Look, you’re not in college anymore and no one thinks it’s “cute” when you shuffle into work or the bar with clothes that just came off the bedroom floor. You’re a young man trying to make a name for himself in this world.  Look the part.

Now you could send everything to the dry cleaners.  But that would cut down on beer money. Maybe you have a man servant to take care of such mundane tasks or you send your clothes home to momma? Maybe you have a throwback 1950s June Cleaver wife who will gladly do it for you (yeah, that’ll last). In any case, we here at MFL prefer self-reliance even for the boring stuff.

So unless your work calls for overalls or a hazmat suit, take 5-10 minutes to iron whatever you’re going to wear, even a T-shirt and jeans. If there’s something that’s just too much of a PITA to deal with like linen, then sure, take it to the dry cleaners and have them do it for a few bucks. Same goes for your fancier dress shirts if you’re worried you might burn through them while you’re busy texting. But mostly you’ll do fine, lazybones.

Some helpful hints: Iron quality clothing or stuff with decals inside out to prevent shine spots. Use a slightly less hot setting than the maximum called for at first–it’ll usually do the trick and is safer for your clothes. And use plenty of steam and spray. Let’s not talk about starch–neither one of us gives a damn.

Why bother ironing? Because you work hard to stay fit, so don’t let rumpled clothing give you the appearance of a sack of potatoes. And you notice how nice & sexy the ladies are dressing? They’d probably appreciate it if you showed a little effort, too. Get yourself a friggin iron and board and whatever you’re sporting that day will look like a million bucks, from a Ted Baker shirt to your vintage Nirvana tee. Remember: every girl’s crazy ’bout a sharp dressed man.

You can check out the tools of the trade at Bed, Bath and Beyond.