A Definitive Guide to Wearing “Dirty” Clothes
Do you want your clothes to stand the test of time? Have you ever purchased multiples of your favorite piece just in case it falls apart one day? Washing your clothes causes fibers to weaken and for colors to fade. There are ways to keep our clothes smelling fresh and staying clean without washing them after each and every wear. Here are some ways to extend the life of your clothes by stretching the amount of time between washes.
Wear an Undershirt
Absorb excess moisture by adding a layer underneath your clothes. Undershirts not only smooth out your shape, they keep clothes cleaner by soaking up excess perspiration.
Hang Up Clothes After Wearing Them
It’s tempting to just toss our clothes straight into the hamper, onto a chair, or onto a pile on the floor. Hanging your clothes up and putting them away is an easy way to extend time between washes. By being put away properly, you can avoid musty smells that clothes can gather when piled up together.
Hanging your clothes up and putting them away is an easy way to extend time between washes.
Use a Vodka Spray
Vodka can fix more than a bad day at the office! Instead of washing an outfit that just needs a little freshening up, grab some cheap vodka. Pour the vodka into a spray bottle and lightly spritz onto your clothes. The alcohol in the vodka evaporates quickly, disinfects your clothes, and doesn’t leave any lingering smells. There is no need to dilute the vodka. Don’t have any cheap vodka laying around? Diluted rubbing alcohol also works great. Vodka is also a fantastic cleaner for most jewelry, including man made diamonds.
No Vodka? Use Vinegar or Essential Oils
Is there anything vinegar can’t clean? It’s literally magic in a bottle. Vinegar helps to disinfect and freshen up your clothes, making it a super easy and quick fix. Bonus – it costs next to nothing. Add 1 teaspoon of vinegar to 2 cups of water. You can also choose to add a couple drops of your favorite essential oils to combat the vinegar smell (it doesn’t evaporate as well as vodka).
Spot Treat Stains
Find a tiny spot on your clothes? It doesn’t mean it needs to go directly into the wash! Tide sticks are amazing, particularly if you treat the stain as soon as you find it. If the spot is fresh, dab don’t rub. Often you can get by with just a bit of water but use the Tide stick if it’s a more challenging stain. Liquid dish soap is great for getting out stains in a pinch as well, especially for grease stains. Be sure to rinse out all the soap and hang the piece up to dry.
Steam Your Clothes
Handheld steamers are not as expensive as they once were, and many household dryers now come with steamer settings. Steaming your clothes kills bacteria, removes odors and wrinkles, and is an easy way to avoid the washing machine.
Steaming your clothes kills bacteria, removes odors and wrinkles, and is an easy way to avoid the washing machine.
Use Dryel
Have pieces that need dry cleaning? Dryel is an easy alternative to dry cleaning and can stretch the amount of time between trips to the cleaners.
Change Up the Look
If you want to keep wearing your new favorite piece, change it up be adding new accessories with each wear. A new watch, flashy jewelry made with man made diamonds, a stylish belt, etc. Simply changing how the piece present helps with keeping your look new and fresh.
Avoid dousing yourself in cologne or air fresheners. Try out some of these tips and you’ll extend the life of your clothes and keep yourself smelling fresh! Clothes truly dirty – please wash them! Your friends and family will thank you.
