Frugal / Thrifty tip | November 2015 | Look after your clothes

This might sound like a really simple tip, however ignoring this can be quite costly.

I went through a phase of clothes shopping all the time, I never had anything 'nice', to wear and I always waned new things. Below are a few simple things that I should have done to save some money in this area.

• Firstly, I should have given more consideration when purchasing. Rather than, Ooh that's nice, I like it and I'm having it - I should have considered the fabric, the washing/care instructions and also what can I wear this with? Is it really me? Will I like it in 1 months/2 months time? Will I get much wear out of it?
• Check the labels - if it says hand wash, think, can you truly be bothered to hand-wash? if the answer is no I would suggest not purchasing. I have simply used the hand wash setting on my machine for items like this in the past and I have to say that you cant beat hand washing with your hands, it takes longer, yes it's quite a bit of effort but you will get so much more life out of your clothes, it really is worth it.
  
  

• Follow the label, don't wash something at too high a temperature and don't tumble dry things that aren't for the tumble drier, I have learned the hard way and have many teeny tiny items of clothing and 'Capri' trousers.

Hand washing couldn't be easier. I make sure the sink is clean and free of any products that may harm my clothes, alternatively I use a clean bath tub, it depends how much I have to wash. I am quite lazy so I tend to not have too much for hand washing and I let the pile of hand wash items build up so I have deal with them in bulk.

I have a simple hand wash powder that I purchased from tesco for?? and it has lasted me years! I fill the sink with warm water and the soap using the instructions on the pack, dunk the items in give them a good swish around, concentrating on areas of the garment that may be dirtiest. I give a couple of rinses afterwards in cool to warm water. I then use my usual fabric softer and mix with warm water, I agitate the clothes in this for a little bit, leave to stand for 20 minutes and then agitate again. I then rinse this of and ring out the clothing gently before placing near a radiator or outside depending on the time of year.