Dry Cleaning - an at home alternative
I work in a law firm. Granted, it's small, we are very laid back and I can get away with casual attire. No, not shorts and tank tops, but I can wear jeans, nice tshirts and clean sneakers (notice the key words on those last two items? Very fine line here folks).
However, there are also times where I need to be a wee bit more professional, which is generally when I grab one of my thrift store finds ... because heck, if it's not something I'm wearing weekly, I'm not about to pay full price (I'd prefer that be the way of everything, honestly!).
With the thrift store stuff, and the nicer, more professional clothing, a lot of times, it's says "dry clean only". I'll be perfectly honest. I've WASHED these things in the washer and then line dried. Ummm....not always with great success, and sometimes, EPIC failure. But regardless, I at least tried.
So when I saw Fake It Frugal do a post on the at home stuff you can buy, I figured, what the heck. I've had a black jacket and skirt in a pile in my closet for oh, 3 months (??!!) to go to the dry cleaners, but have been holding off (??!!) because I know it's going to cost me at LEAST $15 to clean. Heck, I can buy a big 100oz bottle of Tide for that! So the other night, I stopped at Target and picked up TWO 6 packs of Woolite dry cleaning stuff. They were $9.99 each and had $1 off coupon, so figure $8.99. Each packet will wash up to 4 items (I bet more if they are thin).
I pulled the jacket and skirt up off the floor. Shook them out and looked for stains (always fun on black) and grumbled about the damn cat that sleeps in my closet and ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS sleeps on my stuff, leaving black and white hair everywhere. Anyways. Also grabbed my pretty black dress off a hanger. Heck, I'm not going to waste the sheet on two measly items. I looked for a 4th item but just couldn't find anything.
Off into the dryer they went with the sheet. 20 minutes on medium. Do not leave the items in dryer when done (oh doh, I always do this!).
20 minutes later (ding!) and out they came. Hmmm. Ummm. Uh huh. Nice. Mmmmm they smell nice. All the kitty hair is gone. That white spot (deodorant?) is gone from the dress.
I'm sold. SOLD!
Now, I can imagine that if this is stuff worn on a consistent basis, you may still want to fill in with dry cleaning because surely there's more to it than this! I mean shirts and blouses will eventually need some pit treatment of sorts, not just for odor purposes, but the oils from skin and deodorant.
So yeah, it's definitely something I'm going to continue to do. Hubby's got a few slacks that we always take to the cleaners whenever he travels (nice, EXPENSIVE ones, I ruined ONE pair washing which was the EPIC FAILURE episode) ... so I'm anxious to try. I'm actually really EXCITED to try some other items but am holding out til I have enough to utilize the experiment to it's fullest extent =D
By the way, I was worried about the shrinking and wrinkle factor on the linings of the jacket and skirt. No issues. I would guess it's the water from the washer that causes the shrinking and wrinkling.
Linking up with Works For Me Wednesday because it WORKS!
However, there are also times where I need to be a wee bit more professional, which is generally when I grab one of my thrift store finds ... because heck, if it's not something I'm wearing weekly, I'm not about to pay full price (I'd prefer that be the way of everything, honestly!).
With the thrift store stuff, and the nicer, more professional clothing, a lot of times, it's says "dry clean only". I'll be perfectly honest. I've WASHED these things in the washer and then line dried. Ummm....not always with great success, and sometimes, EPIC failure. But regardless, I at least tried.
So when I saw Fake It Frugal do a post on the at home stuff you can buy, I figured, what the heck. I've had a black jacket and skirt in a pile in my closet for oh, 3 months (??!!) to go to the dry cleaners, but have been holding off (??!!) because I know it's going to cost me at LEAST $15 to clean. Heck, I can buy a big 100oz bottle of Tide for that! So the other night, I stopped at Target and picked up TWO 6 packs of Woolite dry cleaning stuff. They were $9.99 each and had $1 off coupon, so figure $8.99. Each packet will wash up to 4 items (I bet more if they are thin).
I pulled the jacket and skirt up off the floor. Shook them out and looked for stains (always fun on black) and grumbled about the damn cat that sleeps in my closet and ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS sleeps on my stuff, leaving black and white hair everywhere. Anyways. Also grabbed my pretty black dress off a hanger. Heck, I'm not going to waste the sheet on two measly items. I looked for a 4th item but just couldn't find anything.
Off into the dryer they went with the sheet. 20 minutes on medium. Do not leave the items in dryer when done (oh doh, I always do this!).
20 minutes later (ding!) and out they came. Hmmm. Ummm. Uh huh. Nice. Mmmmm they smell nice. All the kitty hair is gone. That white spot (deodorant?) is gone from the dress.
I'm sold. SOLD!
Now, I can imagine that if this is stuff worn on a consistent basis, you may still want to fill in with dry cleaning because surely there's more to it than this! I mean shirts and blouses will eventually need some pit treatment of sorts, not just for odor purposes, but the oils from skin and deodorant.
So yeah, it's definitely something I'm going to continue to do. Hubby's got a few slacks that we always take to the cleaners whenever he travels (nice, EXPENSIVE ones, I ruined ONE pair washing which was the EPIC FAILURE episode) ... so I'm anxious to try. I'm actually really EXCITED to try some other items but am holding out til I have enough to utilize the experiment to it's fullest extent =D
By the way, I was worried about the shrinking and wrinkle factor on the linings of the jacket and skirt. No issues. I would guess it's the water from the washer that causes the shrinking and wrinkling.
Linking up with Works For Me Wednesday because it WORKS!
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