Ah, the first day of spring is here. The weather is warming up, which means it’s time to put away winter clothes. Seems like a simple task, but I’ve gotten it wrong. So, today I’m sharing what I’ve learned about cleaning and storing clothes. I am by no means an expert. In fact, I confess that I hate doing laundry. For many years I didn’t pay attention, which meant I ruined things. Cue self loathing over shrunken shirts, pink clothes that used to be white, and other laundry mishaps.
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Last year, I pulled out of my favorite dresses to wear, only to realize there was a stain on the front.
What the hell?! I was positive that I had laundered it before putting it away. And yet, here was this brown stain. Did I not wash it thoroughly? Was something dirty stored next to it and somehow the dirt/food/whatever transferred? After soaking it in a mix of laundry detergent, water, and vinegar, and then soaking it again in an OxiClean solution for six hours, the stain lifted. Whew.
After that I went on a closet cleaning frenzy, determined to prevent this scenario again. I cleaned everything. Here’s what I learned.
Laundry Tips
1. Sort not only by color but by fabric. When using the washing machine for clothes, I wash in cold water. (My go-to detergents are Seventh Generation or Method because they’re biodegradable, though they still come in plastic bottles which I’d like to cut down on, so I might switch to powder. Method does sell refill packets.) I try to group items not only by color, but by fabric too. Synthetics go into a Guppyfriend to catch the microfibers. (I just got it, so I’ll review it later. Edit: Here’s the review.) And if something has a zipper, like pants, I zip them shut so that the teeth won’t rub against other clothes. One thing that I do now that I never used to is read the care labels. Lifehacker has a nice chart explaining what all the symbols mean.
2. Avoid the dryer. No matter what the chart says, though, I hang up or lay flat to dry. (Except for socks, underwear, towels, etc, in which case I throw in some dryer balls to help keep things separated and to increase airflow.) The dryer is what does the most damage to your clothes. According to this study, high heat can damage the fibers. Heat can also cause shrinkage. Not only does avoiding the dryer help your clothes last longer, but it saves energy. I use this drying rack from IKEA and to maximize room, I also hang clothes on hangers all around the edges. You can find similar ones like this and this. (But I don’t recommend this kind, because there’s not enough room for the clothes to spread out.)
Detergents I use for hand washing: Forever New and Soakwash.
3. Use the appropriate detergent for the fiber. I’ve read that fibers from animals, such as wool and cashmere, are naturally acidic, so you can’t just use any old detergent on them. Some might have a high PH level that’s too harsh. In any case, when hand washing more delicate garments, I go for something gentle. I used to use Woolite because that’s what my mom used. But Woolite has a kind of slimy feeling to me. For lingerie, I’ve switched to Forever New, a citrus-based biodegradable powder that dissolves in water. It was formulated especially for lingerie. For everything else, I use Soakwash, an all-purpose detergent that works with pretty much all fabrics, including wool, cashmere, and silk. It’s biodegradable, phosphate-free, dye-free, and sulphate-free. It’s also doesn’t require rinsing, which took a little getting use to.
Be careful with silk, though, because it’s not always colorfast. Sometimes when silk is labeled dry clean only, this is why! (Sadly, I speak from experience.) One trick you might have heard about silk is to give it a rinse with a little bit of white vinegar to restore its luster. Then, rinse again with water. Another material to be extra careful with is wool. Make sure that you can wash it in water. Some wool shrinks in water! Again, if the label says dry clean only, then that might be the reason why. These days, I read labels when considering whether to buy a garment to see if it’s something I can wash myself or not.
With all hand-washed items, never wring water out. It’s alright to give things a good squeeze, though. For larger items like sweaters, I put them on a clean towel, roll the whole thing up, then squeeze. Lay flat to dry. If the sweaters dry with wrinkles, I use a steamer briefly on them.
4. Try a steamer. For those few things that can’t be dunked in water, I use a handheld steamer. (The Wirecutter recommends this one.) Sure, there are some items that I take to the dry cleaners (like blazers or certain dresses), but I really try to minimize using the dry cleaners because of the chemicals. In fact, sometimes a steamer does a better job. Once, I took a pencil skirt with a stubborn stain to the dry cleaners, but they couldn’t get it out, even after two tries. My steamer did, though. Turns out the stain was a water mark. I’ve heard from a shopkeeper acquaintance that a professional steamer is amazing and can get wrinkles out in no time. If I had room, I’d get one of those because I really, really hate ironing.
5. Wash clothes sparingly but definitely wash them before you put them away for storage. I should backup here and say that my very first step in preserving clothes is to not wash them that often. The physical process of washing clothes can weaken the fibers. Over time, this causes fabric to thin. So, to extend the life of my garments, I generally rewear them. After a day of wear, I air them out and hang them back in my closet. (Tips below for how I keep it all organized.) Since San Francisco isn’t too warm for the most part, I can even get away with rewearing a T-shirt several times. I only wash something when it starts to smell or when I’m putting it away for storage for a while.
Clothing Storage Tips
1. Use cotton storage. The biggest change I made to my closet was in how I stored things. First, I decided to invest in some proper garment bags. I had random bags from department stores and other places, but they were made out of plastic. I wanted something made out of natural fibers to allow the garments to breathe while still protecting them from dust and bugs.
Natural Cotton Gusseted Hanging Bags – $17.99-$19.99
I found these cotton ones at the Container Store and bought several. Because they have a 4″ gusset, you can actually get several items into one bag. I also bought some cotton shoulder covers to put over some of my coats that I don’t wear year round.
Natural Cotton Shoulder Covers – 2 for $9.99
For storing sweaters, I did something my frugal immigrant mom would be proud of. While many lovely storage boxes exist out there for sweaters (like these linen ones with windows), I am not paying $30 per box — especially since they only have a two-sweater capacity. That adds up fast! I ended up buying some large square pillow cases (cheapest cotton ones I found were from IKEA). After depilling my sweaters with an electric defuzzer, I fold and stack them neatly, then put them in a pillow case, folding the edges underneath. (Sorry, Marie Kondo, but I’m not storing sweaters upright.) Again, the idea is to keep them from dust and other dangers but to let them breathe.
I’m also a fan of these canvas storage bins, which are relatively lightweight and come in several sizes. While they are open at the top, I usually drape some fabric or a dust bag over the top. There’s a pocket on two sides to slip in a label, and they’re moderately priced. Everyone’s got a storage bin labeled “winter glamour” filled with faux fur, right?
Fabric Storage Bins – $9.99 – $14.99
2. Keep your clean clothes separate from ones you’ve worn. This is kind of a no-brainer, but I wasn’t doing this before, so I reorganized my entire closet. For the most part, I organize by type of item, and then color. So all my skirts are together, all my tops, etc. (The exception to this rule are my dresses, which are organized by style, not color. For example, all my sheath dresses for work are next to one another.)
Within each section, once I have worn an item, I move it over to an area within that section consisting of other items I have worn. How do I remember what I’ve worn and what I haven’t? I separate them with empty hangers. Clean clothes are to the left of the hangers, and worn clothes are to the right.
Well, there you have it. My practical tips for taking care of your clothes. Part of cultivating a sustainable wardrobe means taking care of the stuff you have so that they will last longer. It’s also nice for your pocket book. Hope this has been helpful. Do you have any clothing care tips?
First Image: rocknwool/Unsplash
UPDATE 5/2/22 – Made a little Reel about my sweater washing and storage process. Because I moved and have less closet space now, I switched to storing my off-season clothes in stackable plastic boxes with some cedar.
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We have very similar clothes-drying practices! I only ever put household linens, ratty old tees that I use as pajamas, sweatpants, and socks in the dryer.
I’ve also found silk to be very fussy and unpredictable. I generally handwash it by soaking them one or two items at a time (white or beige together, or two very dark colored items) for <15 minutes with cold water, The Laundress delicates wash, and some white vinegar, and then rinsing out with cold water. I haven't had any issues with the colors, though some of the dye for the dark colors does come out in the water when handwashing, and it can look a bit alarming. Sometimes, the fabric doesn't quite have the same texture as before when they dry. I still don't have a good process for stain removal from silk – I've left weakened or discolored spots in fabric from my past attempts.
Silk is so tricky! So much so that sometimes I’m afraid to buy silk. I’ve definitely noticed the texture change with some items, like a skirt that was made out of a thicker silk fabric. It came out crunchier feeling than before I washed it.
This is so helpful. I always struggle with washing my sweaters.
Glad to help. Sweaters can definitely be tricky. Some people even get dedicated sweater drying racks.
That’s a good idea.