Author Topic: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*  (Read 4135 times)

APowers

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How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« on: February 19, 2019, 12:53:46 PM »
This is a thing that frustrates me. One the one hand, I'd like to upgrade my wardrobe to more stylish than leather boots, jeans (w/paint stains and/or holes), casual button-up (some stained, some not yet), sweatshirt, and a baseball cap. On the other hand, I'm pretty much constantly doing remodeling of some sort, or various handyman/yardwork things, or auto repair/maintenance on my own vehicles either for myself or others (my business is small home repairs).

If I only did remodeling/repair as my day job, that'd be fine-- I could have a work uniform that got dirty and change when I got home. But I don't. I do all kinds of different fix-it projects all the time.

If I waited to wear nice clothes until I wasn't doing a project, I'd never wear nice clothes. Which....is what happens. I don't see the point in having nice clothes that I can't ever wear, or wearing nice clothes and then basically never allowing myself to be available to do any project involving more mess than loading the dishwasher. Invariably, when I decide I'm going to wear a nicer shirt or pants, I find a thing that has to be fixed, or a dirty/greasy thing that has to be moved, and I end up with yet another item of clothing in my "work clothes" pile.

I mean, ultimately, I'd like to be in a place where I don't have to DIY stuff all the time. Then I can wear what I want. But realistically, there are so many things I *want* to do that involve messy DIY involvement (build a playhouse for/with the kids, build a couple go karts, remodel the yard to be how I want it, etc.), that I don't really ever see myself in a position of not doing this kind of handy work.

Anyone else have/solve this problem?

elaine amj

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #1 on: February 19, 2019, 01:26:36 PM »
Shop at thrift stores and just replace the clothes when they get messed up?

You can also keep a lookout for stylish clothes that still hold up to a decent amount of wear and tear or can be washed easily.

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RetiredAt63

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #2 on: February 19, 2019, 01:33:18 PM »
Can you get a coverall to pop on over your regular clothes, to protect them?  Or get used to changing clothes.  I had a school uniform as a kid, and got totally used to the idea of changing when I got home. Now I have gardening clothes and presentable clothes, in the summer I may change 3 times in one day if necessary.

Also make sure your work areas are set up so that you don't get any dirtier than necessary  - i.e. a clean kneeling pad instead of kneeling on the floor.                                                   

APowers

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #3 on: February 19, 2019, 01:41:24 PM »
Shop at thrift stores and just replace the clothes when they get messed up?

You can also keep a lookout for stylish clothes that still hold up to a decent amount of wear and tear or can be washed easily.

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I do shop at thrift stores. But as much as I hate waste, it feels like a sin to toss clothes just because they have a paint splotch or stain on them. Aside from those minor blemishes that push them over the style line from "nice" to "work", there'd be nothing wrong with them.

norabird

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #4 on: February 19, 2019, 01:43:49 PM »
A sturdy work apron might do the trick. But I don't see why you can't change into work clothes for DIY tasks...?

APowers

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #5 on: February 19, 2019, 02:05:34 PM »
Can you get a coverall to pop on over your regular clothes, to protect them?  Or get used to changing clothes.  I had a school uniform as a kid, and got totally used to the idea of changing when I got home. Now I have gardening clothes and presentable clothes, in the summer I may change 3 times in one day if necessary.

Also make sure your work areas are set up so that you don't get any dirtier than necessary  - i.e. a clean kneeling pad instead of kneeling on the floor.                                                 

I think that's my problem. I'm both lazy AND cheap. Changing clothes multiple times per day, or having to go put on coveralls any time I want to do something, or having to drag around some kind of PPE as I work on stuff sounds like way too much work, lol!

I suspect I'm just going to end up living with "working" clothes until my lifestyle of constantly fixing things changes. Otherwise I'm going to end up either continually buying more clothes (not cheap), or being de-motivated by the requirement of changing clothes anytime I want to do anything (lazy self says this is what will happen).

*Le sigh*

better late

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #6 on: February 19, 2019, 02:17:52 PM »
This reminds me of the years mothering children. Either they or I would always manage to stain my clothes. There were definitely times I put on something that had a stain on it and wore it anyway.
Maybe have one or two outfits that you call “off limits” to any DYI

partgypsy

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #7 on: February 19, 2019, 02:18:10 PM »
I had some "nice" jeans and shirts I accidently ruined by getting paint on them. They are still cute so I kept them and wear them when I know I might do something messy. They are nice enough for off work, weekend at home but if I'm going out I will change.

If you get a nice new oxford and pair of pants, work shoes for work how hard is it to change out of them to do some repairs? I am seeing a guy who sometimes takes 4 showers and as many clothes changes in one day depending on what he is doing. Throughout all that he somehow manages to keep his nice clothes nice. 

APowers

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #8 on: February 19, 2019, 02:24:45 PM »
A sturdy work apron might do the trick. But I don't see why you can't change into work clothes for DIY tasks...?

I *can*, but I'm lazy, and having to change before doing anything just feels like an obstacle to productivity.

Also, and maybe this isn't normal, but it's not like there's only a few DIY tasks that come up every now and then. In my life, its more like run grocery errands/install bathroom hardware/make granola bars/oh yeah, paint that cabinet/read some of my book/make a windowsill/check MMM forums/prep dinner/pick kids up from school/finish+clean up projects for the day/make dinner/story time/bedtime routine. In that order.  Maybe every day isn't that jam-packed, but it's close. If I changed every time I went to do a project task, I'd be changing like 3-4 times per day. That seems excessive to me. I don't really see a way around it.

Sometimes I feel envious of people who have houses that don't need remodeling and normal jobs and lives that they can just go to work and come home and do not-remodeling-hustle. Then again, I'm basically lean-fire right now because of the housing choices I've made, so...

APowers

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #9 on: February 19, 2019, 02:29:31 PM »
I had some "nice" jeans and shirts I accidently ruined by getting paint on them. They are still cute so I kept them and wear them when I know I might do something messy. They are nice enough for off work, weekend at home but if I'm going out I will change.

If you get a nice new oxford and pair of pants, work shoes for work how hard is it to change out of them to do some repairs? I am seeing a guy who sometimes takes 4 showers and as many clothes changes in one day depending on what he is doing. Throughout all that he somehow manages to keep his nice clothes nice.

FOUR showers a day!? I can barely get myself to take 1 shower a day. I hate having to take showers.

Orvell

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #10 on: February 19, 2019, 02:29:46 PM »
You have a choice. I get that you self identify as lazy, but you can't be THAT lazy if you're ALSO doing all that DIY/cooking/errand running. Okay? So give yourself some credit. :)
Buy a pair of coveralls and put them on and save your clothes. This is choice A
Continue to get shit all over your clothes. This is choice B


That's all there is to it.
:)

I paint and do art. I have a "painting sweater" (aka a sweater I've already mucked the hell up) and I put it on every time because you never know what is gonna happen and aprons don't cover enough ground. I might get a set of coveralls for myself, too, haha.

fuzzy math

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #11 on: February 19, 2019, 02:46:41 PM »
My thought is that you know when you're going to paint unless you're 6 and it's a surprise in art class. Save your painting clothes for paint day. Resolve to paint no more than once a week. Most other handy jobs can be done with the only real risk being something getting snagged or torn.

Cranky

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #12 on: February 19, 2019, 02:48:09 PM »
I’m messy and I do projects and cooking and gardening.

I wear an apron. I have a surgical smock that I found at the thrift store which is awesome to pop on over my clothes when I’m going to do something grubby - nothing stains it!

Also, I don’t much care about stains. Nobody cares what I wear, really.

J Boogie

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #13 on: February 19, 2019, 03:33:22 PM »
Paint, oil and wood glue will ruin good clothes. But these tasks aren't hard to plan for with a quick change.

Everything else can be accomplished wearing nice raw denim which won't show nearly any stains and actually benefit from some hard wear. I like wearing LS shirts, henleys in particular, as they're comfortable and inexpensive and look great.


Daley

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #14 on: February 19, 2019, 04:08:46 PM »
Paint, oil and wood glue will ruin good clothes. But these tasks aren't hard to plan for with a quick change.

Agreed, but even those things don't have to ruin clothes if you're quick about it, do the work necessary to scrub it out, or you treat the fabric for stain resistance on occasion.

elaine amj

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #15 on: February 19, 2019, 04:43:49 PM »
I like the idea of work aprons :)

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AMandM

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #16 on: February 19, 2019, 06:11:33 PM »
Could you reserve one day a week for non-messy projects and errands out, and have one or two outfits of nicer clothes that you save for those days?  Groceries, library, cooking, bedtime routines, carpentry, electrical work--those can all be done without staining your clothes.

ElleFiji

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #17 on: February 19, 2019, 07:16:40 PM »
Why don't you switch the dynamic....change for looking nice, and the nice clothes will only get worn 2ish hours/day...so maybe 3 nice outfits? For friends coming over, or date night/Costco night... and maybe if you want to look good you can change for dinner like fancy people used to?

APowers

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #18 on: February 19, 2019, 09:20:01 PM »
Why don't you switch the dynamic....change for looking nice, and the nice clothes will only get worn 2ish hours/day...so maybe 3 nice outfits? For friends coming over, or date night/Costco night... and maybe if you want to look good you can change for dinner like fancy people used to?

This may be a workable solution for now. Although I do admit to being unmotivated enough that changing into nice clothes for only a couple hours may not happen very often.

FIFoFum

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #19 on: February 19, 2019, 09:38:24 PM »
Why don't you switch the dynamic....change for looking nice, and the nice clothes will only get worn 2ish hours/day...so maybe 3 nice outfits? For friends coming over, or date night/Costco night... and maybe if you want to look good you can change for dinner like fancy people used to?

This may be a workable solution for now. Although I do admit to being unmotivated enough that changing into nice clothes for only a couple hours may not happen very often.

This is basically what I do. I work with dogs, so there isn't really much 'nice outfit' time in my life. Plus, I'm not going to change every time that I switch from dog to not-dog activity and back. So the nicer clothes only come out when I'm really going OUT in the evening (and there is no "back" to regular clothes as it ends with home/bed).

I also try to wear nicer clothes that can be downgraded to everyday and dog life when they do inevitably get a little dinged up (e.g., nicer jeans). After some time, it's ready to go into everyday rotation and replace something falling out of that rotation due to being destroyed beyond repair. Then I can replace with something else starting in the nicer category again obtained via thrift, buy nothing, etc.

Papa bear

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #20 on: February 19, 2019, 09:45:03 PM »
You sound like you have a similar schedule to me and some other people I know. How nice do you want to look? Can you define that?  I can’t imagine DIYing in a suit, but a pair of jeans and a button up shirt is totally doable. Just watch out for the stuff that won’t come clean.

If it’s paint/stain, oil, spray foam, or caulk, I switch out to really crappy clothes or coveralls.

Outside of that, I have a coat that put on with woodworking, it’s a “soft shell” type polyester and it cleans up great.  Shirts, quarter zip polyester long sleeve over T-shirt.  Those clean up easily.  Pants - khaki colored polyester hiking pants, or a poly/cotton blend, or jeans that are past nice but pre holes / paint pants.

I sometimes go with more classic Carhartt type too, but outside of the really nasty stuff that ruins clothes, everything cleans up fine in the washing machine.


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Just Joe

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #21 on: February 20, 2019, 10:20:47 AM »
Don't know if you are male or female but in my younger years during warm weather I just wore shorts and nothing else. Not much to stain.

As I got older and the weather cooler I went to overalls. Wore them everywhere. When they were too bad to be seen in, I'd buy another set and save the old set for greasy jobs only. Working on a house is different than working on machinery in my book. Grease stains look worse to me than paint stains. Grease looks dirty. Paint stains look like progress.

After that I went to leather aprons. Easier to put on and off. Tough. Cooler in some situations. A canvas apron would be cooler and cheaper.

I'll older now and almost to the point where I don't give a flip and I may go back to shorts only in the summer despite the less than perfect physique, gray hair, and the threat of the Fashion Police hauling me away. ;)

Laura33

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #22 on: February 20, 2019, 11:06:34 AM »
I think that's my problem. I'm both lazy AND cheap. Changing clothes multiple times per day, or having to go put on coveralls any time I want to do something, or having to drag around some kind of PPE as I work on stuff sounds like way too much work, lol!

What about just accepting that this is the way you are?  Seriously.  Keeping an apron in the kitchen, or a ratty sweatshirt to put on over a nice shirt when you're heading out to the shop, is not exactly onerous.  So if you aren't willing to do that, then clearly you don't value having nice clothes to the extent that you think you do (or, more likely, think you should).  And, umm, there's nothing wrong with that.  So just keep doing you, until that is no longer satisfying.

BTW, you know that t-shirt that says "I am the reason we can't have nice things"?  Yeah, that's me.  I'm hell on clothes, hell on shoes, hell on cars, hell on anything else that requires effort to be "pretty."  I spent a lot of years feeling bad about myself because I couldn't find a way to do all those things that I was supposed to.  Until I finally realized that I could -- I just really, really didn't want to, to the point that I spent more time finding excuses not to than it would have taken to do it in the first place.  And you know what?  That's not a moral failing; I just honestly don't care what shit looks like.  So I bought myself the damn t-shirt and decided to stop feeling bad about something I didn't really want to change.  Much less stress that way.

Imma

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #23 on: February 20, 2019, 01:21:34 PM »
My grandparents were farmers. He wore coveralls, she wore a large apron. Not the cute tiny ones you see today, but one that properly covered her work dress. They wore their Sunday best on, well, Sundays, or when they needed to go to town. When the good outfit was showing wear and tear it became a weekday outfit and they wore it underneath their coveralls/apron. It's simply impossible to not get dirty/damaged clothes while being this active.

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #24 on: February 20, 2019, 01:44:37 PM »
I think that's my problem. I'm both lazy AND cheap. Changing clothes multiple times per day, or having to go put on coveralls any time I want to do something, or having to drag around some kind of PPE as I work on stuff sounds like way too much work, lol!

What about just accepting that this is the way you are?  Seriously.  Keeping an apron in the kitchen, or a ratty sweatshirt to put on over a nice shirt when you're heading out to the shop, is not exactly onerous.  So if you aren't willing to do that, then clearly you don't value having nice clothes to the extent that you think you do (or, more likely, think you should).  And, umm, there's nothing wrong with that.  So just keep doing you, until that is no longer satisfying.
Yes, this. My DH has a similar lifestyle to you, but he manages to clean up and change into nicer clothes when leaving the house.

Also, I live in Florida, so taking 4 showers in a day does not sound crazy to me.

galliver

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #25 on: February 20, 2019, 02:13:20 PM »
Why don't you switch the dynamic....change for looking nice, and the nice clothes will only get worn 2ish hours/day...so maybe 3 nice outfits? For friends coming over, or date night/Costco night... and maybe if you want to look good you can change for dinner like fancy people used to?

This may be a workable solution for now. Although I do admit to being unmotivated enough that changing into nice clothes for only a couple hours may not happen very often.
APowers, I think I experienced similar conflict in grad school. The DIY/dirty work wasn't nearly as constant as your lifestyle, but I spent a good portion of time in lab, sometimes under tables/equipment, on the floor, etc. Closed toe shoes a must. A lot of my obviously nice jeans and tees got worn out/grungy. And then I'd feel grungy/bad meeting up with cute friends that weren't "lab rats".

I reserved a few outfits for the days/occasions when I was pretty sure I wouldn't be getting dirty. As for motivation, does your SO make an effort to look nice (at least moderately/sometimes...doesn't have to be fancy)? Do you enjoy that? Would she enjoy you looking nice, and is that worth you putting in effort? This is just one place to look for encouragement; I hope you also have your own reasons you'd like to look nicer. But sometimes it's easier to do things for others than for ourselves.

elaine amj

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Re: How to have nice clothes and still DIY *rant*
« Reply #26 on: May 10, 2019, 08:26:43 PM »
Thought of you when a dear friend stopped by recently to use my bathroom. While he was here, he took a peek at a small tree I needed cut down. Next thing we know, he's up on a ladder hacking at it with our axe.

I cringed on your behalf as he was wearing a nice casual button down shirt and what looked like new khakis. I think he cringed too! And his wife definitely heaved a big sigh when I saw her a few days later lol.

No real ideas. Just know you are not alone.

I was so very grateful my friend chose to help me that day even though he wasn't in the right clothes.

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