How-To: (Practically) Take Care of Your Clothing
June 17, 2022.png)
Although I myself am not an expert in taking care of my clothing, I have definitely learned a few things along the way in how to keep my clothing in good quality, as well as mend them when I can, that way they last longer! These tips I am about to tell you are not meant to be perfect nor ideal, rather things we can all do that are practical, realistic and cost-efficient. One note I want to add before I continue is how important it is to truly take the time to take care of your clothing, whether that be paying attention to the labels on your garments when washing, taking the time to mend a hole or a rip, or cleaning off dirt marks on your shoes as soon as you can! Slowing down to prioritize taking care of the things we own allows us to see value and worth in our everyday things and prioritize the quality over quantity.
WASHING YOUR CLOTHING
It may seem like washing your clothing is not rocket science, until your favorite pants are 3 sizes down and your white tee is not white anymore. The number one most important thing you can do to take care of your clothing in order to sustain the longevity is to know how to wash your specific garments.
PAY ATTENTION TO THE LABELS
Care Labels, Coats.
We are ALL guilty of not reading or paying attention to the labels attached to our garments before we wash them. We are all busy people with things to do, places to go and people to see! Or...sometimes we just get lazy and can't be bothered to take the extra 10 seconds to read each label before we throw them in the wash. But let me tell you, it is incredibly important and a game changer once you start paying attention to how you should be washing and taking care of your clothing. If it says hand wash only...try your best to do so.
WASH LESS OFTEN
Washing your clothing often is not recommended. What it does is damage the fabric of your garment, not to mention uses an excessive amount of water each time. Clothing that isn't visibly dirty or have any stench or smell to it does not necessarily need to be washed. Wearing an item multiple times in a week is not bad at all and if need be, leaving your garment outside to air out or hanging it in a steamy bathroom is preferred! (Eco-Age).
WASH IN LOW/COLD TEMPERATURES
This one I have been implementing in my washing for the past year now and it has made a massive difference. You will see many of the care labels on our clothing require our garments to be washed in low and cold temperatures, and that is because it is less likely to shrink, fade, and damage the fabrics (Better Homes & Gardens). The exceptions to this rule would be when garments are heavily soiled, which hot water helps clean it and get rid of any germs and chemicals. Items that are delicate such as underwear and bras can be washed in hot water, provided the material is suited for such temperature.
"80% of the emissions produced from washing a t-shirt is during the 'in-use' stage from washing and drying, which is why washing at 30 degrees or less helps to reduce those emissions, while also protecting your clothes" (Eco-Age).
TUMBLE DRY IN LOW TEMPERATURES/AIR DRY
Depending on the fabric, most garments are required to be tumble dried in low temperatures. The exceptions would be heavier cotton, such as towels, or other heavier items, such as bedding. Tumble drying in high heat will most likely damage your garments, whether it be the fabric itself or shrinking in size. Washing in high temperatures and then drying in high temperatures is a recipe for disaster! This is why you would most often find do not tumble dry on a care label, because the specific garment will not do well in the tumble dryer.
What's better than tumble drying is leaving your garments out to air dry! If you can, it is recommended to air dry your garments, whether on a clothes line or laying on a drying rack inside. Drying machines use a lot of energy, specifically 1800 to 5000 watts, which equates to 1.8 to 5 kWh (kilowatt-hour) of electricity (Whirlpool). This is something I myself don't do as often but believe it is important and valuable to adopt in the long run!
SEPARATE YOUR WHITE CLOTHING FROM COLOUR CLOTHING(?)
I won't lie, it felt weird to type that out and I had to throw in the word clothing to not make it sound so segregative....Also, I would be lying if I said I did this.
I know it is recommended to separate your white garments from your coloured/darker garments, that way the colours are less likely to bleed onto others, however, I personally do not have that energy to sort it out, truly. In addition to that, I often then how water intensive that would be to do two separate washes, especially if you only have a single piece of white garment or even five at that. My eco-heart can't fathom putting on a whole cycle just for that, and trust me, I have done this before and I don't think I can do it again.
You might be thinking, wouldn't washing your clothes separately make your clothing last longer because it won't alter the colours, ultimately making it better? Sure! However, I personally have not experienced any colour alteration from mixing my whites and colours in a long while, so until then....try as I might.
Also, you don't have to listen to me. You do what you think is best for you!
MEND YOUR CLOTHING
This is something that can truly make or break your clothes. Often time it can be so easy to get rid of a pair of jeans or a top that has a rip or a hole or is missing a button, however instead of completely getting rid of it by either throwing it away or donating it, why not try fixing it yourself? It may seem like an intimidating venture, but it does not have to be perfect! You do not need to be an expert sewer nor own a sewing machine to mend your clothing.
Something as simple as picking up needle and thread at your local craft store (Dollarama for example is a great option) is perfect. You may run into the challenge of not having the right exact thread colour, and to that I say work with what you've got! You absolutely do not need to have the exact color of your garment, rather the closest matching one. Watch a video or two on easy ways to needle and thread and try it out on a random piece of cloth if you're not confident as yet. The more practice you have, the better you will get at it and the more confident you will be in mending that pesky hole in your mix match sock!
TIPS:
- I recommend keeping any loose buttons in a safe space where you can refer to it whenever you need to sew a new button. Sometimes depending on the garment, not all buttons need to match, especially on pants!
- In the same vein, try your best to keep those extra buttons that come with a new item you bought, as you never know when it will come in handy.
- When sewing a hole, make sure to do so from the inside out, that way the inner work of the threads will not be visibly seen.
- If trying to patch a garment, try finding unused fabric that matches the colour and texture of the garment and cut the approximate size of the patch/hole and sew from the inside out. This way, you won't see the excess fabric on the outside and you can make as much mess as you can from the inside!
SBS-Zipper, 2020.
CLEAN YOUR SHOES ASAP/REGULARLY
Better Homes and Gardens, 2020
The main purpose behind this post was to talk about how to take care of your shoes, as requested by my partner. I am definitely not an expert in taking care of shoes, however, from numerous experiences in trying to keep my white shoes clean, I have learnt a few (easy) tricks or two.
I know some folks wash their shoes in the washing machine, and to each their own, but I absolutely do not trust that because I either fear it will shrink, or, the idea of putting dirty rubber and plastic into a washing machine scares the sh*t out of me due to all the microplastics swimming about the place. We are not about it. That being said, shoes made from nylon, cotton and polyester are generally safe to wash in a washing machine. I personally just don't recommend it.
A method you can do to clean your shoes that is just as easy and less [water] intensive and most likely will do less damage to your shoes, is to simply use the soap and old toothbrush trick. I personally use toothpaste (white works best but I have also used coloured), with water and scrub my shoes and it does a pretty good job! The sodium bicarbonate in the toothpaste helps remove stains and whiten shoes, which helps if your shoes are white. If you don't have the generic toothpaste laying around because you have completely swapped to a more eco-friendly toothpaste, mild liquid laundry detergent or mild soap mixed with warm water does the trick as well!
One helpful tip is to remove the shoelaces if it comes with it and toss it in the wash with your other clothes. If you aren't currently doing a wash, you can also soak it in a bowl of warm water and mild soap, laundry detergent or baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and let it sit there for 10-15 minutes and scrub any excess dirt or stain off.
Because we use shoes almost everyday in our lives, it is best recommended to clean off any stains, dirt, mud etc. as soon as you can, that way it won't leave a long lasting stain. If you're out and about, try getting some sort of napkin, tissue or toilet paper with water to give it a clean and when you're home, do the same method as explained above. Realistically, we may not have that energy or time to give our shoes the TLC they deserve--perhaps when doing a load of wash, remind yourself to include your shoes as well! (Not necessarily in the wash, but more so giving it the attention it needs).
VIEW YOUR CLOTHING AS STORIES
Wunderman Thompson, 2021.
This may seem hippy dippy for most folks, but viewing our clothing as stories is as simple as valuing our garments with love, purpose and intention. It is so easy to devalue our clothing in this throw-away culture we live in and see more worth in purchasing clothing in quantity than the quality of the clothing itself.
Our clothing is not just a tool of safety and protection, rather an outer expression of our personality, character and identity. It is and can be much more than the cloth itself and that is something empowering to hold onto.
The clothes we wear can also hold stories and memories of a place, time or person. It can hold an abundance of memories we reminiscence over, or even moments we no longer want to hold onto. Passing it on without attachment can be a healthy way to move on without creating waste, as letting go is a form of healing.
Our clothing can do and provide so much for us without realizing it and what we choose to buy and how we choose to buy can make a difference in keeping our clothing in circulation and making it last longer. We take care of it by seeing its worth and by doing so, we treat it with respect. All garments deserve respect and thoughtful consideration, which is something we should all try to inhabit in our wardrobe!
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