Top 10 ways to take care of your clothes
November 10, 2006 by kellys
Filed under Top 10 lists, clothes, frugal living
However recently I came across a great little blog from The Frugal Law Student. Evidently, he is paying his own way through school with the help of his wife. Kudos to them. But he reminded me of a lost art – clothes washing 101.
Make sure you read the labels carefully when washing clothes. Unnecessarily ruining a favorite shirt or pants that actually fit (this is rare in my closet) can ruin my whole day. So here are some of my favorite ways to keep clothes newer longer.
- Check the pockets. Lipstick and crayons can be a real killer.
- Wash as much as you can in cold. Hot water can shrink your clothes and cause the colors to run.
- Turn you clothes inside out. The pills will be on the inside instead of the outside.
- Dry clean only is on the tag for a reason. Don’t think you can outsmart the dry cleaning industry by doing it yourself. It WILL end up in the trash eventually.
- Don’t dry everything. Lay your delicates out.
- Hang your shirts up inside out. My mother-in-law does this to get rid of the little coat hanger defects in the shoulders.
- My personal favorite, Downy Wrinkle Releaser, so that you don’t mess up clothes with an iron.
- Towels can be dried on high, not your sweaters. That is unless you are tired of it and want to hand it down to your little first grader. Dry most of your clothes on low.
- Protect your suede clothes with your life, or at least talcum powder. The powder is cheaper.
- Don’t fill your washing machine up to the rim. I have ruined too many clothes by overstuffing my washing machine and then drying them before I realize that they had detergent or fabric softener still on them.
These are just a few ways to protect your investments. After all, it is definitely cheaper to not have to replace your wardrobe if you don’t have to. I certainly don’t have the money to do that too often.
I wash our colored clothes in cold water, but I was our whites and towels in warm. I always check the pockets for stuff. I have preached and preached about this one, but I still have to check! My hubby sometimes leaves me tips in his pockets. At least I’m assuming that’s why he left the money in the pockets for me. LOL
Check out the link love:
http://community.livejournal.com/poor_skills/1057250.html
Thanks for the link! You have a great blog here.