Saving Money: Dry Cleaning

I work in a business casual office setting, so I own several cardigan sweaters and even a pair of pants that require dry clean only.  Instead of shying away from these items at the thrift store (where I purchase the majority of my clothing,) I have no problems snatching them up because I know I can wash them without having to go to the cleaners every time I wear them!

The simple trick:  Wash in cold water and line dry!

I drape my washed sweaters over a quilt rack that we have in front of the fireplace, and this works nicely.  My sweaters are generally dry within 24 hours.

I have not had a single issue with my sweaters or pants shrinking or the fibers changing texture by doing this.  The only inconvenience is that my sweaters sometimes get those little fuzz balls on them after a few washes, but we have this nifty little device that was less than $5 to get rid of them.

It has been my observation that many of the sweaters I’ve purchased from the thrift store are dry clean only.  I wonder if people were tired of paying the dry cleaning bill every month to get their clothes clean.