Proper care pays for itself

 

Photo: Ikea

1. Think Before You Wash: there is no need to thrust every garment into the washing machine as soon as you have used it once. These simple guidelines should minimize your laundry bill.
2. Clothing once worn should be at least shaken, or better, brushed and aired before hanging in the cupboard. Shoes should be dusted and trees placed in them as soon as they are removed, in order to preserve the shape.
3. Garments should be pressed as often as seems necessary to keep the wearer well groomed. Spots should be removed as soon as discovered, the process depending upon the nature of the spot and the material spotted. The ammonia, baking and stain remover are very useful.
4. Pay swift attention to the repair of small rips and tears, to sewing on buttons which have become loosened, replacing lost snap fasteners, and reattaching bits of trimming. Attending to these little jobs will save time in the end, and often embarrassment.
5. All dust and dirt should be brushed from all outer clothing as soon as it is removed. Woolen and silk garments may be brushed. Various types of brushes are ideal for this purpose: short bristle brushes for woolen material; a whisk broom for any general brushing, and a soft bristled brush for silk and velvet. It is well to keep a scrap of velvet at hand for brushing the dust of silk or satin dresses.
6. Underclothing and hosiery should never be allowed to become so soiled that much soap and hard rubbing are necessary to clean them. Blood stains, fresh or dried, may be removed completely before machine washing. Sheer stockings should be washed after each wearing, for two reasons: washing removes perspiration and grit which injure the fibre, and also changes the places where the strain in wearing comes. To quickly hand-wash tights in the evening, simply rub the feet onto a dampened soap and squeeze the soap through the fabric in a basin of warm water before rinsing out and hanging to drip dry.
7. Pressing garments at home is a great saving of expense. Careful pressing is as necessary a process in the successful making of a garment as are careful cutting and careful stitching. It blends the seams together and gives to the whole a trim tailored finish. It is also the secret weapon in keeping clothes looking as though they had just been made when wearing then during the years to come.