at college, weeping profusely, I made his dorm bed with the brand-new sheets I had so carefully chosen. Oh, the agony of parting. When we picked him up in May at the end of the school year, he informed me that not only had he never made his bed since I had in September, he had never washed the sheets even once. Gag.

One of the reasons to *not* rinse/prewash dishes is if you use an enzyme detergent it needs the food particles to work better. It'll etch glass and stuff if it doesn't have the food particles. I can't explain it well, but it's easy research for a more thorough explanation. Most just recommend scraping the dishes (and really, who wouldn't?!) then into the DW. I haven't had a dishwasher for more than 30 years but I'm starting to miss it. I would get grossed out though when it left stuff on it. When washing by hand and using a good soap it gets clean. Sure, you just put it back in and rewash but it still bugs me. It also bugs me to see people leave dirty dishes in the DW for a week before washing them. Argh! If it takes a week to fill it, you should have a smaller DW or use a top rack only feature. This is what impresses me about the F&P Dish Drawers. And geez, I can wash a few dishes FAR faster than an hour or two for a dishwasher! LOL And when you compare the time to load the dishwasher vs washing, it's pretty close. Time's not a factor. It's the hassle of washing them. I soak my dishes and a quick swish, rinse in HOT water and into the drainer to dry. Putting them away is comparable to time in a DW. Oh, and one thing I found out quickly, the way you load it makes a big difference. You have to learn how the water sprays and make sure it's not blocked for effective washing.

You have many more towels than I do so this may not be helpful. When I come home from the gym I put the towels in the dryer for a few minutes, then I put them in a place away from the other clothes to wait until I have a load of similar items. This minimizes stinky wet towels sitting around and helps keep the germs contained. While I use my bathroom towels more than once I don't like to use gym towels again - never know what is growing on them. If you do hang them up wet be sure there is adequate ventilation in the room. Not just to the rest of the house but to the outside. For drying clothes I use a drying rack I got at QVC. It is called the Hangaway drying rack and it can hold a lot of clothes and towels while still leaving room for them to dry out. It might work for you depending on how much room you have.

This is were I have an edge (at least I think) :-)~ I'm still sleeping on a waterbed...I love this thing. I've slept on water for over 30 years. So on that note I wipe down the vinyl mattress with a special spray cleaner every two weeks. My mattress can't harbor mites as it's a solid impermeable vinyl material. If there were any mites, they would be wiped away from the spray cleanser and cloth, their numbers would be kept to a extremely low number. Now on to the washing... Keep in mind I'm a clean freak so I'm clean when going to bed. I wash sheets & pillow cases / mattress pad / duvet cover every two weeks. They are all solid white and get a hot wash with bleach. I have three sets of sheets currently. The comforter (always in the duvet cover) gets washed twice a year in hot with bleach (the start of autumn and start of spring) it's solid white, cotton shell with synthetic stuffing.