Okay, preface: A true broke girl will understand the point behind this Cheap Luxury Tip, but it’s going to sound a little strange at first, so you have to just trust me. This is a tried & true trick that will boost your confidence in your clothing (not kidding) and give you this sense of opulence about your style – regardless of what you’re wearing.
Upgrade your detergent.
Yeah, that’s right, spring for the ~expensive stuff once in a while. (Expensive, of course, meaning about $15, max. Take your lunch to work for a couple days next week, and you’re square!) I don’t know about you, but if I put on a sweater in the morning that smells amazing, I tend to stand up a little straighter. A good smell can carry you through the day! Plus, it makes doing laundry a whole lot more pleasant.
My favorite detergent ever for a super-luxe feel is Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Laundry Detergent in Basil. Yes, that Basil. It sounds a little weird, but I assure you – the smell of Basil is really beautiful and almost grass-scented in this detergent but the sweetness that we’re used to experiencing with Basil totally shines through – without smelling like food. You can find this stuff at Whole Foods, or some of the bigger grocery stores – I bought mine at a local drug store.
This may be one of my more embarrassing admissions, but I keep a mental list of the…
…detergents I want to try.
Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Laundry Detergent in Lemon Verbena, $13.99
I used this in its dish soap form and it was gloriously fragrant. Very fresh, but warm at the same time. Comfy, you know?
Good Home Co. Laundry Detergent in Beach Days, $22
Okay – admission #2: 60% of why I want this is packaging-related. How classy would I look in my basement, community laundry room when daintily dousing my dirty skivvies with this stuff, straight out of the bottle? Or no – scratch that… A martini glass. Yessss. (If you’ve got the extra cash for this one, go for it, but I wouldn’t buy it for $22 unless I just had too much money on my hands.) (Or if I was drinking a martini and a computer + debit card were within reach, real talk.)
Caldrea Delicate Laundry Detergent in Mandarin Vetiver, $8.99
I couldn’t resist the sound of this scent: mandarin vetiver. It sounds so exotic and so warm at the same time. Bonus points for the design-pretentious: the packaging is pretty good! The price is definitely right for a try!