Day 6...Working with what you've got!

I made it through Labor Day weekend. I had my first serious moment of weakness when Possessionista (who is incredible and you should check out her blog here) posted a link to an amazing pair of Steven Madden boots for 30% off. I'm not kidding, it was seriously hard for me to resist these boots. It's so weird how when you can't do something, you just want to do it more. It's like being on a diet. You know you can't eat that piece of cheesecake, but you want that piece of cheesecake more than you've ever wanted anything to eat before. Anyways, I made up for this moment of weakness when I went into Burlington Coat Factory with my friend Leslie and didn't even have the urge to browse.

On another aspect of this little adventure, I have came to the realization that I am going to have to make my wardrobe last, meaning I am going to have to take extra special care of my clothes. At the top of my list of priorities when it comes to clothes are my jeans. I must admit, I'm a bit of a jean snob. I like nice jeans. If you have an issue with this, I'm sorry (well, kind of sorry). Anyways, I need to keep my jeans looking fresh instead of getting dingy. So I researched some of the best laundering techniques to keep denim looking "healthy." I can't be the only one who wants to take good care of their clothing, so I am posting the best advice for keeping your jeans nice and pretty!

1. Always wash your jeans inside out, zipper zipped and button fastened, in COLD water. I've actually been doing this for awhile and I have noticed a significant difference, especially with my super dark denim.



2. Wash your jeans in a small load. Washing a huge load of jeans at once makes it harder for your washing machine to wash them correctly, mainly because denim is so heavy when wet. Also, if you wash them in a smaller load, they will be less wrinkled when they come out.



3. Use detergent specific to the needs of your laundry. A lot of my denim is dark so I use Cheer for darks. It works great with my denim, especially the darker denim. Maybe its just in my head, but I think this detergent has been a huge help in keeping the color strong.



4. Hang your jeans to air-dry. Putting jeans in the dryer can weaken the denim, as well as fade the color. It can also alter the fit of your jeans (which is really annoying when it is so hard to find a pair of jeans that fit right!). If you have a pair of stretch denim, it is ok to put them in the dryer because it helps them get back to the original fit; however, do not leave them in for longer than 40 minutes.



5. The longer you can go without washing your jeans, the better. After doing some research, the general consensus seems to be to wear them 5 times before washing, unless they are stretch jeans. In the case of stretch jeans, they should be washed weekly to help maintain the original shape and to keep them fitting the way they were intended to fit (which is NOT SAGGY).

There was a ton of other information out there for denim care; however, these steps were the most realistic and do-able in my opinion. Hopefully this little tidbit of information will help you! and keep your jeans alive a little longer!