It’s been a long time since we exchanged thoughts on clothing care, so that’s what we’re going to do today. I’ll start the ball rolling by sharing my laundry strategy. I’ll also preface by saying that I bat for Team Polished, so I go to great lengths to keep our clothes looking pristine. This helps me to achieve a crisp and clean style.
On to how we launder clothes!
- I believe that frequent laundering ruins your clothes. So if something is clean and still smells fresh after use, I rehang and wear it again, and again.
- I don’t use fabric softener because it doesn’t make enough of a difference. And using one less chemical is better.
- I never physically handwash anything. The closest I get is a “handwash cycle” on our machine that is very delicate.
- I actually use the handwash cycle for everything that goes into our machine. I find that a gentle cycle saves our clothes.
- I machine wash my bras in a mesh bag, again, using the handwash cycle.
- I wash everything in cold water to avoid shrinkage and maintain colour vibrancy.
- I only use the dryer for underpants, camisoles, socks and sleepwear. Excessive heat wears down clothing, shrinks them, ruins the fit of jeans, and just makes wardrobe items look less pristine over time.
- I hang-dry clothes and bras that have gone through a laundry cycle in an empty closet in the guest room.
- I do NOT like ironing, but I love the effect of pressed clothing, so I persevere. I iron some of our jeans, and a few of our pullovers and tops. If some of my already worn items need a quick press so that they look fresh and “new”, I’ll do that too.
- I take all my silk blouses, our shirts, trousers, jackets, coats and most of our knitwear to the cleaners. That way I do not need to iron them, and they come back looking better than if I had laundered them.
Over to you. What’s your laundry strategy?
