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It's no secret that clothes are expensive these days. If you work outside the home, you might be spending 25% or more of your budget on clothing-related expenses, such as updating your wardrobe, dry-cleaning, and alterations or repairs. It would be great if our clothes lasted a little longer, especially since they are so expensive, but that's just not the case. Even when you buy name-brand items, you find yourself replacing worn-out garments more than you'd like.

I'm sure you've noticed that most clothing doesn't wear out or fade just from being worn. Instead, the damage occurs during the cleaning process. That's why our work clothes that require dry-cleaning last quite a bit longer than our "regular" clothes that go through the wash cycle at home. Even though chemicals are involved in dry-cleaning, that process is still easier on most types of clothes than your standard home wash-spin-dry routine. Here are two ideas you can try out to help your clothes last a lot longer.

First, don't wash your clothes every single time that you wear them! I know this may sound gross to some people, so I will say that you have to use common sense and good judgment here. If you wear something and you get a big glob of mustard on the front of it, of course you need to wash it right away. The same thing applies when it's the middle of summer and you sweat up a storm in your favorite t-shirt. When I say you don't need to wash your clothes every time you wear them, I'm basically talking about things that you wear for only a couple of hours or so. For example, do you really wash your jeans after each and every use? Honestly? I've lived with several roommates over the years, so I've seen many different types of clothes care routines. Even so, none of my past roommates washed their jeans every time they wore them. Instead, try hanging your jeans or shirt that was worn only for a couple of hours out in the sun. They will get freshened up in a hurry, and you won't have to put them in the washing machine.

Another thing you can do to preserve your clothes a bit longer is to modify the way you use your dryer. Many people just crank the heat up to the highest setting so the clothes get dried more quickly. But this can be really damaging to the fabrics, and can really fade the colors. Instead, you can dry your clothes on low heat for half the time. They probably won't get completely dried with those settings, so you can just hang them up and let them naturally air dry the rest of the way. Better yet, you can skip the dryer altogether and air dry your clothes every time. This will not only save the clothes, but also save a lot of money on your gas or electric bill. It might sound like a lot of extra work, but it is worth it in the long run.

Start preserving your clothes today!