This post shows you how to make your clothes last longer!
Looking to preserve your favorite wardrobe items? Being proactive with care and using quality products will make a difference for your clothes long-term!
If you’re passionate about fashion, then it’s only natural that you would find learning to take care of your clothes just as important.
And if you’re frugal, having a wardrobe full of clothes that were made to last will save you money.
Save these tips for later!
Or maybe you’re like me, entering your 30s, and realizing you need to start taking better care of yourself and your things in general.
Growth is everything, right?
Over the past couple of years, I’ve thrifted, purged, and made enough laundry mistakes to gain a lot of wisdom along the way!
If you’re looking for simple and easy tips on how to preserve your favorite clothing items, this post is for you!
Here are 10 ways to keep your clothes looking fresh over time!
1. Buy a Fabric Shaver to Refresh Old and Worn Looking Clothes
Do you have old sweaters that are taking up valuable real estate in your closet or at the bottom of your drawers? Don’t throw them in the ‘Donate’ pile just yet!
An easy way to give old-looking clothes a makeover is to use a fabric shaver! They’re not expensive, usually less than $20. But if you’re in a bind, a simple razor works too!
To use: Lay your garments very flat and gently glide over the area that you want to clean up, preferably in the direction of the fabric. This gets rid of the tiny pilling that forms on the surface of clothing over time.
This is perfect for thrifting items that may be a little fuzzy, reselling vintage items, or just giving a simple refresh to your favorites!
2. Stop Drying Your Clothes (Or Use the Lowest Setting Possible)
Drying clothes on high temperatures ages them fast. And if you accidentally toss in a fabric that’s not dryer-friendly, then it can be a costly, frustrating, and time-consuming mistake.
If you want to have your quality pieces last, you need to stay on top of maintenance for your garments, and sometimes that means doing the opposite of what’s quick and convenient.
Things that are more routine and may take a little longer to dry that I don’t care about like sweatpants, hoodies, or gym clothes I will toss into a dryer.
But for knits and delicates, invest in a collapsible drying rack in a spare room or on a covered balcony. If you’re extra frugal, try going without a dryer completely!
Not ready to go without a dryer? Try tumble drying or use the lowest setting possible!
3. Wash Your Clothes Less Often
The urge to wash something after wearing it is natural and in some cases, warranted! But for some of your heavier pieces, this is not necessary and actually, ages your pieces faster.
For the best results:
- Use cold water. Unless they are heavily stained, wash clothes with cold water. Cold water prevents shrinking and premature colors from fading over time.
- Invest in quality detergent. Avoid using Tide pods or cheap detergent at low-budget saving stores. Go for pure organic or take the time to create your own. And only use what’s needed!
- Wash them inside out. If any accidents happen, they will happen on the inside of the fabric instead of out and you can still save and wear your garment!
Jeans, for example, do not need to be washed after wearing them once. Neither do coats, hoodies, or sweatshirts. Now don’t go around being a funk, but you don’t need to wash a pair of jeans because you wore them for 10 minutes to run an errand!
4. Learn to Sew and DIY
In addition to teaching yourself a life skill, learning how to do small sewing projects will save you money and clothes over time.
You can easily learn beginner techniques like tailoring for small alterations, hemming pants, or mending your clothes to make an old clothing item sparkle like new again.
Buy a Reader’s Digest for beginner techniques, sign up at your public library for classes, or watch YouTube tutorials for inspiration.
You can find old sewing machines at a garage sale or thrift store or get started with a simple needle and thread!
5. Invest in Easy One and Done Pieces
While mixing and matching your favorite pieces to create fashionable outfits is fun, I am not a fan of ironing and steaming clothes.
I prefer “one and done” pieces – dresses or jumpsuits in cotton/modal that are soft to wear and generally don’t wrinkle too badly if you take them out of the dryer immediately and hang them up.
You’ll probably have to try on a bunch to find the right cut and fit for your body but when you find it, buy a couple in darker colors.
If you want them to last, wash on cool and commit to hang drying but if that’s too much effort dry on the lowest setting and just know they’ll probably start pilling, get a fabric shaver.
6. Be Proactive With Stain Treatment
One of the most old-school mixtures to clean almost anything is Dawn dish soap, baking soda, and vinegar. Ideal for grease stains.
Use the concoction as a pre-treatment for stains for 30 minutes before washing.
For blood, try hydrogen peroxide. For sweat stains on white fabrics, vinegar works great. For oil, treat with an enzyme-based cleaner like Shout first, and then wash.
If you’re in an emergency, Tide pens work great for small food stains.
7. Use a Mesh Laundry Bag
Want to make laundry day a little easier for yourself? Buy a mesh laundry bag. At first, I didn’t understand the hype for these and now I’m wondering how I ever survived without one.
Use these for anything you don’t want to accidentally get stretched out or pulled like delicate knit sweaters or bras.
You can also use them to keep zippers and hard buttons creating friction and rips into your favorite pieces. Just be sure not to overstuff them to ensure their still being cleaned.
8. Use a Gentle Detergent
Woolite Dark is an inexpensive, yet effective detergent that will keep your colors looking saturated and keep your dark clothes in good shape for a long time.
It helps to protect your clothes against fiber damage, fading, and shape loss. If your wool is dark, there is Woolite dark that will help to keep the rich color of darker hues.
You do not need a lot of detergent to wash your clothes unless they are heavily soiled and even then, you could still use less than the recommended amount.
9. Separating Colors and Textures in Wash
I can be pretty lazy when it comes to doing laundry but taking the time to properly separate your clothes for washing does make a difference.
Keep white fresh and white by only washing with other whites. And one thing many people don’t realize is to keep textures separate as well.
For example, don’t wash your white tee shirts with white towels. Or denim with delicates.
10. Buy Quality Construction
One of the key differences between clothes produced 15-20 years ago to what is being produced now is that there is less quality construction put into pieces so companies can produce it faster.
Visit thrift stores and touch different clothes to learn the difference but there are also tutorials to learn from online.
Inspecting the reinforcement stitching in pockets, how precise it is, or looking at finished edges and hems will tell you very quickly if care was put into the garment.
Learn to recognize quality construction and fabrics when you first initially buy and only go after things that you truly want. You will naturally want to take better care of things you love.
