Before dry cleaning, business people had to suit up a phalanx of backyard laundry scarecrows just before a thunderstorm. Eliminate sopping straw middlemen with today's Groupon: for $25, you get $50 worth of dry cleaning at any Best Cleaners, which has 11 locations throughout Connecticut, including storefronts on Mill Street in Berlin and on Newfield Street in Middleton that are available for drop-offs. Clients can also opt for free home-delivery service.

The cloth caretakers at family-owned Best Cleaners have expunged and primped area vestments for 56 years. Drop off plain pants ($8.50), plain skirts ($8.50), jump suits ($21.30), or capes ($17.85) for an eco-friendly de-schmutzing that clears away stains and leaves collars crisp enough to pop. Their natural GreenEarth cleaning process is free of harsh chemicals and residual odors, earning appreciative smiles from your living-room ficus and preventing your native habitat from smelling like melted plastic army men. Opt for free home pickup or delivery or entrust your garb to onsite cardigan guardians by 11 a.m. and your cleaning will be ready for pickup by 4 p.m.