Low-Cost Luxury: Sun-Dried Towels and Lavender

Note that some of my white towels are waffle-weave cotton. They dry much more quickly than my old terry-cloth white ones. The higher price that one usually pays for waffle-weave towels is compensated-for by this energy-saving quality. ©M-J de Mesterton

New Posts

NEW from M-J: The Elegant Survivalist

Elegant Survivalist

My new site may be found here: ELEGANT SURVIVALIST–please visit it for regular updates on elegant dressing, elegant living, elegant cuisine, elegant gardening, elegant culture, basic survival tips and all things elegant. 

Thank you!

M-J de Mesterton,

Author of

Elegant Survival

Elegant Dressing

See examples of how to dress elegantly, by the writer who brought Classic, Elegant Dressing to you in 2006.  In her latest Elegant Dressing blog, M-J de Mesterton gives explanations of style, instructive photographs, and recommendations for accessories, directing tasteful readers to currently-available, elegant clothes.

Photo ©Copyright de Mesterton 2010

M-J de Mesterton in Elegant Country Clothing: Harris Tweed Riding Jacket, Breeks in Gun Club Check by Johnston’s of Elgin; Both Made in England by Bookster; Lady Northampton Boots and Ivory Leather Gloves

Clothes-Line

Clothes-Line

Courtesy of M-J de Mesterton

Protecting Your Clothes from Moths

M-J Says: Protect Your Clothing from Moths and Other Insects in Summer

Make sure your clothes are completely clean before putting them away for the summer. Moths, beetles and silverfish are attracted to food particles, stains, body oils and perspiration left to sit in the cloth or fabric.

Don’t wash your clothes with fabric-softeners, or put them away with starch in them if silverfish are a threat, because these elements will lure them.

Cedar blocks, cedar oil, and lavender sachets may repel moths. Sew some lavender into cotton envelopes and set them in your closets or drawers. Add a few drops of lavender oil to the inside when your sachets need freshening. Cedar chips may be bought in little fabric bags, and you can amplify their efficacy by  sprinkling them with cedar oil. Cedar and lavender are pleasing to humans, and not-so-attractive to wool-hungry insects, which will also eat silk.

No one likes the scent of old-fashioned moth balls. They only belong on moths!

To kill any larvae present in your wool clothes and sweaters, put the clothing in plastic bags and freeze them for twenty-four hours before storage. Remove, drying off the bag with a towel. You may choose to keep the clothing in these plastic bags. Then, put the items in your cedar closet or in an airtight storage bin. Now, say “Toodles” to moths and other clothing-munchers for the season, as they find oodles of good eating elsewhere.

Copyright M-J de Mesterton ©2010

Caring for Your Clothing, Cedar, Cedar Oil, Clothing Care, Lavender, Lavender Oil, Moth-Repellent, Repellent, Repelling Moths, Sachet, Storing Clothes

Caring for Your Precious Shirts

Washing and Drying Your Shirts

A well-made shirt can cost $500.00 or more. That is an investment to protect. Your shirts will last much longer if they are washed by hand and hung to dry. Don’t use so much detergent that it takes a rinsing marathon to remove it. “A little dab’ll do ya”, as the old Brylcreem jingle said. Ideally, one would hang shirts on a clothesline, upside down, with clothespins. This keeps pinch-marks off the important areas of your shirts. The sun will dry them in no time. Alternatively, one could hang them indoors, perhaps out-of-sight behind the the shower curtain, on hangers. A sturdy spring-rod, placed inside the shower area for the purpose of hanging clothes to dry will not interfere with your existing shower-rod. If you don’t want to get hanger-marks on the shoulders, just put wash-cloths under them, over the ends of your hanger. The worst thing to do, even if you wash your shirts in cold water in the gentle cycle, is to dry them in a machine–doing so will quickly degrade your shirt, which will die an angry death before its time. My husband and I have shirts from France and England that are twenty years old, and in perfect condition.

An electric, energy-consuming dryer is an enemy to high-quality clothing. In fact, dryers shrink clothes and wear them out quickly; lint is composed of fibers that a machine robs from your clothes. You’d be surprised at how swiftly shirts dry naturally, and when they are just a wee bit damp, they’re easy to iron. In cases of stubborn collar and cuff soil, when hand-scrubbing fails, you can still wash your white shirts in hot water, soap, and a little bleach if necessary, as long as they are rinsed well, and then hung to dry. (Bleach alternative may be a better choice, if you can get it to work on stubborn stains.) Bleach is to be used only after stain-removal steps like soaking in Zote soap or Octagon (shirtmaker Alexander Kabbaz recommends Octagon for hand-washing his works of art) have been attempted without success. Always use as little bleach as possible, diluted before adding to wash-water, and only on white shirts. Bleach has a corrosive effect on your shirt’s fibers. The sun will do some natural bleaching of white cotton. Save costly energy and prolong the life of your shirts by hand-washing and sun-drying them.

Giving your precious shirts to a dry-cleaner or other laundry service is wasteful. They crush buttons and machine-dry the poor things. Do clothes hanging on a line outdoors conjure up bad images for you? Too bad, because it is one of life’s simple luxuries to be able to dry a beautiful, well-made shirt in the sun–some of the best people do it. Believe me, it’s not remotely infradig to care for your own shirts. After all, who cares for them more than you do?

~~Copyright M-J de Mesterton, May 2008

Now Is the Time to Put Your Clothes On-Line

This Umbrella-Style Clothesline Is Available at The Home Depot (about 39 USD) and the Vermont Country Store (about 79 USD)