Laundry Anxiety

Dear Friends,

Today I write to you with a very specific and important purpose – laundry.

Ask anyone that has lived with me in the past eight years, and they will confirm my passionate feelings and idiosyncratic habits concerning my laundry. Evidently, I’ve surpassed my own mother’s self-proclaimed “laundry-anxiety”. I realized how extreme I’ve become when my routines surprised EVEN HER. However, I unabashedly stand by these habits because I’d rather be a little freaky about laundry than ruin my clothes. Laundry mishaps are one of my BIGGEST PET PEEVES. Working at Anthropologie, we carry clothing in a range of unique (and often difficult) materials, and so we get a fair share of concerns about care instructions and returns because of ruined clothes. When I buy something I love, I want to keep it looking great.

Thanks to my own laundry anxiety, I’ve developed a few tricks of the trade and now I want to pass on some of my wisdom to you.

Tip #1: Follow Care Instructions

This might seem like common sense, but you’d be surprised. If in doubt, wash in cold on the delicate cycle and lay flat to dry. Dry Clean Only means Dry Clean Only.

I wash nearly everything in cold and lay flat to dry. The drying gets a little unruly around laundry days  (one of the reasons why my roommates would probably be so willing to confirm my laundry issues), but it is worth it. Also, clothes dry so much better when you lay them out and smooth wrinkles when clothes are still wet. I invested in a drying rack, which has been helpful. But I’ve also used an ironing board without a cover, and that works well too! I got really lucky one summer when a roommate moved out early and we had a full extra bedroom for me to lay out all my clothes. Heavenly.

Just the other night while working at Anthro, I was checking out a customer who was on the fence about buying a cute shirt because of the unique material. The instructions said “handwash in cold water,” and she hesitated because she’d had problems in the past. She said even when she washes her shirts on delicate in cold and then lays them flat to dry, she still has problems. I was confused because I don’t generally have problems if I follow the instructions. Then, as we continued talking, she admitted to tossing her shirts in the dryer sometimes to get out the wrinkles and then forgetting about them, only to discover disaster had struck. BINGO.

I repeat: Follow care instructions.

Tip #2: Use Vinegar

I learned this tip from my salesman at the Levi’s store in Chicago. He was seriously the best denim salesman I’ve ever had, and I wish I could have him with me every time I need to buy a new pair. As I paid for my jet black, perfectly-fit pair of Levi’s, I asked him how to retain their color. He said that the trick was to wash them inside out with a little bit of vinegar and Woolite for darks. Of course, I did exactly as he said. The jeans are still black as ink.

I’ve started using vinegar in every load, just as an extra boost of disinfectant and color protectant. I love it and I feel like it gets my clothes even cleaner. It could just be in my head because of my abiding faith in that salesman, but I think it’s real. As Albus Dumbledore says, “Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry. But why on earth should that mean it is not real?”

Tip #3: The Magical Laundry Soap

For years, my mom used lye soap as the magic stain remover in our house. It works wonders, but the only place she thought she could get it was Silver Dollar City, an old-timey theme park in Branson, MO that was modeled after the wild, wild west. When we visited, my mom stocked up on lye soap, sold in one of the general store imitations located throughout the park.

When she ran out of the stuff the last time, she thought she was out of luck. I still had a stash left, but let’s face it, would I give mine away? She voiced her concern to all who would listen, and my aunt showed her a brand of soap that is pretty close to her beloved lye. It’s called Fels-Naptha and now she keeps it on the sink in our laundry room. I’ve been using it while living at home, and I LOVE IT. It works on even the toughest stains and guess what? It’s only $0.97 at Wal-Mart.

Note: I just Googled “lye soap,” and, unsurprisingly, you can order it online. No need to head to Silver Dollar City, though you wouldn’t regret it.

Tip #4: Don’t Use Excessive Detergent

Too much detergent seems to do weird things to my clothes. That’s my theory.

Tip #5: Try out a Steamer

We use steamers at Anthropologie all the time, and I love them. I asked for one for Christmas and I use it on several of my clothes. It helps with wrinkles after clothes have been laying out. Also, it makes them feel newer somehow. Just be careful not to burn yourself like I do.

Note: Don’t forget to use distilled water!

So, there you have it, just a few of my many freaky laundry habits. I could keep going with a few more, but this is getting too long and some of them may not have any credibility so I will stop for now.

Do you have any laundry tricks? I would love to hear! You can be sure that I will try them out if they are half-convincing.

Your laundering friend,