@nffcnnr: To add to #1: Undershirts. Even under tshirts (like expensive Threadless tshirts). It amazes me how many people don't wear basic undershirts. They keep your body filth from the fabric of your nicer outer garments and allow you more wears between washes.

I'm a fan of the basic tagless FotL brand; I even bought a couple packs in black with pockets for general around-the-house wearing. Can't beat 'em, especially for the price.

CountryJustice

For suits, only send them to be dry cleaned once or twice a year. I've read that advice in a number of places and heard it directly from a number of tailors.

To keep them in good shape between cleanings, let them air out with some steam (hang 'em in the bathroom when you take a shower, for example) every once in a while.

For dress shirts - I just wash them on the least aggressive setting and dry them on the lowest heat setting.

If its a good quality piece of clothing to begin with, it should last for several years.

Christopher

1. Wear clothing 2-3 times between washes. Use "Fabreze" spray and dryer sheets in drawers and closets to keep garmets fresh.
2. Wash colors in cold water, inside out.
3. Obey "dry clean only" tags.
4. Never let 'em see you sweat.

nffcnnr

@Asian Angel: I hear you on the detergent. We tried to use ECOS eco-friendly detergent and it got oil spots all over our clothes. I wrote to the company and they never responded. Tide HE for me from now on.

Thunderpants

1. A good quality detergent (not that super cheap never heard of it before brand)...nothing ruins good clothing (looks, etc.) quicker than cheap/bad detergents in my experience. Best detergent experience has been with Cheer...

2. Cold water wash everything (except for occasionally using the hot water setting for bed pillows, etc...)

3. Always use the lowest heat setting or air-dry...

Asian Angel

I have had good success at preserving the blackness of a black pair of jeans by always washing them inside out.

Armbie

In addition to the above, wear an undershirt with sleeves (i.e. no wifebeaters) to help you get more than one use out of a shirt. Same goes for underpants- no commando.

tinyhands

Wear fewer clothes!

gpzbc

@Thunderpants: I can only imagine how you must have felt when you saw what that detergent did to your clothes. O__O

Asian Angel

Buy higher quality clothes to begin with. Better construction results in better fitting clothes and a longer lifespan.

Do not overload your washing machine. Your clothes will get cleaner. Consider washing most of your clothes inside out.

Do not use fabric softeners or dryer sheets; the chemicals break down fibers.

Air dry, do not use a dryer (which bashes up the fibers).

Deprong Mori

Military surplus! If your fashion sense will allow it, BDUs (TLA for Battle Dress Uniform) are a military spec type of cargo pants made of extremely durable material and designed to stand up to, well, battle. At the same time, they're extremely comfortable and, at least on the west coast, can easily pass as a slightly less formal alternative to slacks. I have several pairs that have stayed presentable for over 5 years, requiring no more upkeep than occasionally reattaching a button or redyeing them if they fade.

The same holds true for many other items, most particularly jackets, boots, and T-shirts. If nothing else, these are a great alternative for outdoor wear if you don't want to spend 3-4x as much for something from a sporting goods store.

Finally, I mentioned re-dyeing BDU pants; this is a valuable technique for a wide variety of clothing. For $5 in dye, $1 in salt, and, if you don't have one already, a bucket, you can breathe new life into all manner of clothing, either by reinforcing fading colors or by putting a darker color on an otherwise serviceable article with some intractable stains.

loopgru

Another thing is to wear clothing that is old or very scant while at home and its warm in the house etc. Dressing in just panties and a tank top for instance takes the pressure of the casual wardrobe and is generally more comfortable. You find you can go much of the weekend without wearing much of anything.

angielouwhos

also avoid fabric softner it basically is coating your clothes in chemicals that will over time (and a short period of time at that) break down the fibers of the clothing

numike

Buttons: don't keep them in a box, sew them to the inside of your cuff (for shirts) or inside the waistband (for pants). That way you're not searching for the button that matches. Also, if you lose a button while outside, if you happen to have a sewing kit with you, you don't have to wait until you're at home to fix it.

Make full use of your wardrobe. If you have a lot of clothes, wear them. Don't just wear your favorite clothes. That way, you make use of what you own, and it's less wear and tear on your favs because you're wearing/washing them less often.

goodywitch

Wear a plastic rain poncho under and over your shirt.

Seriously though, if you have pets, hang your clothes up the instant you get home, and covering them in plastic is not a bad idea as pet hair will find its way into anything. Use a lent brush before and after wearing.

The funny thing is, half the clothes you see in stores these days already look beaten to hell. So, if you're cheap, take care of your clothes. If you're rich, pay extra to have them torn up before you buy them.

SamburgerHandwich

Simply change clothes as soon as you get home.

Taking off your clothes reduces all the unnecessary wear and tear.

Put your PJ's or tatty jeans and shirt on.

Kendra

I've been washing my clothes in cold water, skipping fabric softener, and taking my pants off when I get home all these years because I'm cheap, lazy, and more comfortable with no pants on, but it turns out I was caring for my clothing? Bonus!

Mecha-Shiva

@numike: I quit using fabric softener a year ago and I notice absolutely no difference in the softness or staticy-ness of my clothes.

fonzette

Avoid garments that are dry clean only.

For those inevitable items (e.g. suits) use a clothes steamer. A simple hand held clothes steamer keeps clothes fresh and well pressed. Buy one that allows you to use regular tap water and just make sure you empty it completely between uses.

Actually a clothes steamer is good for just about anything that might benefit from being ironed or pressed ... and it is so much easier. A great way to freshen and de-wrinkle between washes.

elanne

White vinegar added to a load of whites makes them brighter. Also great for getting those blue stains out that appear from nowhere (after stain-treating, can take a couple of washes *without drying*).

fanwoman

@Asian Angel: I used to use Tide all the time; more recently I go with Melaleuca for linens (smells great) and SA-8 for everything else. I get both through friends. SA-8 took Tide's place as the Consumer Report's Best Buy last year.

The SA-8 took some stains out of my kids' clothes that I thought were set in from using "natural" detergents. I was quite thrilled to see those clothes looking new to almost new again!

WomanWithManyHats

Delicate garment bags. Especially for the ladies - put your underwear in them and wash on cold, gentle cycle. But the bags work nicely for anything that's delicate. You can get them for $3 just about anywhere.

atashida

We grew up with playclothes. You got home from school and you changed out of your school clothes and into playclothes. I do that over the weekend but I pity anyone who runs into me dressed like that.
Use the timed drying feature (if you have one) on the dryer. It has a sensor that tells you when the clothing is dry enough for you. You can set it from very dry to damp. [www.aftercancernowwhat.wordpress.com]

katbur2

I put all of my bras in garment bags while they're washing & hang them to dry so they don't get lumpy or stretched out. Same goes for anything with long ties or straps that might get tangled around other clothes & knot or stretch.

Everything is washed in Warm/Cold or Cold/Cold water except for whites, towels, linens & socks/underwear. Dark shirts & anything with a graphic printed on it gets flipped inside-out during washing.

I only put socks/underwear, towels, linens, and cheap/easy to replace things like tank tops in the dryer. Most everything else is hung to dry which saves energy as well as your clothing. Anything stretchy or elastic will benefit from not being heated to unusually high temperatures that will cause them to lose their stretchiness.

Jeans always get re-worn 2-3 times unless they're visibly dirty or smelly. Occasionally, if they're a little icky after the first wear, I'll put them to the side and wear them again if I have a "dirty job" to do later in the week.

xskeptictankx

When you get new clothes, first put them in a rinse cycle with salt in the rinse water. It will set the dyes so they will fade more slowly.

Another thing: don't wash whites after doing a load of brights or darks! This is where those mystery stains can come from.

Finally, to do more laundry in less time (which is a $$ saver), do your "thinner" laundry first: light-colored sheets, followed by light-colored shirts/blouses, followed by light-colored knits; then switch to thinner brights, then knit brights; then thinner darks (sheets, shirts/blouses) then knits & towels. This way the thin loads get dry faster, so you don't have a load souring in the washer while the load in the dryer is still only half-dry. If you have to do light towels later in the cycle, it's best to run an empty rinse to rinse away any dyes still in the machine.

WomanWithManyHats

Always washing things inside out and top and bottom buttons buttoned is a smart move.

For slacks, I tend to wear out the bottom cuff long before the pants wear elsewhere. To combat this I buy the iron-on patches you can buy at a pharmacy and iron them on the inside of the cuff just above where they would be noticeable. I works great for dress pants, though I doubt it would help jeans.

mdlawmba

@angielouwhos: Good answer.

freshjulius

A childhood acquaintance who now owns a shoe store strongly recommended that I use shoe trees. He said they can extend a shoe's life by about three times. I do this now not only for dress shoes but also with my casual shoes, tennis shoes, hiking boots, etc. My largest problem now with shoes is the soles wearing out.

Buy good quality shoe trees. They are not that expensive and will last a lifetime. Cedar wood, spring loaded. They not only help enforce the shoe's shape; more importantly, they absorb moisture and protect the shoe's material. The most important/critical time for use is the first hour after you take the shoes off, when they are still damp from your feet. Put the shoe trees in as soon as you take your shoes off. But I will usually leave the trees in overnight and, if I'm not rewearing the shoe, at least 24 hours.

Also, for dress shoes, regular polishing with a good quality polish (not one of those quickie "smear-ons") protects the leather. Polishing is not just for looks; it protects your investment. It may be a bit wasteful, but I just wear a pair of latex gloves while polishing. It makes the job a lot cleaner and I'm more inclined to do it as I'm not worried about getting stains off of my hands.

PasBesoin

I really need to get new washer and dryers. My dryer has no setting except for on and the washer never seems to mix things properly. Luckily everyone in Vegas is foreclosing so I can get great deals on everything home related on craigslist!

marc_with_a_c

@WomanWithManyHats: Dear god that sounds like a lot of separate loads. I'm happy that I separate my whites and colors. I barely get them done in that fashion.

marc_with_a_c

@gpzbc: Become a nudist!

kalenoble

Screw that noise! I'm cutting my grass today in my Brooks Brother's suit and cordovan wingtips with my 2.99 walmart safety glasses.

kbporter

@SamburgerHandwich: "lent" brushes are interesting idea. Can they eat meat of Fridays? Do they roll up all the beads from Fat Tuesday.

I kid, I kid.

ARP

Shop at goodwill. You won't feel guilty about only getting 2 years out of a pair of diesel or levi jeans that you only spent 4 bucks on.

Ryan Fisher

Avoid "dry clean only" clothing whenever possible. Too expensive to maintain if you have much of it...and a pain to deal with (i.e. dropping it off, picking it up).

Rogue

Or, as the Romans said, "Semper ubi, sub ubi."

FairfaxPlover

@atashida: I forgot all about them. I used to use them for baby socks and dress socks as well so they didn't get lost. Thanks for the reminder.

katbur2

SRSLY
Wasted many good clothes on stupid ways. Ripped my $100 jeans jumping over a fence. Right now I'm wearing my calvin klein shorts, all greased up because i was doing bike maintenance on them. And when i need to go out with my gf, all i have available are the $1 shirts and ripped shoes.

fonfa

I hang-dry nearly all my shirts/blouses , anything delicate, all my skirts and so on. They get much less wear and tear that way. For the most part the only things that go into the dryer are jeans, t-shirts, socks and towels/linens.

I have two metal bars hanging in my laundry area, one shorter one above the washer and dryer to hold spare hangers and a longer one for hanging clothes. That plus a good supply of decent hangers (I got pretty much a lifetime supply of good department-store type hangers at an auction for $5 -- six years later I still have most of them) makes it a lot easier to hang things to dry. The cheapie wire hangers always seem to make things dry funny, dents in the shoulders and such, but good hangers let things dry in the right shape.

daisyheadmaisie