Would you like to make your clothes last longer while also contributing to a more sustainable wardrobe? Understanding how to care for your clothes properly is essential. Here are 13 valuable tips to cherish your clothes and keep them looking like new!
It is important to know how to make clothes last longer if you want to create a sustainable wardrobe.
By extending the lifespan of our clothes, we can master slow fashion and save money by reducing the amount of clothing we need to buy throughout our lives.
By not taking proper care of our clothes, we end up throwing them away, eventually sending them to a landfill or having them burned somewhere on the planet.
This is terrible for the environment because of the pollution that clothing causes during the production, shipping, and care processes, only to end up somewhere where it will cause even more pollution. Not to mention that it also wastes the money spent on purchasing the clothing, even if we bought it cheaply second-hand.
That is why it is crucial for us and the environment to ensure that our clothes have a long lifespan. You can do that almost effortlessly with the following tips!
1. Invest in high-quality clothing
For everything you buy new (or second-hand), choose quality over quantity! High-quality clothing lasts longer and retains its shape and color better after repeated washing and wear. Choose durable materials such as organic cotton and avoid cheaper synthetic fabrics.
Learn how to stop buying fast fashion and instead focus on buying clothes made from high-quality, durable fabrics such as organic cotton, and avoid cheaper materials like polyester.
When shopping in a store, you should also make sure that the garment's seams are intact and not fraying. This is a good indication of quality.
Tip: If the garment comes with an extra button, that is another good indication that it is well made, as it usually means the designer wants it to last a long time.
2. Protect Your Clothes
Try to prevent your clothes from getting dirty by wearing protective clothing during certain activities. If you're cooking, wear an apron to prevent food or potential stains from getting on your clothes. The same applies to painting, gardening, etc.
Stains can be a death sentence for clothing, so by taking precautions, you ensure that your clothes last much longer.
You should also protect expensive garments that you don't wear often, such as suits or evening dresses, in a garment bag when storing them in the closet to preserve them.
3. Make sure you have a really good stain remover at home
A fresh stain can spell the end for a beloved garment. Invest once in a really good stain remover (even if it is a little more expensive) and treat your clothes with it as soon as possible after a stain appears. Nowadays, almost any stain (no matter how stubborn) can be removed with the right stain remover. Throwing away a garment because of a stain is therefore virtually never necessary anymore!
Tip: Always carry a stain remover pen in your handbag so you can act immediately when a stain appears.
4. Limit washing
Excessive washing can damage the fabric of your clothes and cause the colors to fade. Unless the garment is visibly dirty, you can often wear it a few times before washing it.
Simply put, clothes last longer if you don't overwash them. Sweaters worn over a T-shirt don't need to be washed after every wear. The same applies to jeans, skirts, camisoles, and dresses.
Unless the garment is actually soiled, it can generally be worn about three times before it needs to be cleaned.
Do hang these garments you have worn up to freshen them, prevent wrinkles, and stop them from collecting dirt or dust when left on the floor.
5. Use a laundry bag for delicate items
Mesh bags for certain types of clothing, such as underwear, lingerie, and delicate fabrics, are important for ensuring that the clothes last longer.
Certain garments can easily get caught on other garments or in zippers, which can cause damage and ultimately lead to them being thrown away.
Reusable mesh bags are also useful for putting all your small items, such as underwear and socks, in to make sorting afterward easier.
6. Always fasten all zippers and buttons before washing
To reduce the chance of clothes being damaged during washing, zip up sweaters and jeans before putting them in the washing machine.
The same applies to buttons. Doing this reduces the chance of your clothes getting caught, tangled, and damaged.
I have a few tops with thin straps, and sometimes they get twisted around a button, causing both the shirt and the button to stretch.
Ensuring that your clothes remain undamaged is an important factor in making them last a long time. Zipping and buttoning up your clothes before washing them can help prevent damage.
7. Always read the care instructions
Clothes do not come with care instructions on the label for no reason. It is extremely important to read these labels to know how to wash each garment to ensure it lasts a long time. Some garments should be hung up to dry or dried in the dryer on a gentle setting. Perhaps something should only be hand-washed.
You do not want to take a garment out of the washing machine or dryer only to discover that it has shrunk, faded, or lost its softness. There is no going back from that.
8. Sort your laundry the right way
Sort Your Laundry the Right Way After reading the care labels, you should sort your laundry based on those labels. Sort your laundry by color, delicate fabrics, etc.
Sorting your laundry will help keep your clothes looking good for longer, as certain garments could otherwise be damaged in the dryer, for example.
Sorting your laundry also makes it easier to transfer your clothes to the dryer, knowing that the batch you have just washed can all go in the dryer without having to sort it afterward while the clothes are wet.
9. Use colder water
Preferably wash your clothes in cold water to protect the fabric and save energy. A colder wash setting will also remove enough dirt and stains from the fabric; it does not always need to be washed at 60 degrees.
10. Hang clothes to dry or use dryer balls
Hanging your clothes to dry on a clothesline or drying rack is a great way to preserve their quality and extend their lifespan.
It also helps reduce wrinkles and shrinkage that may occur in the dryer.
It is also a better option because you save energy by not using a dryer. When you do use the dryer, use eco-friendly wool dryer balls to shorten drying time and reduce wrinkles in clothes. This is such an incredibly good tip, trust me, it really works!
11. Choose steaming instead of ironing
Use a garment steamer to disinfect, clean, and smooth your clothes without direct contact with a hot iron plate. Steaming kills 99% of all bacteria and odors, helping your clothes stay fresher without having to wash them right away
12. Give older clothes a new lease on life
When your favorite garments get older and develop pills or snags, use a fabric shaver to remove them easily. This gives your beloved garments a new lease on life and makes them look like new again
13. Store your clothes properly
Hang your clothes in a cool, dark closet to prevent discoloration from sunlight. Make sure your clothes stay dry and free from moisture to prevent mold growth.
With these simple tips, you can keep your clothes looking good for longer and create a sustainable wardrobe. By taking a conscious approach to caring for your clothes, you can not only save money but also help the environment by washing less and making your clothes last longer. Remember that small adjustments to your daily routine can make a big difference to your clothes and the planet!
