Regarding some of the laws again that apply once already we reach the month of Av, specifically the week of Tisha BeAv. Now of course none of the laws in this spectrum of Halacha are either are enjoyable or comfortable, or easy to adhere to. But it seems that is the purpose of the laws being that there were tragedies that occurred during this period in history.
One law which is from the most difficult of them, is the law of not wearing freshly laundered clothes for the week of Tisha BeAv. I only mention it now, because Halacha says it is permissible to prepare clothes for the week of Tisha BeAv. Which means, a garment that just came out of the washing machine, or a garment that just came back from the cleaners, or a new garment that was never worn before, are all forbidden to wear starting from Motzae Shabbat until the day of the fast, including the day of the fast.
Now this includes also tablecloths, and napkins, and all different types of linens that one may have on his bed, that they can not be freshly laundered. The only way to get around this is to prepare garments. So today already is Thursday the 2nd of Av, so you have yet a few days. How do you prepare a garment? You wear it for about a half hour’s time, and after you walk around a little, and then you take it off and put it away in a designated section. Now, with that type of preparation it’s not any longer considered freshly laundered. So a person has to make a calculation, as to how many undergarments, socks, and shirts, etc., that he wants to wear during the week, and he should start preparing them now.
A problem is, that you are not allowed to prepare on Shabbat for the coming week, so if a person is walking around putting on an undershirt and taking it off, while now its permissible, but on Shabbat itself its forbidden. Unless we can explain that he’s doing it for the purpose of Shabbat. For example, he wears one suit on Friday night, he then goes to sleep and on Saturday morning he puts another suit and a change of clothes, and then he goes to sleep in that afternoon and when he gets up for Mincha he puts on a 3rd suit. That would be permissible.
***It should be pointed out that these halachot apply when Tisha BeAv falls out Monday-Thursday and not Motsei Shabbat.
