How to Care for Clothes: The Poorly Dressed Grownup’s Guide

May 2nd, 2012 by Shawanda

Spring is here, and it’s time to go shopping.

After I shed my winter weight, I’m hitting the outlet and shopping malls.

At 5′ 9.5″ tall, finding clothes that fit me well is tough. Plus, my clothes, particularly pants, are pricier than those designed for shorter women.

Given the challenges – financial and emotional – many of us face when shopping for clothes, you’d think we’d take better care of them.

I’m the girl who’ll wear a holey shirt. Or throw on a pair of paint stained jeans. Or step out in a camisole that has a grease spot on it.

I’ll be the first to admit that my behavior is unacceptable for any self respecting adult. And it needs to stop today.

Knowing how to properly maintain our wardrobe is similar to knowing what to do with our money after we’ve earned it.

There’s only one problem. We don’t know how!

That said, ignorance is no excuse for dressing like a homeless person. So, I decided to educate myself on how to care for clothes.

This blog post is as much for the person who’s never learned basic home economics as it is for me.

Since the biggest mishaps happen around the laundering of clothes, that’s where we’re going to focus our energy.

Washing

Try to wash everything in cold water. You’ll save money on your electric bill and extend the life and brilliance of your clothes.
Lighten up on the laundry detergent, will ya? Using too much will leave a film on your clothes. Don’t blindly fill the cap to the brim without reading the directions on the bottle/box. Even then, you still may be able to cut back on laundry detergent.
Stop over washing your clothes. You don’t need to wash them after every use. However, you should let clothes air out before putting them away. Please note: Not Dirty ≠ Clean. So, you still want to separate the clothes you’ve worn from your clean clothes.
Don’t overload your washing machine. Fail to heed this advice, and you’ll lose twice: Once when there’s excessive wear on your clothes and again when you pull excessively worn, dirty clothes out of your washer.
Make a habit of checking pockets before washing. You’ll find all kinds of stuff in there that can screw up your load: lip balm, tissue, money. Wait. Nope. Money is cool.
Wash perspiration stains from fabrics as soon as possible after wearing. The longer you wait, the greater the likelihood it’ll permanently discolor the item.
Inspect clothing and pretreat stains before washing. If you discover a stain after a wash, don’t dry the item, and don’t iron it. Treat the stain while it’s still wet.
Use the Tide to Go Instant Stain Remover pen for mishaps that happen away from home. It’s effective and easily fits in your purse.
Change out of your “good” clothes when you get home from work. (Yeah, this is the same advice your mother gave you when you arrived home from school.) If you’re going to cook, slip on something you don’t mind ruining. Or, if you have one, where an apron.