Clothing maintenance is so important, but can be such a chore. Washing, ironing, folding, dry cleaning, mending ... it's enough to make a gal consider the burlap sack route. OK, not really, but we all know that keeping your duds looking fresh and new is a time-suck and an energy drain. And in can get expensive, too.

So to combat all that, here are a few simple clothing maintenance workarounds that can be performed with nothing more than a few ounces of my favorite beverage: Water.

Substitute static guard

Your skirt absolutely insists on clinging to your thighs, your slip is just making matters worse, and you left the static guard at home. No problem: Just duck into the bathroom, moisten your hands, and pat down your tights. Some folks suggest using hand lotion or hairspray in a pinch, which may help, too ... but I'm not too keen to gunk up my hosiery with either substance. The tiniest bit of water does the trick beautifully.

"Shoulder nipple" eliminator

Oh how I wish I'd created the term, "shoulder nipples." If you're the clever person who did, please stand up. Shoulder nipples are the little bits of distended cloth that occur when a stretchy or delicate garment has been sitting on a hanger too long. You don't even notice they're there until you pull on your shirt or sweater and see the little protrusions atop your shoulders. Luckily, all you've gotta do to return your shirt to normalcy is dampen the protruding area. Wet it down, smooth across your shoulder with your hand, wait a few moments, and the material will be flat and flush once more. Again, works best with natural fibers, but many synthetics will cooperate, too. Here's a little demo.

Last-resort lint brush

Truly, nothing beats sticky tape. Nothing. Especially for embedded cat hairs. But if you're dusty or linty and sadly without a lint roller or supply of packing tape, moisten your hands and run them over your clothing. This will backfire SPECTACULARLY if you're covered in anything that turns goopy upon contact with water, such as copious amounts of dried dirt, so proceed with caution. But if you're dealing with threads, lint, some pet hair, human hair, or anything non-goopy, a wet hand can do some makeshift lint brushing for ya in a pinch.

Any other unusual clothing-care uses for water that you care to share? I'd love to hear 'em!

Sally McGraw is the author of Already Pretty, a daily blog about the intersection of style and body image.