Raise your hand if your family’s clothing budget increased this year. No? Didn’t think so. Good news, though: Little things can help keep the stuff you have now looking good and keep the clothing you spring for new still looking brand-new a year from now. Here are a few clothes-saving tips to try.
Stop the fade. You’ve worn your new jeans nonstop for the past 2 weeks, dreading the day you have to wash them for fear they’ll fade. Here’s the trick: Try soaking them in a 50-50 solution of cold water and white vinegar for an hour before their first washing, when the dye is most likely to run. Then, machine wash in cold water and hang dry. The vinegar will help set the dye so your jeans’ color stays put. (If only that worked for hair color!)
Zip up. Zippers can do a lot of damage in the washer and dryer. Take a minute to make sure they’re zipped up and not left to act like a saw on your laundry.
Go inside out. It can help to turn clothing inside out—that way, any wear and tear from washing and drying is on the side that doesn’t show.
Pack a pen. Mustard, tomato sauce, red wine…a splash of one of these bad guys could mean the end of the line for your favorite top. So should you reach for club soda or hair spray? Don’t worry about it—just make sure to carry a SwashTM Get It Out stain remover pen wherever you go (what’s this?). Press and rub and those stains are gone on the spot—imagine that!
Save your sweaters. Holding off on washing sweaters preserves their color. As long as there’s no stain, wait to launder sweaters until every other wearing—just wear something light underneath. When you do wash, lay them flat to air-dry (no matter what the official care directions say). Fold, don’t hang them.
Treat suits right. For your jacket and skirt combinations or any men’s suits, it’s key to clean the jacket and bottom at the same time. If you don’t, they’ll fade at different rates. And don’t directly iron a suit combo, because it’ll make the fabric look shiny. If you have to smooth out wrinkles for that big party, put a towel between the iron and fabric.
Get off the board. Whenever you can, forget ironing. (You’re welcome!) Pressing the fabric can wear it down and do damage to buttons if you’re not careful. Instead, you can just throw the wrinkled clothing in the dryer for 10 minutes along with a sheet of Swash Steam It Out. It not only smoothes out wrinkles, it helps remove odors too.
If you truly can’t avoid the iron, make sure to use plenty of steam. It also helps to place foil under the cover of the ironing board. It’ll speed things up by deflecting heat upward, so you’re hitting the cloth from both sides. And if you need to use starch, try this homemade version: 1 tablespoon of cornstarch dissolved in 2 cups of water in a spray bottle.
For just a quick touch-up, try using a hair straightener as an iron. Works great for collars, those tricky areas near buttons, and even adding a crease to pants.
When you can’t wash, Swash. Want to get stains, wrinkles, odors, or static out of your clothes between washes? Check out Swash. This new line of products from Tide helps spruce up your clothes between washings so you can wear them again (we won’t tell). If you’d like to learn more, click here.
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