200 Things: Clothing

By Sharon Astyk. Reprinted with permission.

****

Practice doing laundry without power. There are several ways, including long soaking, using a plunger and a bucket and various devices such as hand washers and pressure washers. But make sure you are not dependent for clean clothes upon power.

****

If you are troubled by towels and jeans that don’t dry as soft on the line as in the dryer you can add vinegar to the rinse to soften them, or use less detergent. Or just get used to it.

****

Acquire basic patterns for simple clothing that is comfortable and sturdy, and will adapt to your family over the long term. Practice making clothes.

****

Buy sturdy, high quality, well made boots, and make sure you have several extra pairs. The same is true for work gloves.

****

Always make sure you have extra pairs of glasses, including sunglasses and reading glasses for everyone who needs them. Even if you don’t yet need reading glasses, it might be wise to store a few pairs for the future.

****

Many people with indoor jobs don’t have an appropriate wardrobe for a life largely spent outdoors - their winter clothes aren’t warm enough for extended periods of outside work, their summer clothes are made of artificial fibers and don’t breathe well, they don’t have appropriate shoes, hats, etc… Now is the time to assess your wardrobe and overcome its deficiencies by checking out thrift shops, ebay and yard sales.

****

Many rummage sales have “bag sales” on the last day, allowing people to fill an entire bag with clothes for 50 cents or a dollar. This is a perfect time to acquire clothes for making scrap quilts and braided rugs, shruken and felted woolen goods for rug making, and clothes in other sizes to be able to offer refugees, family members, and growing children.

****

Consider creating a neighborhood clothing, book and toy exchange - it can be run out of a spare room, a garage, etc… Each family brings its outgrown and used items and others are free to take them. This expands neighborhood cohesion and also makes sure everyone has what they need without feeling uncomfortable about it. It can be expanded to include many other goods.

****

We dress our kids for winter nights in unheated bedrooms in several layers - long johns under blanket sleepers. Sweatshirts and sweatpants can be added over those. So even small children who don’t reliably keep covers on can be warm at night with minimal or no heat. A nightcap really will keep you considerably warmer.

****

Save some baby clothes and children’s items. Someday you or your children or a family member may need them when there are fewer available at greater cost.

****

Watch carefully that older family members do not overdress in hot weather. They often don’t feel the heat, but their bodies need to be free to cool off. Don’t overdress babies, who have difficulty regulating body temperature, either.

****

Switch to cloth menstrual pads. They can be made from patterns available on the web or purchased. Or consider a Diva Cup or Keeper. Use rags instead of paper towels, cloth napkins, handkerchiefs instead of kleenex, cloth diapers that you wash yourself instead of disposable.

****

Consider growing cotton or flax in your garden, and spinning, weaving, knitting or crocheting with it. Even if you cannot grow very much, we will need people with some experience with small scale clothing production.

–

Leave a Comment