Looking for simple laundry tips to help your clothes last longer? Here are 14 simple tips you can use today.
Have you always wondered how to keep your clothes looking great? These tips may surprise you. They’ll help you care for your clothing properly so they last longer. Check them out here.
14 Laundry Tips to Make Your Clothes Last Longer
1. How to get those fuzzy pills off your sweaters
Truth? The more you wear your sweater the fuzzy pieces start collecting and making pills. It’s not the sweater’s fault. The knit the sweater is made of starts to pull apart and the fibers stretch out. My favorite solution?
This fabric shaver.
It’s actually so much fun to use—you shave the sweater and the pills disappear and it looks like new again. I would so much rather shave a sweater than shave my legs.
The shaver is battery-operated and has three different settings and it’s so much more affordable than a new sweater.
You can see the fabric shaver here.
2. Add a Tide pen to your purse (or purses)
This is the tip that has saved many an outfit. I’m just messy. I’m going too fast and talking too much and getting it all on my clothes. The key with stains is you want to treat them right away. I found this set of three Tide pens so I”m always at the ever ready. Make sure to add a little water when you use it. I’ve found this makes it work better. I put one in the car, one in my purse and one in my traveling bag. I’ve already used them more times than I can count. You can see the Tide pens here.
3. Soak the stain in water overnight
This is my BEST tip for getting rid of stains. I mix up a little paste of detergent (whichever detergent you have on hand) and rub it into the stain. If the stain is really stubborn (and the fabric has a lot of ridges), sometimes I use an old toothbrush to rub the detergent paste in. Then I put the garment with the stain into a bowl of water and let it soak overnight. Then wash as usual.
4. Don’t dry stains
I know this is Captain Obvious of stain removal, but I wanted to put it here just in case. If you use tip number 2 and you wash the shirt or the dress or the pants and the stain doesn’t come out? DO NOT DRY IT. Drying it is like setting the stain. Instead, repeat step 2 and try to get the stain out again.
// laundry detergent container //
5. For really tough stains Fels-Naptha really works
I discovered Fels-Naptha when Zack played baseball. I could NOT keep those white pants clean. And then another mom told me about Fels-Naptha. It’s totally old school and comes in a bar. Best stain purchase you will ever make. Every laundry room needs one. Use the end of the bar and rub it into the stain and wash as normal.
6. Simple laundry tip for oil stains
All stains are not created equal. And oil? Specifically, salad dressing oil is one of the worst. If you have an oil spill, for the best chance of success, you want to act as quickly as possible. Blue Dawn Detergent is your friend. I use a brush like this to rub it in (if the fabric is sturdy enough to use a brush on). Youcould also treat the stain with a brush like this to get the stain out of all the fibers and immediately wash per washing instructions.
7. Pay attention to fabric care labels
This has saved me with many a garment. The fabric care labels are there for a reason. If it says to wash in cold, wash in cold. If it says “delicate” and “don’t dry” make sure to follow the instructions. Your clothes will last so much longer if you just follow the care instructions.8. Wear something twice without washing
Someone gave me this advice and just between us? It was hard to follow. I felt like if I wore it once? It had to be washed. But truly? If you wore it and there aren’t any stains and you didn’t run a mile in it or climb a mountain? It can probably go back into your closet for one more wear. Clothes actually last so much longer if you don’t wash them as often. Quick tip: I have everything folded perfectly in my closet using this handy tool. I use it and love it all the time.9. Use mesh lingerie bags
This is the best tip ever. I never knew about these before someone else told me about these bags. Gold my friend—absolute GOLD. It started when I snagged a sweater with the hook on the back of my bra. (total aside: you should always hook bras together before washing.) But lingerie lasts so much longer if you use these bags to wash them. It prevents everything from being stretched out or getting tangled up together and ripping. Protect your unmentionables (as my grandma used to call them) in the wash with lingerie bags.
// laundry container// laundry detergent container // laundry caddy //
10. Don’t dry everything
I don’t dry half of what I wash. Here’s what I dry:- jeans
- pants
- sweatshirts
- older pajamas
- velour clothing
- acrylic (on low heat)
- sweaters
- blouses with ruffles
- swimsuits
- tops with embellishments
- shoes
- tights
- wool (never ever ever)
11. Use less detergent
ESPECIALLY if you have a front loader. I know this seems counterintuitive, but using less detergent is actually better. If there’s too much soap, it can bubble up and those bubbles get trapped in the clothes and leave a sticky mess. Most detergents now are so high-powered that you just need a small amount.12. Turn dark-colored clothes inside out
One of the easiest laundry tips, I’ve found to reduce fading is to turn dark clothes inside out. Especially black pants and shirts. Turning them inside out reduces the friction on the front of the fabric and puts all the friction on the inside instead (that no one will ever see).
// laundry detergent container /
12. Simple laundry tip to reduce wrinkles
The easiest laundry tip? Always remove your clothes from the dryer as soon as possible. This prevents wrinkles from setting in and clothes looking frumpy. Ialso have stopped ironing and started using a steamer instead. It saves SO MUCH time. Instead of going back and forth with the iron, the steamer just swipes over the top of the shirt or blouse or dress and all the wrinkles disappear. I’m bringing a steamer with me on the cruise so I can get all those beach wrinkles out. (edited to add: I just found out I can’t take a steamer on the cruise). This is the steamer I have and love.
14. Keep track
One last tip that isn’t so much a laundry tip as a life tip. Whenever we run out of something in the laundry room or butler’s pantry (they are the same room). We just write it on this little craft paper roll. It’s so easy to rip off and take to the grocery store. They don’t make this one anymore, but I found a similar one here.14. Keep track
One last tip that isn’t so much a laundry tip as a life tip. Whenever we run out of something in the laundry room or butler’s pantry (they are the same room). We just write it on this little craft paper roll. It’s so easy to rip off and take to the grocery store. They don’t make this one anymore, but I found a similar one here.
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