An affordable style can be defined in several different ways. Nonetheless, regardless of the preferred definition, a variable never seems to change: making your clothes last longer is one of the most important rules that can be applied to achieve this goal. Although purchasing high quality pieces is one of the surest ways to make your clothes last a significant period of time, the truth is that even cheaper clothes can look expensive and last quite a while if they are properly cared for.
Selecting clothing pieces properly is an important step that is frequently overlooked. Understanding your own personality is crucial, as it will often dictate the best choices for you.
Consider the overall cost of owning a certain piece, instead of just looking at the price tag. If a certain item requires dry cleaning and you are short on cash or don’t like frequent trips to the dry cleaner, you might want to consider purchasing something else. Keep in mind that if you don’t follow the directions on the label when it comes to upkeep, your clothes will wear out a lot faster.
Another simple tip that is often neglected refers to removing the tag. Avoid pulling tags out and instead cut it using scissors. Otherwise, little holes might develop that can ruin that particular piece. Moving on to maintenance issues, perhaps the most important aspect to consider is washing.
Washing frequency and other laundry related habits have a major influence on the overall clothing lifespan. Washing in cold water does not only preserve energy and lowers the energy bill, but can also make quite a difference when it comes to the way your clothes look. Most detergents are strong enough to clean clothes even in cold water, so there’s no reason not to try it.
Spot treating stains can help you avoid having to wash a certain item in the first place, so make sure to use this technique whenever possible.
Watching your habits may also be useful. A little trick to avoid perfume stains is simply to avoid applying it after you dress. Also, if you are prone to little accidents, such as spilling coffee or other little incidents of this sort, going for dark colors might be a useful tip.
Other easy laundry tricks include zipping up all the zippers, washing the jeans inside out. Zipping up and buttoning up all the clothes will prevent tearing damage while washing and your jeans inside out will help preserve color a lot easier.
Separating colors is another rather obvious method to keep your clothes in a proper condition. Also, paying attention to the size of your loads as well as the quantity of detergent and fabric softener you use is also important to get top notch results.
Frequent ironing is another factor that might make clothing wear out faster, so make sure to optimize your behavior as much as possible. Also, line dry clothes whenever possible.
Another simple tip is to make sure that you don’t hang clothes that can rapidly loose their shape. Similarly, avoid folding clothes that wrinkle easily. These tips might appear common sense, however, it can be easy to neglect them. Purchasing high quality wooden hangers is also recommended. Together, these tips can make tremendous difference.
Make necessary repairs as soon as possible. Sewing a small hole immediately might make it unnoticeable and a little tailoring can do the same. Such maintenance costs are often negligible and might save you a significant amount of time and money.
Credit: Thinkstock Photos
