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life hacks

Levi's CEO Charles Bergh settles the jean washing debate

Social media has become a fertile breeding ground for conversations about hygiene. Whether it’s celebrities bragging about how little their family bathes or battles over how often people should wash their sheets or bras.

One of the debates that gets the most diverse responses is how often people wash their denim jeans.

Denim atelier Benjamin Talley Smith tells Today that jeans should be washed "as little as possible, if at all.” Laundry expert Patric Richardson adds they should be cleaned “after nine or 10 wearings, like to me, that is the ideal." At that point, they probably have stains and are "a little sweaty by that point, so you need to wash 'em," Richardson says.

Still, some people wash and dry them after every wear while others will hand wash and never hang dry. With all these significant differences of opinion, there must be a correct answer somewhere, right?

The former CEO of Levi Strauss, Charles Bergh, has stepped up to set the record straight on when and how to wash your jeans. He caused a stir in 2014 when he said he only washes his jeans once a year, but it was for environmental reasons more than hygiene.


He later clarified his thoughts in a blog post, “The Dirty Jean Manifesto” he posted to LinkedIn.

“I made this provocative statement because I believe strongly in what our brands stand for: quality, durability and lasting products made sustainably. I also said it because I believe we don’t need to wash jeans as often as most people think we do,” Bergh wrote.

"We learned that an average pair of jeans consumes roughly 3,500 liters of water — and that is after only two years of use, washing the jeans once a week," Bergh wrote. "Nearly half of the total water consumption, or 1,600 liters, is the consumer throwing the jeans in the washing machine. That’s equivalent to 6,700 glasses of drinking water!"

To add to the problem, denim jeans are often manufactured in places where water is scarce, such as India, Pakistan, Mexico, China and parts of California.

Bergh recently spoke with CNBC’s Christine Tan and clarified his thoughts on jean cleanliness.

“True denim heads, people that really love their denim, will tell you to never put your denim into a washing machine. So that’s what I do,” Bergh explained. “If I drop some curry on my jeans, I’m gonna clean it. But I’ll spot-clean it. And if they get really gross you know, if I’ve been out sweating or something and they get really gross, I’ll wash them in the shower.”

However, when Bergh washes his jeans in the shower, he does it while wearing them and washing them with soap. The image that the scene conjures is of a cowboy bathing in a cartoon, clothes on and all.

There are a lot of different opinions on how often one should wash and dry their jeans and many of them boil down to personal preference. But the debate on the topic has brought up one very big point we should all consider: when choosing how often we wash our jeans, a big part of the decision should be considering the amount of water we use.

This article originally appeared two years ago.

TikTok user Absolutely Lauren catches an online scammer.

There was a massive jump in credit card fraud in America the last few years due to the pandemic. According to CNET, fraud involving credit cards jumped 69% from 2020 to 2021, affecting 13 million Americans and costing $9 billion. In a world where online transactions are part of everyday life, it’s hard to completely protect your information. But, by staying vigilant and monitoring your accounts you can report fraud before it gets out of hand.

A TikTok user by the name of Lauren (@absolutelylauren) from San Diego, California, got a notification that there was a $135 charge on her card at Olaplex’s online store that she hadn’t made. Olaplex sells products that repair excessively damaged hair. Before reporting the charge to her credit card company she asked her family members if they used her card by mistake.

“I don’t wanna shut my card down if it’s just my mom ordering some shampoo,” Lauren said in the video. “Definitely not my two younger brothers, they’ve got good hair but they don’t color it.”

credit card theft, scam, tiktok Credit card theft has skyrocketed the past five years in the U.S.Image via Canva

After realizing the charge was fraudulent, most people would have called their credit card company and had their card canceled. But Lauren was curious and wanted to know who stole her information and used it to buy hair care products. So she concocted a plan to get their information. She called Olaplex’s customer service line asking for the name and address of the purchaser to see if it was made by a family member.

"Hey, can you help me with something?” Lauren asked Tanya, the Olaplex customer service agent. “If I can give you the time and date, purchase amount and card number and whatever could you let me know who placed an order?"

Tanya had no problem helping Lauren with her request.



@absolutelylauren

olaplex customer service is top tier 😤 #creditcardscam


“At this point, I’m willingly giving Tanya enough info to steal my card as well — she could have very well taken advantage of me in that moment but she didn’t,” Lauren said. “She comes back — tell me why she gave me the little scammer their full government name and address.”

Tanya revealed that a guy named Jason in a modest suburb in Texas used her card to buy a gift for his wife. “They also did it on Black Friday so at least they got a deal I guess, it was the gift set,” Lauren continued.

Lauren then called her credit card company and shared the information she had on the fraudster. The card company is currently investigating the situation.

One commenter thought that Olaplex wasn’t supposed to share that information with Lauren.

“For some reason, I don’t think olaplex was supposed to give that info,” Arae270 said.

“I definitely gave them the option, but I explained that it was an unauthorized purchase, and if the name did not match anyone that I knew that I would just tell them to cancel the order and refund me, I told the girl that they would probably save everyone, a headache!” Lauren replied.

Jennifer Lopez Applause GIF by NBC World Of Dance Giphy

People should use utmost caution before deciding to track down a credit card thief. But kudos to Lauren for being clever enough to track down the person who stole her card information to help the authorities with their investigation. She didn’t put herself in harm's way and if someone follows up on the tip, maybe they can prevent the same thing from happening to someone else.

This article originally appeared three years ago.

Cutting pizza with scissors, sending a work email, and cutting your nails.

Everyone has their favorite life hacks, whether it's putting their sponge in the dishwasher, using frozen grapes to chill drinks, or pouring the creamer in your coffee first (so you don’t have to stir). But what about the things people do that are highly effective, that may sound a little weird, so they keep them to themselves?

There have been a lot of posts across social media about life hacks—we’ve done plenty here at Upworthy—so it seems that the only ones we haven’t heard of are those that are off the beaten path. Maybe they're a little strange, so people have kept them to themselves for fear of being called out. Well, now it’s time for them to see the light of day.


A Reddit user named CasualConversation asked people to open up and share their unusual hacks and received over 600 responses. “I want to hear any life hacks that would get you judged by other people or would get you dirty looks, but you swear they work. Any life hack can be included—not topic related, just any form,” they wrote, adding: “I cut pizza with scissors.” This led to a great list of unorthodox hacks that commenters swear by because they “genuinely work.”

Here are 17 ‘weird life hacks that people swear by

1. Don't send emails after 2 pm

"In an office setting, conducting business by work email, often processes come to a head at the end of the day and require input from someone else to move forward. At the end of the day, no one checks email anymore, and they certainly don't ACT on them right away. The next day brings new challenges, and my email goes unanswered for days. After 2pm, I set those emails to send the next day 10 minutes after the start of working hours. People are primed to check off a task someone is presently waiting for, so they nail it because they are just settling in to their desk, and they think I am on the other end waiting for a response."

2. Wipe your bathroom

"Wiping the bathroom down for thirty seconds once a day pretty much keeps it clean, even if you start with an absolutely filthy bathroom. It will slowly get cleaner and cleaner and then stay there, and much more quickly than you would expect."
"I keep Lysol wipes out in the open for this reason. Makes a quick cleaning a breeze."


3. 'Key' to remembering

"If I have to take something to work that won't fit in my purse, I'll put my keys with that item (and yes, even if it's in the fridge, lol). So when I go to leave and look for my keys, I'll remember."

"I do something similar, but I put the item in front of the door, so when I open the door I have to move/pickup the item."

4. Every day can be Christmas

"Do gift shopping year-round. If you see something a friend or relative would like for a gift 6 months before their birthday, get it anyway, put it in a “gift spot” and then you’re ready to go. Prevents both stress and overspending."

5. Post-shower clipping

"I try to always clip my nails right after a shower. They're softer after prolonged water exposure (in line with 'pruny hands'). It makes them cut cleaner and easier (yes, even the big toe), and they don't fly across the room."

"Nice! You made me think of sort of opposite logic: if you wait to pluck hair till your skin is a little greasy, they come out much better—cuz they’re all lubed up."

6. Friday cleaning

"Tidy up your house on Friday after work.. set up your whole weekend for leisure and low stress projects!"

"I use this trick too, but I spread all chores throughout work week, so on Friday night, I only make dinner and relax."


7. Blink to sleep

"Blinking fast for a minute to help fall asleep at night."

"One I use and does help to fall asleep is to completely relax your face. It sounds odd until you do it and realize how unrelaxed your face is."

8. Reverse rewarding

"I always try to reward myself before I start an assignment or something I’m dreading. I think the idea of having to work to earn a reward is dumb, and rewarding myself before hand always lifts my mood which in turn makes me more productive."

"This is something that can definitely work for many people. Having adhd, I tend to reward myself then never do the task lol."

9. Point and say

"Like, I have Invisalign right now (last 2 years), and like they say, the trays are invisible. I can't tell you how many times I've lost those fuckers on the rock countertop! When you're hangry and in the kitchen, you tend to forget where you set your teeth down in a quest for food. I learned to point at them and say out loud to myself where they are. It has worked for my cell phone, garden tools, work gloves, car keys, knitting needles, etc..."

"I do that in the car if I’m running to the store, and just need like 5 items. I say 'I need 5 items from the store: apples, milk, bread, cat food, dish soap,' and I’ll recite it a few times. That way, in the store, if I’m at item #4, I don’t forget I need one more thing."


10. Cut pizza with scissors

"I ate pizza in Berlin last month...and they gave you scissors to cut the pizza. It was awesome. Now I need pizza scissors in my kitchen."

"It’s just so simple and smooth! Pizza cutters will either cut halfway through the dough or you have to go back and forth a few times. Scissors just one neat cut through and you’re good to go!"

11. Beat procrastination

"As a procrastinator, instead of thinking 'I’ll do this task at xx date/time,' I replace it with 'I should finish this task by xx date/time' Because for some odd reason, I’m fueled by the thought of deadlines."

12. Gift notes

"Make a note in your phone with all things your SO would like as a present. Whenever they mention something or just seem to fancy it, add it to the list. When their birthday or Christmas comes you can just look up what you would like to gift them and they will very likely love your present, while you don't have any trouble deciding."


13. Have Chat GPT read it to you

"My job and my degree requires me to read lots of policies, studies and reports which I struggle to because of ADHD. I can read very well but I just can't keep attention. So I copied and uploaded it to ChatGPT, asked it to write a detailed summary highlighting the key points and actions, and then clicked the 'text to speech' button. It means I can get through so many more documents and understand them."

14. Hold the salt

"Asking the fast-food chain to serve you French fries with no salt forces them to make you a fresh batch that are always piping hot and crispy. Salt you can add yourself later, but that means you get the freshest possible fries."

"Also, if you plan to dine in, go through the drive-thru and then park and take your food indoors. Drive-thru is prioritized in speed."

15. Better butter

"I butter things with the back of a spoon. Never use a knife. Ever. It feels like it works better. I don’t use a spoon but we have several plastic spreaders with a broad, oval blade & I always reach for those over a butter knife. The surface area & the curved edges seem to spread it more evenly & efficiently."

16. Ice your rice

"When I reheat rice in the microwave, I put an ice cube on top. It prevents the rice from getting chewy and weird, it makes it fluffy and nice."

"I spray a paper towel with water and put it over whatever I’m heating in the microwave. The steam helps keep things moist and prevents spatters if anything explodes. The ice trick sounds like it would achieve the same moistness aim and be less wasteful. Gonna try this one!"

17. Onion goggles

"Wearing swim goggles while cutting onions."

"That's what I was going to say! I wear lab goggles and they work perfectly."

"I definitely got laughed at by my wife."

Image via Canva

Gen Xers share their healthy aging tips.

Gen X (people born from 1965 to 1980) are currently 45-60 years old. While they're a generation known for living full, happy lives...aging is one thing they can't escape.

In a Reddit subforum of Gen Xers, member ggoptimus posed the question: "What’s your Gen X getting old pro tip?" They went on to add, "I’ll share mine. Make the clock app on your iPhone a widget so you can read the time without grabbing your reading glasses."

Fellow Gen Xers had lots of aging advice to give. These are 25 life hacks from Gen Xers for how to age well.

aging, aging well, aging hacks, aging tips, getting old Aging Matt Damon GIF Giphy

"Don’t make plans when you’re in a good mood." —porkchopespresso

"Put things, especially tools, where they belong when you're done using them. Otherwise, you will never find them now." —freshcoastghost

"This reminded me of Stanley Kubrick’s house rules. Stanley Kubrick’s House Rules at Abbot Mead:

  1. If you open it, CLOSE IT!
  2. If you turn it on, TURN IT OFF!
  3. If you unlock it, LOCK IT!
  4. If you break it, REPAIR IT!
  5. If you can't fix it, CALL IN SOMEONE WHO CAN!
  6. If you borrow it, RETURN IT!
  7. If you use it, TAKE CARE OF IT!
  8. If you make a mess, CLEAN IT UP!
  9. If you move it, PUT IT BACK!
  10. If it belongs to someone else, GET PERMISSION TO USE IT!
  11. If you don't know how to operate it, LEAVE IT ALONE!
  12. If it doesn't concern you, DON'T MESS WITH IT!" —mrbaggy
"I have a list in Apple Notes where I quickly jot down where I put things and other notes to myself. It’s a sea of randomness. But it’s searchable." —wallix

smart, hacks, life hacks, life advice, aging advice Dj Khaled Compliment GIF Giphy

"In my phone contacts there is an entry called 'Me' which is my own phone number. I text myself notes. It's searchable." —ImCaffeinated_Chris
"How many healthy years do we have left? No one knows, so do the thing now while you can. Take the trip. Have the experience. Create memories." —Riffman42
"Squat to pick shit up." —Beliliou74
"Do not stop moving. Exercise, while tedious and lame, is how we prevent sh*t from breaking down (from one who stopped moving...)." —GornoP

exercise, exercising, working out, workout, keep moving the simpsons exercise GIF Giphy

"You should exercise and stay fit, but you’re too old to help a friend move. Help them pack, send them 50 bucks or whatever, but you’re not lifting squat." —TravelerMSY

"Distance yourself from crazy." —xgenerd

"Lose weight now. It gets harder and harder the longer you wait. Don’t put it off. Set a routine. Seriously. Same bed time. Same wake time. Be strict with it. If you have sleep apnea, use the damn CPAP machine. Just get used to it. Throw a hydration tablet or powder with electrolytes in your water in the morning. Walk any time you get the the chance. And get good at getting yourself up off the floor. You would be shocked how many years this will give you." —liquilife

"See live music. Buy the ticket see that show. Have concert pals and a spouse who enjoys the same. This allows you to maintain your social connections and have the enjoyment of live music." —zionzednem

concert, concerts, go to concert, seeing concerts, live shows Excited Hell Yeah GIF Giphy

"Drink water, eat fiber, look at your poop." —Strong_Molasses_6679

"Stretch.....and often." —pcadv

"Get tested for cancer." —RockHopper707

"Never pass up an opportunity to go pee." —rink_raptor

"The wooden backscratcher I bought for $1 at Dollar Tree is one of my best purchases! It hurts to contort to get at the itch in the middle of my back, plus it’s great for retrieving items from under the bed or on the floor. Make the investment!" —MyThrowaway787

back scratcher, back scratch, scratching, scratch, scratch help Dog Pug GIF by The Dodo Giphy

"Stay curious. Keep your GenX youthful outlook on things. I saw a shirt that Johnny Knoxville was wearing that said something like, 'F*ck Politics. Let’s Dance'. Don’t take shit too seriously. Don’t believe the hype. Don’t trust the media. Don’t trust politicians. These were ingrained in us as kids when we realized we couldn’t trust our parents or our teachers or the clergy. Be cool. Help where you can." —Beneficial_Fix_7287

"Forgive those who have wronged you. Family, friends, whomever. Life is short, and bitterness is toxic." —AppropriateQuantity3

"A daily oil self-massage (or at least 3x weekly) is the best anti-aging routine you can have. It keeps the entire body healthy by promoting circulation, creates a positive parasympathetic healing response, makes the mind calm and keeps the joints and connective tissue lubricated and firm. Look up Ayurvedic abhyanga on YouTube for how to do it. Best done with raw sesame oil (messy but really good for bone and muscle)." —ahamasmi

"Now that you have the time, learn to grow, build, create, and fix again. Even if the civilization doesn't fly apart you'll have a bunch of skills that give you a sense of satisfaction and stable control of your own personal 'right now'." —Fulghn

learn, learning, learning gif, study, always learn Learning Studying GIF by Mad Monkey Media Inc. Giphy

"Do LOTS of different kinds of puzzles. Word, memory, number, mazes, jigsaw, Rubik's cube, and etc., NOT just one kind/type. Your brain will only use the connections it needs for that specific puzzle category, and won't use the existing ones nor make new ones. I got a traumatic brain injury from a bad car wreck at 30 where I nearly died (not my fault). Puzzles are the reason I don't have the mentality of a 12 yo, like the doctors told my mom I was going to be. I can't work at a job again, but I can do everything else adults need to do. My short term memory is still not great; however, I also have less of a risk for dementia and Alzheimer's because I keep my brain active. If you don't use it, you lose it has been my motto since high school and it's definitely true." —MsTyped

"It's ok to opt out of everything. You have a choice. Also, get up and get going. Life is a fatal condition." —justpuddingonhairs

"Shoe horn. Changed my life & my shoes!" —1Steelghost1

"I stop, take a few breaths & remind myself 'Go slower.' 'Be mindful.'" —Justify-my-buy