going with the Tide

i own two of the exact same sweater. well, i should really say that i bought two of the exact same sweater. i still own both of them but they are quite different at this point. 

the sweater i speak of is actually the pink/coral colored one pictured in my first ever fashion post from almost a year ago. at 29.5 i decided to start caring about how i present myself and what my style says about me and how it can affect my day to day emotional well-being. 

that sweater and ombre tank top combo have for almost an entire year held the place of my security blanket outfit. whenever i am having a self esteem spiral or "can't find anything to wear!" i can always count on that duo to bring me through and just make me feel good until i climb down off the ledge.

so imagine my horror when last summer i got my sweater out of the dryer to find that it had faded oh so badly. it was at best a diluted imitation of its original color, and at worst a pastel salmon monstrosity.

i am not very good at laundry.  i always buy the biggest, cheapest detergent there is, dump a ton of it in the washer and run everything on warm. 

*(we haven't dry cleaned one piece of clothing in over 6 years of marriage and if a tag says "dry clean only" i read it as, "DO NOT BUY THIS KEIGHT." 

the few times that i have ignored my own tendencies and bought a dry clean only garment have ended with me wearing it until the stains or pit-smells make it unwearable and then putting it on top of my dryer for about 2 years. then i take it down, smell it and usually 700 days of sitting there have knocked all of the smelliness out of it and i start the cycle again. 

i feel like that's not an ideal system. so yeah: machine washable is CRUCIAL).*

i agonized over buying a duplicate replacement sweater and finally decided it was worth it. the day i paid for the same sweater for a SECOND time, everything changed. 

the death of a garment changed me, y'all.

since then i wash everything i care about on the delicate cycle and in cold water. i don't know if this is right exactly, but i've been burned and traumatized (overstatement?) by losing things i love and have spent money on, just to have them fade or become permanently stained after a few washings.

the one thing that i didn't change was my detergent. i am frugal to the max and just kept buying the 50-gallon (exaggeration) containers of the no-name stuff. so when Tide offered me a chance to try their 3-in-1 detergent Tide Pods, i accepted, thinking that surely a little nugget of goodness couldn't really be that much better.

best believe some of the syrup glistening on that bear plate made it onto little clothes.

first off: the ease of the Tide Pods is seriously wunderbar. if you recall, our washer/dryer are stacked. this is awesome for the most part, but since our detergent lives atop the dryer, it's kind of a pain to reach up there on my tippy toes and then go through the rigmarole of filling up the cup with the messy liquid stuff (which inevitably drips down onto the pantry floor and pushes me closer to the grave when i see that slimy goop).

so being able to just grab a pac from the bag and toss it in really had a benefit that i didn't expect.

very pleasingly blister-like (that panda peeking out of the machine is about to get slapped in the face by freshness)

okay so then there is the triple chamber design of the Tide Pods that promises to clean, brighten and fight stains better than 6 caps of the liquid stuff (based on stain removal performance of one pac of Tide Pods vs. 6 doses of the leading liquid bargain brand base variant in a standard top loading machine.)  here's where i was skeptical.

BUT in the interest of a seriously honest review, i decided to trust the promise. so i grabbed a bunch of my most vibrantly-colored pieces of clothing out of the dirty clothes, checked them for smelliness (check! my social anxiety manifests as charming pit-moisture) and stains (double check! i am a vigorous eater and sometimes there be shrapnel) and put them all in one load.

i threw in a pac (so much squishier than i had expected), crossed myself (not really though) and set the washer on the regular color cycle rather than delicates.

i am thrilled to say that my ruby cardigan is still ruby. not only are the colors just as bright as when i bought them, but the stains came out completely, which was really surprising given the tiny pac versus the huge cup of liquid i usually use (which still wasn't getting stains out effectively).

i also kept detecting the most pleasant smell. i kept looking around for a charmingly beautiful and nice rich lady who was fresh from a mountain glade. i eventually realized this smell was coming from ME! the scent the pacs imparted to my clothes is so nice and it has staying power.

i think this is the beginning of a beautiful love affair between our stinky laundry and Tide Pods. 

so what have i learned? machine washable fashion is the only way i roll and Tide's 3-in-1 detergent pacs, the only 3-chamber unit dose on the market, are the easier and more efficient way to keep my style fresh and bright. 

pop in a whole new kind of clean with Tide Pods.

with spring around the corner (at least in schizo georgia where we are sure to get a 75 degree day in february and at least one 30 degree day in april) i put together a little 3-in-1 fashion magic of my own, showing how i would take just two affordable, machine-washable pieces and create three fresh spring looks.

so yeah, i'm pumped that mint, yellow, navy and coral are an on-trend combo in the 2k13 and plan to rock it every which way. 

Tide is giving one of you a chance to beef up your wardrobe for spring with $100!!

*giveaway now closed! Jessica To is our winner!

Tell me about something in your wardrobe that's versatile and provides 3-in-1 style. By leaving a comment, you'll be entered for the chance to win a Visa gift card for $100. Pop In. Stand Out.

Rules
No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post.
2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion, including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: "#SweepstakesEntry"; leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post.
3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post.
4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 2/19/13 – 3/19/13. Be sure to visit the Tide Pods brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!