As you all know, I have been in the middle of back to back business trips,with just weekends (if that) in between. This past weekend was my chance to catch up on about three weeks’ worth of laundry, including all of my travel clothes and clothes from my sister’s wedding.

I had at least three loads of laundry to do, and I was powering through it in a hurry. As I moved one load from the washer to the drier,I thought, surely it won’t hurt my black pants if I put them in the drier this one time.  So I did, and I didn’t give it another thought after that. I packed them and one other pair of slacks to wear for four days of meetings during my current trip. I actually felt really good about my packing this trip–my suitcase wasn’t even completely full! I am finally mastering how to only pack what I need!! Go, Road Warriorette!

That is, I was feeling pretty good until I put my black pants on this past Tuesday, got outside, and felt a draft around my ankles.  I realized these pants, my work travel staple, shrank two inches in the drier. Instead of touching the ground like they used to, they barely came down to my ankle, looking like serious highwaters, and showing off my cute socks to anyone who wanted to look. Sigh. And the worst part is, since I only have one other pair, I have to wear them again on Friday.

So the moral of this particular story? Don’t put your stuff in the drier if you know it can’t take it. Take the extra two minutes to hang stuff up. And the other moral? Maybe bring three pairs of pants for four days of meetings, not just two. Good luck to me for next time.