This post is brought to you by Clorox. All opinions are my own.
I’m a klutz. There’s really no nicer way to say it. Like, I should probably live in a bubble. As a klutzy person, I am prone to making crazy messes, especially on new shirts. Because of this, I have approximately 50 “pajama” shirts and a closet full of nothing to wear. I have also (and I kid you not) tripped over a dog while carrying a bucket of dirty water, tripped over my own feet while carrying my dinner to the table and my personal favorite, made coffee without actually putting a coffee cup under the little spout…about 27 times. Oooh, I’ve also poured creamer into an imaginary coffee cup! Maybe that’s my favorite.
The point is, I’m klutzy and, apparently, absent-minded. Mostly because I’m so focused on the world in my head- writing, my to-do list, the random stuff my anxiety disorder decides I need to worry about- that I don’t really see the world in front of me all the time. So how do I stop ruining my favorite shirts? Check out a few of my best tips! These tips also work for your kids, because to be honest, I’m like a kid when it comes to messes!
How to Stop Ruining Your Favorite Shirts
Stick with a low white-to-color ratio
Honestly, I don’t wear white shirts. At all. Even if it’s a super cool punk rock band shirt. I either find it in another color or go without. I do, however, like stripes. Boyfriend said I have too many striped shirts, and I think he’s secretly glad half of them ended up in the pajama drawer. I tend to shop at one particular store that sells EVERYTHING in stripes. Anyway, those stripes are often white alternating with another color. I try to choose clothing with the lowest white-to-color ratio. That way, if I spill, there’s a strong chance I’ll hit the color area, which is just easier to deal with. Besides, if I wear all white, there’s about a 99% chance that I’ll fall into a mud puddle that day.
Invest in grown-up sippy cups
Also known as insulated coffee mugs, but I don’t use them to keep my coffee hot. Nope. I honestly can drink cold coffee and not flinch. I use them because to me, they’re very much like a grown-up version of a sippy cup! Smaller opening means less of a chance to spill. When I do use regular mugs, my favorites are thick with a wide base. Tall cups are just begging for me to knock them over, usually into my lap.
Bring backup
There is little more embarrassing than getting all dressed up and heading to your favorite restaurant, then spilling soda down the front of your shirt five seconds into the meal. If you plan ahead and bring a backup shirt or at least something to cover up with, you won’t have to sit through the main course doing that weird thing where you position your arm across your body to cover the stain or try to pull your hair over it. Been there, done that.
Build an arsenal
I have an arsenal of stain removers, like Clorox Bleach and Clorox 2 Stain Remover pens, and pre-treaters. I keep them all over the place. In a bin in my laundry room, in my purse, in my car. That way, when messes happen, I can get right on them. If you brought backup like I said above, you’ll be able to pretreat it right away.
Respect the stain’s individuality
All stains are not created equal, so your method of removing them isn’t always going to be the same. Did you know that some stains come out better if you wash your clothes in warm water, while others need cold water? I had no idea until I started reading through all the stains in the Clorox myStain App. If you haven’t downloaded this yet, trust me, you want it. It’s totally free and filled with just about every common stain you can think of. If you can’t find your stain, you can send an email in to the experts. Say you dumped coffee on your favorite shirt. Just click on “coffee” in the stain menu.
You’ll see options for treating clothing and surfaces. Right off the bat, I learned that I should wash from behind the stain and also that I should wash in hot water. I’ve been doing this all wrong forever. I am so sad, thinking of all my favorite shirts that could have been saved if I only knew.
You’ll also see options for removing stains from surfaces. The coffee one is pretty straight forward, but as you dig deeper, you’ll find tips on removing ink, crayons and other surface-ruiners. This app is sheer brilliance for people like me who have toddler-like tendencies when it comes to making messes. Of course, if you actually HAVE a toddler (or a kid, dog, crazy kitten who races around the house oblivious to everything in his path), the Clorox myStain App is just as valuable.
Ice-cream is another recipe for disaster for me. I like to pile it with “stuff.” Hot fudge, sprinkles, walnuts- just stuff, you know? Then I try to get perfectly balanced bites. At some point, I inevitably drop a whole spoonful on my lap. So not only do I have to deal with ice-cream, but also chocolate stains and whatever else was in my yummy mixture. Again, the handy myStain App makes it easy to find tips on dealing with all of them.
Life is messy. It’s even messier when you have a predominant klutzy gene. myStain App will be staying right on my home screen, that’s for sure! Don’t you love my Alex the Fuzz wallpaper?
Download myStain and add it to YOUR home screen from the App Store or Google Play.
I love this. My boys are ALWAYS getting stains on their clothes.
So I am not the only klutz girl out there! I have stains on so many different shirts I’m going to have to read this article again and again each time I get a new stain.
These are such great tips!!! Even at 21, I’m still so clumsy – I change my outfit a LOT because of it, ugh! Haha I loved this!
The app sounds really handy. I’m also a klutz and learning how to treat different stains would definitely help!
I definitely need a grown up sippy cup! I dribble terribly!
I always carry a pair of back up clothes, especially for my kids, but it includes me too! You never know when you will spill something on your shirt!!
This is really good advice. I’d say coffee and sauce stains are the most common ones we have to deal with.
These sounds great, especially that my nephew always have stains in his shirt.
Thanks for this! I am always staining everything I own and with a little, it is twice the stains.
Thanks for the tips! I could really use those. I have this need to clean every inch of the house on a regular basis!
Sounds like a great app. I am going to check it out and see if it works for me too 🙂
Sounds like an app we can fully use. Thanks for sharing this one. Awesome.
Great post!! Everyone should be able to use these tips while doing laundry! Some of these tips I wasn’t fully aware of either! Thank you for the post!
Theses are quite interesting quick tip to try on my laundry. I have stains that is hard to get out of my favorite uniform would like relief thanks
I am the same way. I can’t wear white or light colored shirts because I will stain them no matter what. It drives me insane. I love Clorox for being tough on stains.
Seriously if I’m wearing white I spill something on me. I could use a stain removal arsenal. 😉
These are some great tips which could come very handy to moms like me with couple of naughty kids around as we face so many stains almost every day. Sounds like a great app to try out.
These are great tips. I didn’t know you shouldn’t use a soap bar – I don’t – but that is good to know!
Love this! My oldest son is always getting stains on his pants. My youngest is always staining his tops 🙂
Will all boys in the house I needed some good tips. Thanks.