I’m a big fan of frugality – you can save some money, live the basically same, and be better off than you would be without it. Typically, I try to do every frugal thing I can, from canning preserves for the winter to making my own laundry soap. Sometimes though, I cant help but wonder if you can take frugality too far. Here’s the situation, and you all should let me know.
I remember very little from when I was very little, but one thing that I do remember was watching Hard Copy (After looking at the IMDB Article however, it makes me think that this show was probably trash, at best) with my grandfather. He would sit on the arm of the couch (about 3 feet away from the tv) and watch the show, and he always wore blue jeans and a white t-shirt. The white t-shirt was one of those hanes ones that you can get in 3 or 5 packs, and they were almost always see through because he had kept them for so long.
Now in my older age, I wear white t-shirts like this – a lot. In fact, by a sheer piece of dumb luck, I’ve worn them to a friends party (the same friend) 2 times, and both times he’s made fun of me for it. I wear them as undershirts and I wear them as regular shirts as well. They are pretty freakin awesome, if you ask me. I wear these a lot, and recently I realized that I have not gotten a new pack in quite a while, and the ones I was wearing around were getting pretty permadirty. They no longer had that white glow to them, it was more of an eggshell. But then again, what the hell do I care, they are just shirts. Being a guy, clothing and spending money on clothing is about at the bottom of my priority list. Along with that, I typically wear these shirts as undershirts when I wear shirts with long sleeves, but I occasionally wear them on the weekends out in public. Unfortunately, they arent always the cleanest things just because of how long I’ve owned them (I do, however, fit in perfect at wal-mart). This crisis came to light recently as I opened a brand spanking new 5 pack and put them with the rest of my white t-shirts (probably numbering 16+ by now) and noticed how dirty the other ones really were.
Even after bleaching them in the wash, they were still pretty un-white, if you ask me. So now, I have a choice about what to do with them – determine a regular interval to replace a certain percentage of my white shirts (this probably should happen with socks as well) so that I’m not wandering around looking/feeling like a bum, or just pick one point during the year and toss all of them out and replace my whole collection. I also could continue using what I’ve got until the shirts get really see through or really gross, and put off spending the approximately $20 as long as possible.
Along with all of that, I usually try to turn my old shirts into something – mostly rags to wipe up my homemade cleaner, but I’ve got more rags than I can store – Any other ideas?
Readers: How do you handle an aging wardrobe? Do you replace things at regular intervals, or do you keep clothing in your clutches until it lo0ks like a piece of swiss cheese? Would you just spend the $20 and be done with it for 12+ months?
UK readers! You might find some useful money saving tips here.
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LOL @ fitting in at Walmart.
I have the same issue w/ white t-shirts. I try to replace the whole batch every 2 years. I use mine more as undershirts though so when they age a bit people don’t notice them as much.
I was thinking about just doing a wholesale replace as well, SPF – but some are still ok, so I think I’m just going to replace about 33-50% every year and see what that gets me.
I use the old shirts as rags in the workshop. Great for cleaning up messes where you know the cleaning cloth is done after you use it.
Last Halloween Mrs. SPF took a few of my old shirts and cut them into similar sized squares (in pairs). One square she rolled into a ball, the other wrapped around the ball. One piece of twice around the neck and a Sharpie to make 2 “eyes” and we had 15 new halloween decorations for the front porch.
That’s a great idea! I like the haloween decorations.
I feel your pain, having many old t-shirts of my own. The question that needs answering is, why do we care if the shirts are still functional? Is it because of what people think or simply because we want to represent ourselves better? For me I turn old t-shirts into work shirts first, then into rags for cleaning. That way I’m still using them and getting the most out of my purchase. I haven’t bought a t-shirt or a rag in a LONG time, so I think I’m good. I say turn them into work shirts, then rags. If this is the worst of our problems we’re doing pretty good.
I’ve been turning some into work shirts, but usually I prefer to turn the long sleeved ones into work shirts because I dont have to worry about getting sunburned in the summer or having something scratch me when I’m working out side (like a tree branch or whatever) and it has worked really well. One thing we could do after the rags matt is put them into the compost heap – remember they are just cotton!
and you’re right – if this is a “big” problem, then we are doing well.
I usually only buy clothes when I ABSOLUTELY need them. If I try to buy clothes regularly to prevent this rare big expense, I find that I spend more money because I am always thinking about buying new clothes.
same with me 20s – I just get some things about 1-2 times per year and maybe pay a bit more than i’d like at once, but then it’s over for another 7 or so months!
Some possible solutions:
Save a couple of the white T’s to wear out for ‘special’ occasions’
Buy T’s in another neutral color, like gray, that won’t show the age as much
Craft uses:
When the T is ready for the rag bag turn it into yarn by cutting it into 1″ wide continuous strip – knit or crochet into small rugs for use at the entry, kept in the car for those rainy/muddy days, for the dog or cat bed – wherever you need an easily washable mat/rug to soak up water or dirt
Make it into an upcycled tote bag for groceries, the beach, etc – cut off the sleeves, enlarge the neck hole if necessary, sew the bottom closed – you have a bag to keep in the car and use when necessary.
Use it to cover the back of your carseat for days when you are sweaty, it’s roasting hot, you have sunscreen on – tuck in the sleeves, pull it over the carseat with the headrest thru the neckhole
As for replacing clothes – I detest shopping for clothes except at thrift stores – but do replace undies about every 18 months using Amazon or Walmart making sure to check for the best price by tracking prices for about 6 months prior to needing to replace. Sometimes I’ve been lucky enough to find brand-new in the package undies at the thrift store for about 1/3 the cost of new. Takes time, but since I’m there anyway..why not?
Those are some great solutions – perhaps I should put some aside to wear out in public and not worry about the rest.
I think replacing them as needed is good. Keeping them for cleaning rags always works too. I will keep some out in the garage separate from the regular rag pile, so that if I have anything that’s really messy out there I can grab a rag and just toss it. Beats a paper towel!
Agreed – they all work great as rags.
Throw out as necessary – they have to deteriorate at different rates depending what activities you did.
That being said, I can’t stand to throw them away! The Wife literally will just throw them out since she knows I won’t lol
Ha – great advice. I do agree that they seem to get worse faster on occasion than others, but I think that could be the luck of the draw. H wont throw mine out because she knows that If she can do that to me, I can do that to her, and it wont be any fun for her.
Replace as needed. To me, this happens when I can tell that a shirt is getting frayed, has a small hole, etc. I won’t wear it if it’s clearly a tattered shirt.
That’s the thing – these dont usually fray or rip or anything like that. They just start to get discolored.
Get a bottle of black rit fabric dye at walmart. Dye your oldest, mankiest shirts in a bucket. Now you have a new hip wardrobe for a couple bucks. Wear them till they have holes in them and then use ‘em as rags.
Never thought of that – that’s a good idea too.
This happens all the time, I have white inner wares, socks and t-shirts. You can collect and donate to volunteer organization that re purpose them for soft toy stuffing. There’s one not very far from where we live. try to search in local businesses.
I’ve never heard of the toy stuffing SB – great idea!
Yeah, you need to gradually rotate the older ones out of the t-shirt drawer. My older t’s make great bicycle cleaning rags.
Hunter – Mine get cut up into good kitchen rags. They can also be tossed into the compost heap.
I wear it until it falls apart. Blue jeans just get comfortable when they are about to fall apart. I don’t dress to impress unless I am out with my wife.
KC -
You’re right about the jeans, they only get more comfortable the longer you wear them.
20 bucks is a good price IMO. When I have a tshirt or long sleeve that gets linty, faded, or shrinks, I turn it into PJs. If your old shirts don’t have holes you can keep a few for undershirts and then use the new ones for wearing out. White clothes are so hard to keep bright! – Sydney
They are hard to keep bright – kind of a pain!
Older shirts become work out shirts or craft shirts. Nicer stuff that doesn’t fit or I don’t like gets sold or donated. And then I just buy clothes on sale and keep a running list of things I actually need for when my friends want to go shopping. Personally I hate shopping and don’t understand why its a social activity. But I’ll tag along if I need something.
I usually turn them into gym shirts or work shirts, then to rags.
Hard Copy! I’m glad somebody else remembers that show! lol…I thought I was the only one that wasted hours watching them bust dirty restaurants and expose celebrity scandals.
Ha – thanks kyle. It was an odd show, that’s for sure.
Like Mike said, dye them, give them to kids for paint shirts or make rags out of them. Be sure to cut them up if you make rags out of them. We’ve put some in the rag pile, used them as rags and then started wearing them again! lol.
Would soaking them in vinegar and water and then drying them in the sun help to remove the stains? I have not tried it but I know that you can dye things with a strong tea solution, which seems like the perfect color to camoflage the dingyness.
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