What I Wore: The First Long Weekend in May

Victoria Day long weekend is just around the corner and for many Canadians this weekend marks the beginning of cottage season. While le bf and I aren’t cottage-owners, our usual Victoria Day long weekend plans involve packing our bags, renting a car, and driving to a hotel in Gravenhurst for a few days of sunshine, hiking, and swimming. Depending on the weather, my packing list for these trips is fairly uncomplicated – sweatshirts and comfy denim for chilly evenings, a dress or two for dinners out, a swimsuit, sunglasses, my fave HBC beach towels, beauty essentials, and a couple of easy to pack Tide PODS for clean laundry in a pinch (no musty towels for us!).

And since Victoria Day is the unofficial kick-off to cottage season, I partnered up with Tide to share the Cottage Laundry Care Guide for any upcoming weekend getaways you may have planned. Check it out after the jump!

• Read the care label. This label has garment-specific information on how to care for your favorite clothes. Wash in cold water to help with color protection. Also make sure to check the label for drying instructions. Since the stretchy materials in leggings and swimwear can start to break down when exposed to high levels of heat. To avoid this, air-dry them.
• Be aware of fabrics that can be dirt-magnets. Most leggings, especially those designed for athletic wear, contain synthetic fibres, which are dirt and odour magnets and can make your leggings more prone to getting stinky. To get rid of odours after wearing them, wash them in Tide PODS Plus Febreze Odor Defense, along with Tide Odor Rescue with Febreze Odor Defense laundry booster to remove body soils and odours from deep inside the fibres.
• Use a high quality laundry detergent. Tide PODS plus Febreze Odor Defense eliminates odours, like “campfire smell”. Use along with Tide Odor Rescue with Febreze Odor Defense laundry booster to help eliminate odours at the fibre level.
• Limit sun exposure. It’s better for your skin and your swimsuit. If you do plan on sunbathing, do so before you go swimming, as wet bathing suits often suffer more sun damage than dry ones.
• Minimize wear and tear. Sitting on the side of a pool or leaning up against a wood fence is a surefire way to rough up the fabric on your swimsuit. Instead, place a towel where you want to sit. When you’re done swimming and need to change clothes, avoid the urge to wrap your wet suit in a towel, which can lead to musty, hard-to-eliminate odours. Simply rinse it in cold water to remove chlorine or salts from ocean water and let it air dry in a shady place until you can launder it properly.
• Wash swimsuits by hand. While it’s convenient to just throw your clothes into the washing machine after a day at the beach, pool or lake,hand washing your bathing suit will extend its life-while removing chlorine, salt, sunscreen, and any natural oils on the fabric. (First check care labels to be sure it isn’t dry clean only.) Wash the suit in a laundry detergent shown to help protect colors from the chlorine in wash water which can further fade the colors in your swimsuit, such as Tide HE Turbo Clean ColorGuard Liquid Laundry Detergent, then let it air-dry on an indoor-rack for a full 24 hours to give the suit adequate time to regain its shape.
• Allow towels to air dry until you are ready to wash them. Wash beach towels in warm water with Tide PODS with Febreze Odor Defense and Downy Fresh Protect for a deep down clean that will remove any odours and provide an amazing fresh scent that will last 24 hours or up to 12 weeks in storage.

Hope this care guide will help you keep your clothes looking and smelling fresh wherever you go! Enjoy your long weekend, and Happy Victoria Day!

I Wore: Sweater and Converse – Hudson’s Bay; Jeans – Gap; Swimsuit – Billabong; Tote – ASOS, Sunglasses – Chloe, Linda Farrow
This post was created in collaboration with Tide. All thoughts and opinions are my own.