I have a fairly stable ritual with most of my things.. Some shirts go to the cleaners, some are washed at home, handwash cycle, hung to dry.  I even iron those myself.   I am very hard on suits/coats/trousers as I am very germophobic, and tend to have my clothing dry cleaned far more than I should.  My shoe regime is notvery rigorous, I am almost embarassed to discuss it herein.. I even use, gasp, Kiwi..

That's right, my shoe cubbies.. I will take pictures today. They are just a way to keep things organized by color and type.  Helps me when I am fumbling around in a groggy haze in the morning.. As to shoe care, that's just the thing, I am far too unkind to my shoes, given the joy they give me each day.. I wipe them down with a damp cloth, and then its Kiwi and hand buffing with a t-shirt.  I buy 3 packs of the Nautica t-shirts for this purpose as they are soft and have no tags to f*ck around with when I am cutting them up.  I plan on experimenting with better shoe creams and polishes, but they are hard to find in the south. 

My only truly damaging compulsion is cleaning.  I have to force myself not to take suits, coats, or trousers to the cleaners after each wear.   I used to do this in the days before I understood how damaging the behavior was.  I am a germophobe of sorts, so when I wear clothing out of the house, it always tortures my mind to put it back in the closet with the rest of my things, they seem dirty somehow.  Of course they are aired, brushed and steamed,  but there is still a dark part of my mind that causes me a great deal of worry about not having them properly cleaned..

Last edited by The_Shooman (2008-10-29 00:43:22)

Anything washable goes in the machine, on the right programme and with the proper detergent (I keep stuff for wool/silk, dark colours, and for whites).
Wool and cashmere knitwear, when it needs washed, always goes on the cold wool cycle even if it is 'hand wash only'.
If I can dry stuff outside on the whirligig, so much the better. Usually it dries on lines in the cellar, where a dehumidifier kicks in whenever necessary (the dehumidifier, as a welcome side effect, produces distilled water for steamer and iron).

Suits, jackets, kilts, whatever needs to be dry cleaned only go to the cleaner's when absolutely necessary. Otherwise a good brush and steam (with the much maligned Tobi steamer) is what they get.
Jackets and suits hang on the thickest wooden hangers I can find, and there are always a few cedar chips in the wardrobe as a measure against moths.

Shoes get a regular polish with Kiwi (I like the smell). Walking/work shoes and boots get dubbin. Almost all are on shoe trees.

I treat my clothers like crown jewels (never let them out of my site). i would could i'll kill ever cloth moth that came even close to them (little b****).

Lewis

Incontinence pants never appealed to me, stylistically.  If I had to wear white sneakers, they'd be K-Swiss or Tretorn, if the latter are still made.