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Taking care of your clothing can really improve its lifespan, which is something that you should be concerned about if you are on a clothing budget. There are some quick ways that you can learn to take care of your clothing so that you will not have to replace it as quickly.

Knowing what you are doing to clean your clothing is one of the most important steps you can take. If something says that it should be dry cleaned, it should. There should be no getting around it. Pay attention to other admonitions on clothing, such as not putting it in the dryer or washing it in cold water. The tags are great for telling you what you want to know about how to care for a piece of clothing.

Speaking of dry cleaning, there are home kits to allow you to dry clean your clothing. If you are meticulous about following directions, then you should give them a try. They are less expensive than having someone else do it for you. On the other hand, if the clothes need to be pressed after the dry cleaning, take it to a shop. Also be sure that you have plenty of space because at-home dry cleaning clothes need to be put out flat on the floor after you have cleaned them.

Try not to mix clothing. Some people will do it, however, because they do not want to take the time to sort their clothes. If you are one of these people, then you can take a cotton ball, dip it in water, and then run it across your clothing. If the cotton ball is clean, the clothing will not fade, and you can toss it with the whites. If the cotton ball is not clean, then you should not wash it with the whites. It will fade onto your other clothes.

Take care of your swimsuits. If you are going to be going into the ocean, you need to plan to find a place where you can rinse your suit when you are done. Instead of just letting your suit dry over the rod of the bathtub, you should rinse it in cold water for 15 minutes before you wash it. Be sure that you do wash your swimsuit after every wear. If you will be in a chlorinated pool, then you should rinse your suit in the sink with cold water before you wash it. If you put your suit back in the drawer or beach bag without washing it, then you will find that it is begins to wear and fade more quickly. The salts in the ocean and the chlorine in your pool have the same effect; they are not good on swimsuits. You also should never put swimsuits in the dryer as the heat will cause the elastic to break down, and the fabric is not intended for intense heat.

Hanging your sweaters is a bad idea. You will find that even on padded hangers, your sweaters will begin to droop. That is because the fabric in them is so heavy that gravity will begin to have an effect on it. Instead, you should fold your sweater. The proper way to fold a sweater to avoid creases and other problems is to put the sweater face-down on a flat surface. Fold back the sleeves so that they meet in the center of the sweater back. Then fold back the top of the sweater, folding the garment in half. Another option for sweaters is to roll them up and store them in baskets. That choice works only if you have few sweaters as it tends to take up a great deal of space.

Taking good care of your clothes can be time-consuming, but it is effort that is well worth the time it takes. That is because increasingly the life of your clothing through quality care techniques means that you will be saving money in the long run because your clothes will last longer than if you had not cared for them. You should work on your clothing techniques often. Keep up. You can always learn something new to help you take better care of your clothes.

By Julia Mercer