I loved the 30 wears concept! I think right now only jeans meet that criteria for me, which is embarassing. Even things I've had for a few years don't come close to 30 wears. It's a great goal.
How do you feel about kids' clothing in with this concept? My kids would each have about 5 outfits since they grow so fast if I wanted them to wear each thing 30 times...
I had four outfits (max) at a time when I was growing up. Every fall, Mom would take me to get 2-3 pairs jeans or pants and she would come up with 2-3 winter weight shirts if the old ones were too small (at least until about 6th grade, I was not invited to the shirt selection). I'd always outgrown the pants from the year before. The fourth outfit was a dress that fit, replaced when the old one no longer fit. My parents also always bought me one school logo t-shirt each fall . . . I did very much appreciate this.
In the summer, the only annual purchase was a new swim suit. I normally had 2 pairs of shorts (my jeans made into cut offs), 2-3 tank tops or tshirts, and the swimsuit. A pair of athletic shorts often fit from one summer to the next until I hit puberty, so no new ones if they fit.
I remember one summer winning a t-shirt at a drawing . . . I was unreasonably excited to have an additional shirt. A couple of years later I won a sweatshirt from a radio station. Hooray!
That was just how it was for me. Clothes were just not seen as important, and any request for new or different clothes met with being told I was spoiled.
As soon as I could lift the washing machine lid, I was responsible for my own laundry . . . which I couldn't do if anyone else happened to be doing laundry their that night, so dirty clothes were normal. I don't ever remember anyone else doing my laundry, although I suppose it happened when I was very little. Having 2 pairs of clean jeans available at the same time was a special treat.
Looking back, it seems really weird. No wonder I don't pick up the phone half of the time when I see it is my mother calling.