Understanding the methods of cleaning can further the longevity of your clothing saving you from buying the same things over and over again. This is your go-to guide on storing, washing, drying, and more.
Storing
Properly storing your clothing is beneficial to keeping everything in sound condition.
- Clean your clothing before you store: Clothing should be washed and any stains should be addressed before you put your clothes back in storage. Stains that are left in the clothing will be much harder to remove in the future.
- Use proper storage containers: The best type of container to use for clothing storage is cotton or canvas. It can also protect from outside dust and dander.
- Hang items suitable for hanging: Consider your heavier like winter coats and jackets. Items like these are sometimes hard to fold and may create unsightly creases when it’s time to bring them back out.
- Fold all sweaters and knits: Knits and sweaters under no circumstance should ever be hung up. However, mistakes happen so don’t sweat it. Just know that hanging up any sort of knit garment will stretch it out. Need a refresher on how to take care of knits? Check out this guide here.
Washing
Not washing a few items by their exact label directions is no big deal. However, knowing what should be dry cleaned and what should be placed in a mesh laundry bag makes a world of difference.
- Ready clothing for washing: Consider dividing your whites, coloreds, and darks before starting your wash, and don’t forget to remove items from your pockets!
- Remove stains: As soon as they happen is as soon as they should disappear. Keeping stains any longer in your clothing will make it much harder to remove when it comes to cleaning.
- When in doubt, dry clean. This goes for all of your fur, sequins, and heavy beading. And while delicates can be washed at home if you’re not comfortable that’s totally okay!] Dry cleaning is a great option for more complicated pieces.
Drying
Drying is essential in keeping your clothing great. Do it right, and your clothing is good to go. However, dry it too hot, or on a high tumble setting which can lead to damage like shrinkage or warping elastic.
- Check the labels: Before you dry your clothing, check the clothing label to see what your clothing needs.
- Hang to dry or lay flat: Some items don’t need to go through the machine. Some blouses just need to be hung up and others need to lay flat to maintain their shape. And if you do air dry, make sure the garments are separated to allow faster drying.
Wearing
There’s actually no step-by-step guide for this. Wearing your clothing however you want wherever you want is something everyone should do. Express yourself as you see fit. But there are a few tips to remember:
- Keep clothing clean: Similar to storing, make sure your clothing is free of any stains. Maintaining clothing means you can wear it for years to come.
- Love it!: There’s no huge explanation for this. Love the clothing you wear and embrace your style.
Mending
After continuous use of wear and tear, some rips are bound to happen. No need to throw them out! They can easily be repaired by mending the fabric. Stitches like the ladder stitch, running stitch, or the whip stitch, just to name a few, can easily extend life by a couple of years. Even adding patches are a few examples of how to increase the life of your clothing.
