Clothing care - Minimalist
Never really took care of my clothes. Always wore them until they turned yellow or have unmanageable holes.
There was one black pants I really like and the top inseam part where it stretches when you move around, kept having holes. I sew it a millions times before buying a new one.
One of the critical moment was my overcoat. Bought it 5 years + ago and the outside held pretty well, but full of lints. And the inside full of holes and patches from sewing. Decided to buy a new one during a trip to Vietnam and take steps to take care of it.
Another critical moment is consciously look for high quality merino wool fabrics and research types of fabrics and caring tips.
Receiving an expensive fine Italian merino wool turtle neck for Christmas made me more conscious about clothing care.
How can I make my clothes last longer?
(1) Washing and drying:
Merino wool fabric: Hand wash with cold water and unscented hand soap. Lay flat on a bath towel dry for a few hours.
Cotton and synthetic blend clothes: Quick wash cold. Drying machine for 1.5h if strong cotton or very synthetic cheap clothes.
e.g.: Cotton t-shirt, synthetic sport clothes, cotton socks, cotton underwear,
For outer layer thicker clothes, usually better to hang dry
(2) Stain on white t-shirt or white collar dress shirt:
Oxiclean is the answer. Spay or use the gel to rub on the stain. Let it sit a few days. Throw in the washing machine. Done.
(3) Lint roller and Fabric shaver:
After using some wool fabric clothes for a while, it will develops lints. Dust and cat hair can stick to wool too. The easy and fast solution is to use a lint roller and fabric shaver.
(4) Clothes steamer:
Wrinkly clothes no more. I like the Conair steamer with the iron head.
Put water and wait 10 secs. Steam the clothes for 3-5 mins. It removes 80% of the wrinkle and works very well for cotton t-shirt and dress shirt. Nice quick 5mins fix before heading out.
(5) Sewing kit:
Merino wool is prompt to develop holes easily. Sewing kit is a must have.
Additional comments:
Buying clothes. It’s important to look at fabric type and blends.
100% cotton is good for t-shirt, dress shirt, socks.
100% Polyester clothes are good for exercise. Breathable and stretchy. Sweat into it and dump into the washing machine.
100% merino wool is amazing for underwear, t-shirts, cardigan, turtleneck, layers, etc. -> Anti-bacterial, dry quickly, warm, breathable.
Taking advantage of quick dry merino wool to reduce wardrobe and laundry:
I used to wear 7-8 underwear per week (change once per day). And sleep with 100% polyester underwear. Hand wash and quickly dry during the day.
It turns out you only need 2 merino wools underwear. Sleep at night with one. Morning wash and switch with the 2nd one. After night shower, hand wash the day one and use the sleeping one. Merino wool have enough time to dry on the towel by the time you need it. Amazing.
White t-shirt:
I like to wear white t-shirt, but they never last long enough. Oxiclean can do so much until the t-shirt turns gray.
Black colour clothes definitely win hard for longer lasting clothes.
Clothing care items
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