09/04/2019
Ways of preserving your fabric.
1. Know Thyself The first step in maintaining a
wardrobe is to be aware of your
cleaning limits and your clothing
habits. If you can't afford to dry clean
clothing, don't buy dry-clean-
only clothes. If you despise
ironing and avoid it with all your
might, don't build your wardrobe
around French cuff shirts or blouses that need
starching.
You'll only regret it later when
you can't be bothered with the
cost or hassle of upkeep, and
you'll either have to get rid of
the clothes, or wear them wrinkled. 2. Color
Wisely If you have a habit of spilling
coffee down your front, there's
no shame in wearing lots of
chocolate brown, charcoal gray,
and navy blue. Dark colors hide a
multitude of clumsy moments. 3. Folding vs.
Hanging Make sure that you don't fold
clothes that need to be hung
and don't hang clothes that
need to be folded. Sweater
stretch on the hanger and dress
shirts don't do well folded, unless you are an
expertly masterful
folder of some kind. 4. Dress for The Task at
Hand It can be tempting to simply get
messy chores done while wearing
whatever it is we wore at work,
but that's a fast way to ruin work clothes.
There's a reason why moms frequently make a
distinction between their kids'
"play clothes" and "school
clothes." If tackling a potentially
dirty project, don't do it in a
dress shirt and slacks. Change into your
grubbies before you
get muddy. Also, wear an apron
while cooking. I've ruined many a
lovely dress over a pot of
simmering bolognese. 5. Stop Laundering So
Often It's really easy to want to wash
an item of clothing after having
worn it just once. But washing is
the fastest way to help the
fibers break down. The fewer
times you have to wash, the longer it will last.
If you are too lazy to rehang
worn (but clean) clothing, it's OK
to drape it over surfaces like
your dresser or a chair, just as
long as you don't drop it on the
floor. Once clothes are on the floor, they will
HAVE to be
washed before being worn again,
but a draped shirt will live to see
another day of wear. The following items can
also help
you wear a shirt or a pair of
pants more than once before
washing: Tide To Go Pen: These little pens cost
less than $5, last for a
long time, and will save your
blouse when you manage to drop
a dollop of marinara down the
front. Coworkers and friends are
always wowed by how quickly this trick works
to remove
stains from fabric. I use a Shout
stick stain remover as well, on
large stains, but the Tide pen
allows you to use the stain
treatment without having to wash the clothing
item
immediately thereafter. Lint Roller: Sometimes
a pair of black slacks doesn't really need
to be washed — it just needs
the cat hair removed from
around the cuffs. My white dog
really loves to jump on my lap
whenever I'm wearing dark colors (it's like he
knows), and
it's not that he's dirty — he just
sheds like it's going out of style. I
have lint rollers in every room of
my house, and they keep my
slacks looking professional. I also keep one at
the office to pick up
stray hair and fluff that
inevitable lands on my back and
shoulders during long days spent
scratching my head. Deodorant: Your shirts
will smell better and stand up to
multiple wearings if you yourself
don't stink. 6. Keep All Those Buttons Every
time you buy a new
clothing item that comes with
spare buttons, immediately put
the buttons in a jar or box
reserved entirely for buttons
and spare thread. It's easy to lose track of
these important
surplus buttons, and it's one of
the fastest ways for a cardigan
to become useless. 7. Wash in Cold Water
People who wash their clothing in
cold water will notice a drop in
their energy bills very quickly. In
addition, many fabrics (especially
nylon and elastics) hold up
better when subjected to less heat. Cold water
detergents are
designed to remove dirt even
without the help of hot water,
but even normal detergent will
work well. Also, even though I
try my hardest to be a stickler for the
environment, a good
capful of bleach will do amazing
things for your whites — it's
almost like having new clothing. [Some
parents might note that it
is very difficult to remove grass
stains from a kid's pants using
cold water washes. To this I
respond: this is why children
should be dressed from head to toe in black.
Not only can you
imagine that they are little
ninjas (or French poets, if they
are pouting), but it'll save you
the pain of trying to remove all
kinds of goobery stains from their clothing.
Those of you who
would like to note that I am not,
in fact, a parent, and don't know
what I am talking about, I would
just like to say this: you are
right. I'm still planning on having black-clad
children of my own, no
matter what you say about how
adorable they look in t-shirts
with froggies on them.] 8. Obey the Laws of
Color
Separation At the end of a long day, with
loads and loads of laundry facing
you, it can be tempting to just
throw the reds in with the blues,
but try to keep like colors
washed with like colors. Reds and blues fade
easily and everyone
knows how one red sock can
turn a whole load of whites a
light shade of rose. Try your
best to keep dissimilar colors
apart in the laundry.
Good morning family n friends...
