Why wear an apron these days? Wearing an apron is useful for so many reasons, and not just cooking. Read below to find out some of my favorite purpose for an apron, many uses for aprons you may not have considered and reasons for wearing an apron for simple living and modern day homemaking.
Reasons to Wear an Apron
For many, aprons conjure up black and white memories of your grandmother in the kitchen. For me though, aprons are the ultimate accessory for almost every situation. They come in handy for much more than just preventing food and grease stains while cooking. Here are some of my top reasons to wear an apron in the home these days.
1. Wear an apron in the kitchen for cooking
While this one is pretty obvious, I still had to note it. People continue to ask my “why wear an apron in the kitchen?” No matter what I am cooking it is always my first step to put on an apron because I’m what you’d call a messy cook. Like the kind that is constantly covered in spaghetti sauce or flour. Some of the most important times to wear an apron while cooking is when using a mixer, blender or food processor that can cause splattering, or cooking or frying something in a pan like bacon or fried chicken that can cause a lot of grease to splatter (I’m looking at you Southern cooks). Now, when some one asks you “why do you have to wear an apron while cooking?” I hope you’ll be armed with all of these answers!
Shop our Full Assortment of Women’s Kitchen Aprons
2. Wear an apron for housekeeping and cleaning
I always wear an apron when cleaning to protect my clothes & keep something handy in case I need to wipe my hands. Cleaning with products such as bleach or household sprays can also be a dangerous game. I always wear my waist apron when doing spring cleaning to prevent my favorite clothing items from getting stained or ruined with those tiny little spots that bleach can cause. Apron pockets are perfect for stashing rubber gloves, rags or cell phones while your hands are otherwise occupied tidying up. Aprons are for protection!
3. Wearing a Laundry Apron
If you have a baseball or softball player in your home like I do (x3) than you spend lots of time doing laundry & you already know reason #1 – bleach! Protect the clothes you’re wearing from the stains + splatters of bleach, suds + dirty soaking water with an apron. It’s a great way to keep you covered. An apron is certainly a laundry room essential these days, though even back in the olden days when laundry was hung on a line they were useful. Women would stash vintage clothes pins in their apron pocket for safe keeping and easy reaching.
Most all of our aprons also have pockets, which are great for stashing clothes pins (if you’re still a laundry line kind of gal, which you know I love) but again if you have little kiddos the pockets are also great for catching miscellaneous items you might find in pockets like buttons, coins, crayons or chapstick (among other insane things I’ve found …), dryer sheets or one-off socks. It also helps to keep lint at bay when you’re fluffing + folding.
4. Wear a Hostess Apron when Washing Dishes
I have a big farmhouse sink in my kitchen, which I love because it catches all those big pots + pans I love to cook with. But after I’m done whipping up a homemade meal for family supper I always have quite a sink full of dishes to rinse + wash. I will tell myself each time to be careful, but somehow my shirt ends up covered in soapy dishwater. For this reason I always keep an apron in my kitchen. I love wearing our Railroad Stripe bistro because it covers everything, and the material is so sturdy keeping the water off of your clothes.
This one is also helpful when you’re doing less cooking and more hosting. You don’t want to be splashing or spilling on your little black dress so a pretty little hostess apron will keep your beautiful cocktail dress in perfect order for the night ahead and you’ll look as though you’ve been slaving in the kitchen for hours when your guests arrive. You can thank me later for this tip on protecting your clothing while cooking + entertaining.
5. Wear a Garden Apron
I love putting on a durable apron such as this olive crossback apron before I go outside to work in my garden. When you have a green thumb and like to play in the dirt, having a garden apron is to me just as important as slipping on those garden gloves. It helps keep you a lot more fresh & free from dirt, fertilizer, the water hose, pests and other things you pick up while working in the flower or vegetable garden. It also nice to have a few pockets to store things if my hands are full. We have a lot of customers these days that wear our aprons while working in their chicken coops, collecting eggs & other basic homesteading activities around the home.
Shop our Garden Aprons, perfect for simple living + homesteading
I hope this gave you a few new ideas for wearing an apron. From crossback aprons to waist aprons to full bistro aprons, each apron has a special place for its use. I’d love to know when your favorite times to wear an apron are. Let me know in the comments below!
heirloomed is a lifestyle brand with a mission of “keeping heirlooms around for another generation.” Our blog features stories about my favorite made-from-scratch recipes, creating traditions with your family, farmhouse home decor, effortless entertaining by mixing new and vintage pieces, tips on gardening creating a timeless capsule wardrobe, and small town + historic travel. Our product designs feature a collection of “goods inspired by the past, for generations to enjoy” with an array of aprons, table linens, hand-poured candles and keepsake gifts. Learn more at www.heirloomedcollection.com.
