Everything and Nothings

One quick google search will bring up lots of information both supporting and denying that a great alternative for washing your jeans in the traditional fashion (in the washing machine) is to stick them in the freezer.  I did not google this before trying.  Sure, I’ve heard of it, so it’s probably totally legit, I thought.  But turns out, maybe not.

I love the look and feel of a great pair of vintage Levis.  That’s why I buy them… they’re already perfectly worn in all the right spots by someone else – but they can be pretty pricey these days online and are few and far between at the Goodwills and thrift shops – which leads me to have to wear my own new denim a little more often to try to get that great lived in vintage look and that takes quite some time.  We also at our house like to find small ways to reduce our water usage, specifically by wearing things maybe a few more times if we can before we throw them in the wash.  So after our last camping trip, and a good week of wearing one of my less than broken in new-ish pair of levis, they were starting to finally feel and look really good.  And while I wouldn’t say they smelled bad or were extremely dirty, I felt they could be freshened up a bit but I wanted to keep this lived in feeling and process going.  I had heard about people wearing jeans for a full year !!! or more without machine washing them, but instead putting them into the freezer to clean them.  So I blindly packed them in a plastic bag and threw them in the freezer next to the sourdough bread and tuna steaks.  And then I honestly forgot about them, until this past Friday when I couldn’t find them anywhere.  I happened to need some ice, and ah-ha!  There they were.  It was 82 degrees that day, and putting those babys on in a non air conditioned house was heavenly!  But now they not only still smelled a little dirty as my body heat warmed them up, they also smelled a little like freezer burn. Not cute. So I finally decided to actually do some research into why anyone would put their jeans in the freezer to clean them?  Does it even really work?  I certainly was not sold on this method.  Here’s what I learned:

Continue reading Freezer jeans.

Last June, one year ago, I was convinced I had found the best birthday gift for my husband.  I just didn’t know that he had found it first.  It was a subscription to MeUndies (if I’m being accurate, we now had 2 subscriptions, one of which we did cancel).  Anyway, I didn’t know anything about them, I’m not even sure how I discovered them but it seemed fun, and everyone likes a monthly subscription, right?  (I always had felt he was a little envious of my monthly Birchbox)  

One year later and their ads are all over the place.  And though we have since ended his subscription (how many pairs of underwear does a person really need?) they have proven to be selling a really great product.  

So, how this works is you pay a monthly subscription fee of $16.  That gets you one pair of undies a month, and you choose which style you want at your initial sign up – for men -boxer brief, trunk, boxer or brief, and and which color collection it comes from –  the classic solid colors, the bold brighter solid colors, or the adventurous patterns (he went for boxer brief in adventurous.)

One year since his first pair, here are his thoughts:

The first pair still feels good and looks as good as the last pair received.  The fabric is super soft and stretchy, but keeps it’s shape, as does the waist band.  None of the pairs are losing shape or falling apart.  They don’t ride up, and aren’t too tight, nor are they too loose. They don’t have any annoying or scratchy tags. The only con is that some of the brighter color prints have faded with wear and washing, which is to be expected probably.  

Also, in my opinion, they look really good on him.

All in all this was a great investment (and actually, writing this has prompted me to sign him up again!).  They almost make me consider getting a subscription for myself! (TMI – I don’t wear underwear)

*These MeUndies were bought and paid for by me.