Stop Washing Your Clothes!
By Melissa Tosetti
“You should only wash your jeans once a month,” the stylist said.
Wait… what?
A few years ago, I gave a Savvy Wardrobe presentation at the Nordstrom in Santa Anita, CA.
The event was particularly cool because one of Nordstrom’s stylists followed my presentation.
She’s the one that made the comment about not washing your high-end jeans so often because it wears out the fibers and ruins them. They’ll no longer fit correctly.
The idea of not washing your outer-clothes with every wear is not a new one. If you think about the fact that our lint traps are there to catch the material worn off laundry as it dries, it makes sense.
If your job doesn’t make you literally break a sweat, then washing your clothes with each wear can do more harm than good.
At the end of the day, get in the habit of immediately hanging your clothes as soon as you take them off. If you’d like, you can hang them out on their own to get a bit of fresh air before putting them away. Or, you can give them a quick spray of Febreze®.
The benefits of not washing your clothes with each wear are that you will:
Reduce your laundry load, saving you time.
You’ll save on your energy bill.
You’ll save water.
Your clothes will last far longer, preserving your investment in them.
By the way, if the idea of not washing your jeans for that long gives you the heebie-jeebies, the stylist recommended placing them in a Ziploc® bag and putting them in the freezer for 24 hours. That will kill bacteria, but not damage the fibers of the jeans.
Obviously if they truly get dirty you can wash them, but if it’s just a smudge, simply use a damp cloth to remove the spot.
Bonus - If you have children, get them into this habit as well. Have them inspect their clothes to see if they’re truly dirty before throwing them in the hamper. If they’re not dirty they can put them away on their own. They’ll learn an important lesson in taking care of their belongings and it will make less work for you!
Melissa Tosetti is a cash flow planning expert, founder of The Savvy Life and author of the international bestseller Living The Savvy Life.
For the past nine years, she’s worked with over 650 individuals and families to create Spending Plans.
To learn about the Spending Plan process, visit The Savvy Life’s Home Page. If you’d like to learn about how The Savvy Life works with financial advisors and their clients visit: The Savvy Life Advisor’s Page.