Do you do your own dry cleaning or take to dry cleaner?

[HIU8]

This is sort of a bitch, but I do want opinions/advice...

DH and I are having an argument (what's new these days). Our dry cleaning bill is over $50 a month. I an effort to save some $$ I began to launder all DH's shirts (he is ok with this). However, he does not believe that dry cleaning can actually be done at home. He has to wear a suit and tie every day. Our deal was that stuff gets done with dryell in OUR dryer unless it has a nasty stain and really needs to be sent out to the dry cleaner. Today DH changed his mind. He wants it all to go out (after all, we CAN afford it NOT NOT NOT NOT). He eats breakfast and lunch out daily which adds up to almost $150/month and now wants to add dry cleaning back in the mix. When he was eating bfast at home and taking lunch (all foods chosen by DH btw) we were saving $200/month. How on earth does he think we can afford things HE wants (like the lawn service) if we don't save anything to be able to pay for them.

So, do you do the dry cleaning at home or do you send out?

[o_mom]

We send it out, but we only have stuff about once a year. DH doesn't wear suits or ties to work, so figure one wedding or funeral a year and most times it doesn't need cleaned after that. I have a handful of things that are dry clean only, but those are rarely worn either.

[nfowife]

My DH is military and wears a uniform every day. When he is flying he wears a flight suit that I can launder at home. I have done dryel on his regular khaki uniform a few times but he prefers it to be done at the cleaners because he likes it starched, so it stays "pressed looking" for longer. He wears the uniforms a bunch of times before dry cleaning so it isn't too bad. I think maybe compromise and have the suits cleaned but not the shirts? And look for coupons!

[HIU8]

DH hates starch, so not the issue here. My only issue with allowing suits to go out is that he wears it twice and gets it dry cleaned (and he has about 30 suits). I would like to ask him to take some lunches instead of always buying out (I do understand that he can't take a lunch when he is going from meeting to meeting), but maybe 2x a week. DH is lousy with $$. He just spends without realizing what he has/doesn't have. I'm the bad guy--I watch our $$ and I think it infuriates him. Meanwhile I like not having to worry about $$ all the time.

[kijip]

Personally when I tried Dryell I thought it did not work. That was nearly 10 years ago though so maybe it has improved? But if it was like it was then, there is no way I would use it. Ineffective, perfume-y and IMO rather stinky.

I still did not have much of a drycleaning bill, even when working full-time in a dress very nicely/wear a lot of slacks and suits situation. But I found that hanging things in the bathroom and letting them steam a little, spot ironing them, followed by leaving things in a closet for a couple of days at least meant I could LOOOOOOONNNNGGG stretch out my drycleaning. Then I would take a whole bunch at once with a coupon and get out for pretty cheap. I had a lot of suits and slacks though, enough to rotate through them. If he has 30 suits than he can rotate through them. Note that I wash shirts every wear, but the suit pants and coats do not need to be cleaned every time in MOST lines of work.

If there is no saving done, I would be heck of irked about the daily b-fast and lunch (though HOW does that only add up to $150? I wonder if it is actually more. That is super cheap for eating out) I think that you should try and get him to go back to eating breakfast at home and packing a snack and lunch for the day more days than not. That is so frustrating for you.

I think a financial planner or a marriage counselor to discuss money issues might help. I am thinking more of a financial planner. Having a neutral third party share solid financial advice and run the numbers on the cost of NOT saving, would be useful for him to see.

[HIU8]

I may have underestimated the food out by around $50. He refuses. I understand the lunch thing. He can sometimes be traveling between 2 offices that are 1 hour apart (like today) and if he takes his lunch he will forget it at the office anyway. The bfast thing actually angers me though. Eat some darn bfast at home for goodness sake!

The dryell works IF there are no stains. Stained stuff always goes out to the dry cleaner.

[smilequeen]

Because of the type of job, we dry clean all of DH's work clothes after 1 wear. I don't really ever feel like dryell gets the job done unless something just needs to be freshened up (like when I take seasonal clothes out of storage). I dry clean whatever I have that needs it, but I don't wear that stuff that often. At any rate, if it makes you feel any better, our dry cleaning bills are $300+ per month (gasp!). We do use a Green Earth dry cleaner though and they cost a little more.

[kijip]

I may have underestimated the food out by around $50. He refuses. I understand the lunch thing. He can sometimes be traveling between 2 offices that are 1 hour apart (like today) and if he takes his lunch he will forget it at the office anyway. The bfast thing actually angers me though. Eat some darn bfast at home for goodness sake!

The dryell works IF there are no stains. Stained stuff always goes out to the dry cleaner.

I wouldn't let him off the hook on the lunches! Why not leave a smaller cooler in the car and eat a sandwich or whatnot from there? Not only is it cheaper, it is portable. If you could save without it, I guess it could be his fun money. But if it is really hurting you financially, it's worth making adjustments. A come to Jesus moment with a financial planner may help.

My rule is that I don't go out for lunch unless it serves a needed job related function. So if a donor wants to meet me for lunch, I go. If a board member wants to meet for lunch, again I go. If I am doing critical networking (as opposed to just being a lunch buddy), I go to lunch. On the days I don't have a need to eat out, I eat something from home. If I forget it, I eat the snacks I have in my desk or I eat rice and beans from the little mexican place for $3. I usually end up eating out 3 days a week, it kills me when that gets to 4 or 5. And we can afford for me to eat our 5 days a week and still save. I just don't like dropping money. My husband never has work related lunches and he just buys 1 day a week tops. Easier for him because the only place to buy is the hospital cafeteria and trust me, that's not a treat. :p

The other idea: figure out a budget for each of your mad money. Then have him pay for non-essentials like eating out alone out of that. I have friends, a married couple, and they each get $250 a month. She spends hers on eating out every month. He saves it up and buys electronic gadgets and music records. They used to fight like cats and dogs over her spendthrift lunch habits and his gadget addiction and penchant for vinyl. So they set themselves an affordable amount, built it into their budget and they don't stress about it anymore. Regardless of if the amount is $25 a month or $500 a month based on your overall income, it contains the costs and takes the frustration out of the equation.

[HIU8]

Wow. I thought $50 was a lot (that is a low month actually--it's more like $65-$70 normally). I guess I'm cheap (heck, I know I'm cheap). I may let DH have the dry cleaning back.....

[egoldber]

Have you tried the cheaper drycleaning places? The ones that advertise 99 cent shirts? We send out DH's drycleaning. He can only wear his dress shirts once because they smell after that. No way he can wear them again.

He does not wear a suit every day, but he wears his suits many, many times before getting it drycleaned. In fact, he probably only gets his suits cleaned if they get something on them.

The eating lunch out thing really bothered me when DH was working at a regular job (he's at home a lot for lunch or else having lunch with a client), but it was very important to him. Although the second he knew he was getting laid off, he started brownbagging.

I wouldl agree about the financial advisor and/or counselor. I know you guys are trying to pay for private school. Is this something DH is on board with? Or is he rebelling in a passive aggressive way with your attempts to economize?

[chottumommy]

My DH wears a suit about 3-4 times a month. We hardly ever dryclean anything (except suits once a year). I'm not sure why shirts need to be drycleaned. I wash at home and starch it once every 2 times and iron them when they are damp.

Do shirts really need drycleaning?

[Andi98989]

DH wears a dress shirt and jeans to work every day. We send his shirts out to the dry cleaners - he is very particular about how starched he likes them, among other things. With me WOHM full-time, I'd rather spend the money for him to be happy with how they turn out than for me to spend an hour+ each weekend doing the ironing.

When I wear a suit to court (thankfully only a handful of times a year), it does need to get cleaned afterward. I'm a nervous wreck during our hearings. :) If I just wear it to a wedding or something, it's usually clean and goes right back in the closet.

DH takes a lunch to work M-Th, but goes out on Friday. Same for me.

[HIU8]

Beth, we use a place where shirts are $0.99 and all other items are $2, so it's not an expensive place. I'm a serious penny pincher and I may have to let this one go (I grew up with NOTHING and my parents always had HUGE amounts on credit cards--and I vowed never to live like that. We have not had to, and I'm attempting to keep it that way).

The eating out is what really bothers me as well. With DH's ulcerative colitis now getting under control, he also has to really watch what he is eating (his body has begun to absorb nutrients again and he has gained 10 lbs in 2 weeks. He has to keep his weight gain to a minimum due to the diabetes as well.) Eating out means he isn't watching what he eats or his wallet.

DH is on board with the private school thing. We both want this at least for a few years for DS. I would love to go and see a financial advisor. I have been looking into the Dave Ramsey stuff myself but I need DH totally on board.

[Andi98989]

OMG, I wish a 99 cent shirt place existed around here.

[HIU8]

Dry cleaners launder the shirts and then press them. I can do the same at home (takes me a little longer though).

[salsah]

i only send out things that are "dry clean only." i think i go to the cleaners about 6 times per year.

[HIU8]

DH likes his suits dry cleaned after 2-3 wears. Like I said he wears a suit every single day (his job requires it). We actually just spoke and he agreed to:
1-go see a financial advisor (we have a friend who does this, but I want to go see someone who does not know us--so we are not put on the back burner etc...)
2-brown bag at least 2x a week
3-wake up earlier and make bfast at home

I just gave him back his dry cleaning also. We are right now letting go of the lawn service (but that will be a biggie to bring back if we can).

[Piglet]

My DH wears a suit about 3-4 times a month. We hardly ever dryclean anything (except suits once a year). I'm not sure why shirts need to be drycleaned. I wash at home and starch it once every 2 times and iron them when they are damp.

Do shirts really need drycleaning?

DH finds that dry-cleaning helps his shirts look fresher longer, so if the are drycleaned, he can wear them a handful of times between cleanings. If they are washed at home they don't look as fresh after 1 wear and the more they get washed the worse they look. He always wears undershirts so the shirts don't get too yucky. The compromise we reached was that I buy him wrinkle free shirts (Eddie Bauer). They look great out of the dryer!

[chottumommy]

DH finds that dry-cleaning helps his shirts look fresher longer, so if the are drycleaned, he can wear them a handful of times between cleanings. If they are washed at home they don't look as fresh after 1 wear and the more they get washed the worse they look. He always wears undershirts so the shirts don't get too yucky. The compromise we reached was that I buy him wrinkle free shirts (Eddie Bauer). They look great out of the dryer!

Ah, I can see that. We are lucky to have very good water and I hardly use any detergent at all. So they get washed only every 2 times or more depending on summer/winter.

We are a totally green family, so I don't think DH would even consider dry-cleaning his shirts. For all I know, he might hand-wash his shirts before he considers dry-cleaning them (He's a little nutty in that respect). The rest of the time he's happy in his t's and jeans.

I could wear the same t-shirt and jeans to work for a whole month and nobody would notice. I work in the tech field and am the only woman in my team. I could get out of bed and go straight to work and would totally blend in.:D

[GaPeach_in_Ca]

The eating lunch out thing really bothered me when DH was working at a regular job (he's at home a lot for lunch or else having lunch with a client), but it was very important to him.

I think I'm like Beth's husband.

When I started my first full time job (in college, I think it was $7.75/hr), I started eating out lunch every day. It was my reward for working all day - getting out of work and getting something to eat. At the time, I went to Taco Bell because I could eat on $2/meal. :p

I still eat out every day and it's something I look forward to every day. Sure I could take my lunch, but I don't want to. It doesn't cause any financial issues, though. I would probably economize in other areas and just cut back before cutting out alltogether.

[AnnieW625]

DH's suits, dress shirts, and my skirts and dresses get sent to the dry cleaner. We send our stuff every couple of months (maybe 2 mos., and when I am not in maternity clothes it's more my stuff than his) and the bill is usually no more than $20. Sweaters (both mine and DH's), silk shirts with no stains, and that random cotton knit skirt or pair of distressed designer jeans that don't handle the washer well get put in the Dryel bag.

[1964pandora]

We dryclean his work clothing, but that is about to change. We pay about $1.25 per shirt, so that's about $300 per year that we could be investing instead. (We'll still dryclean his suits.) He's going to start getting wrinkle resistant shirts so I can start ironing just like my mom did. I wonder how long I will last.

[Carrots]

We send all DH's shirts, suits and dress pants to the dry cleaner. I also send wool sweaters, coats, silks and anything else that says "dry clean only" to the cleaners. I have never used Dryell.

I tried to launder DH's shirts one day. I made it through 1 shirt on the ironing board and decided sending them out was worth my time and money. I think they cost 1.00 per shirt. :)

[GaPeach_in_Ca]

Why do you all iron your DH's shirts? Do you like ironing?

I hate ironing, so if DH needs something ironed, well, he's doing it. :p He will also iron my things and the kids' things if needed. I will only iron as a LAST resort.

[slworld]

I hate ironing, so if DH needs something ironed, well, he's doing it. :p .

:yeahthat: I iron my clothes & he irons his.

[o_mom]

Why do you all iron your DH's shirts? Do you like ironing?

I hate ironing, so if DH needs something ironed, well, he's doing it. :p He will also iron my things and the kids' things if needed. I will only iron as a LAST resort.


We got rid of the ironing board when we moved, thinking we would replace it (it was ancient).... well, almost two years later....

One of the kids had something with a picture of an iron... maybe an I Spy book? Anyway, they had no clue what it was. Probably going to fail a test somewhere because of it. :tongue5: