I'm not sure if this post is dumb or will be helpful. The idea just popped in my head one day and I'm hoping it might help a few of you extend the life of your clothes! However, I'm afraid everyone already knows these tips and this is just old news that I thought would have been a good blog post. We shall see!
I have always tried to take super good care of anything I own. (Sorry to all the friends that I never allowed to borrow any of my clothes/shoes/jewelry.) Even my scrubs seem to stay brighter and less washed-out looking than some of the girls I work with.
Side note: I've actually been doing my own laundry since I was pretty young because my mom would dry the wrong things and shrink my clothes or I would fuss about the way she washed something. She eventually got tired of the fussing, gave up, and told me to do it myself. I can't blame her a bit, either! So anyway, I've listed a few things that I always do to try and keep my clothes looking the best they can.
-I hardly dry anything in the dryer. Hang your clothes on a hanging rack! The dryer is so hard on fabrics. It dulls the colors, twists & warps the shape, and changes the fit of your clothes. I feel like the dryer gives your clothes that "aged" look quickly. I literally only dry t-shirts (that I sleep in), undies, socks, towels, and sheets. Also, if you hang your clothes quickly after they're done washing, they usually dry without wrinkles.
-Wash everything in cold water. Hot water is bad for dulling colors of fabrics. I sometimes wash my sheets and scrubs in warm/hot water depending on how much spray tan is on my sheets and if I've had a particularly nasty week at work in my scrubs.
-Use garment bags for your delicate items that might get stretched out in the washer. I always put my bras and sweaters in these. The garment bags keep your clothes from being pulled all over the washer and getting tied in knots with your other things.
-Don't wash your clothes after every wear! If you didn't get anything dirty or sweat to death, you don't need to wash something every time after you wear it! Especially jeans!! Gosh, I'd hate to actually know how long I actually go before I wash my jeans.
-Use a low spin cycle speed on the washer. I'll usually let jeans spin on high speed since they're more durable but other than that, I usually use medium speed or even slower if I'm washing delicates.
-Know how to separate your colors! I feel like this is a given but there still might be some that throw everything in together! If you don't separate your whites, brights, darks, delicates, denim, etc, this is how a shirt goes in white and comes out tye-dye. If you just got a brand new deep maroon top or some super dark wash denim, I'd probably even wash things like that by hand in the sink for their first wash so you don't risk the dye bleeding on to your other clothes in the wash.
-Read your tags! If you aren't sure if something can be washed, dried, ironed, etc, check the tag that's in basically every piece of clothing. Quite a few things of mine, especially boutique bought things, will say "Dry Clean Only" but I don't do that. I wash those things by hand in the sink or put them in a garment bag on delicate cycle, depending on the fabric. I do have a couple silk tops and I don't mess with silk, it seems way too delicate for me. I definitely take silk to the dry cleaners.
I don't use a specific laundry detergent, I know there are many that are supposed to be better for whites and colors though. I do use Downy fabric softener though, I think it makes a huge difference. Also, SHOUT spray is basically unicorn pee.
Hope you gained some new tips and that this was actually helpful instead of ridiculous!
My new favorite daily email:
Now on to the next subject, quickly! I discovered the coolest new site that sends the best daily e-mails! The Newsette! In a nutshell, it's a short and sweet roundup of what's going on in the world so you can have a quick read and update with your morning coffee. This virtual mini-magazine mixes pop culture, nutrition info, style inspiration, world news, new internet crazes, & other useful things to keep you in the know with a little "goal of the day" at the end as a cherry on top. Last but not least, it's published on 6th Ave in New York City! Aka.. one of the most magical cities ever!
To subscribe to The Newsette click here! I hope you enjoy!
(It's very easy to unsubscribe if you don't love it!)
My new favorite daily email:
Now on to the next subject, quickly! I discovered the coolest new site that sends the best daily e-mails! The Newsette! In a nutshell, it's a short and sweet roundup of what's going on in the world so you can have a quick read and update with your morning coffee. This virtual mini-magazine mixes pop culture, nutrition info, style inspiration, world news, new internet crazes, & other useful things to keep you in the know with a little "goal of the day" at the end as a cherry on top. Last but not least, it's published on 6th Ave in New York City! Aka.. one of the most magical cities ever!
To subscribe to The Newsette click here! I hope you enjoy!
(It's very easy to unsubscribe if you don't love it!)
