Clothes — A Daily Thread – Post 4

Of course, another way to ensure you get more life out of your clothes is through proper care and repair.

Where care is concerned, a surprisingly entertaining and useful read is the book Laundry Love: Finding Joy in a Common Chore by Patric Richardson and Karin B Miller. Patric is a true fanatic about the proper care of textiles. You’d think a book about laundry would be boring but you’d be wrong. This is mainly because it’s not only fascinating and fun to see someone so passionate about something, but also that there’s some genuinely useful information about caring for what you have.

A quick take-away from the book I can give here is this… Laundering is hard on clothes. Wash your clothes far less than you are likely used to. I mean, if you shower in the morning, put on deodorant, don’t sweat profusely, and are not in dusty/dirty environments then you can likely get away with wearing those items several times before washing. Just hang them up, let them air out a bit, and put them away. If you get a little food stain or something you can spot clean that out. The book offers plenty of sure-fire tips for all sorts of stains that work like a charm.

As far as repair goes, Patagonia has some great DIY repair guides and info that work for more than just Patagonia clothes. Worth checking out.

I’ve had several pairs of jeans taken care of locally by my friends at Science and Kindness and they do an excellent job. I know they also accept jobs by mail and they have all the equipment, including antique denim darning machines that were used at mining sites, to do the job well. I mean, their Instagram is flat out inspirational.

There are likely similar clothing repair services near where you live. Do a bit of investigation. No need to buy new when a simple fix to something you already have will do.