Have you ever bought a new sweater and noticed that after one wash it looks absolutely horrible? How about a pair of jeans that suddenly fades after one or two washes? Finding that your clothing is not looking its best can be disheartening, especially if you paid a pretty penny for it.

Learning how to keep your clothes looking their best isn’t as hard as it may seem and can help you save quite a bit of money over time.

How to Keep your Clothes looking their BEST

Wash them less – This might be news to you, but your clothing doesn’t actually need to be washed every time you wear them unless you were sweaty or dirty when you wore it. This is especially true for jeans. Instead, wash them once every couple of wears to keep them looking their best. Not only will they look better, but you’ll be washing less often and saving money!

Line dry what you can – Dryers are not only notoriously hard on clothing, but they’re expensive too. By line drying what you can, you’ll not only save money but you’ll save your clothes too. If you don’t have room to run a true clothesline, you can pick up a drying rack fairly cheap. I always hand my up on the shower rod.

Treat stains immediately – If your clothing gets stained, try to treat the stain immediately. This will keep it from setting in and potentially being there for good. If you’re on the road or out running errands, picking up a Tide pen to keep in your purse can give you a way to treat them immediately.

Don’t pull lint or loose threads – Pulling lint of loose threads off of your clothing is one surefire way to help ruin it. Instead, to keep them looking their best, snip loose threads as close to the item as you can with sharp scissors and use a lint brush to remove lint.

Don’t use bleach – Bleach might be great for disinfecting, but it is horrible for your clothing. If you truly have something that needs to have that bleach effect, soak it in a bucket with lemon juice for a few hours. Then, hang it to dry in the sun. The combination of the acidic lemon juice and sunlight will bleach your item white again. Bonus? Saving money since you aren’t buying bleach!

Wash only in cold water – Finally, to help keep your clothes looking their best, wash them only in cold water. Hot water is not only harsh on the material, but it is a fantastic way to shrink your clothes. By washing them in cold water on the recommended cycle.

Use the proper amount of detergent – Most people are using entirely too much detergent and doing so can have a very negative effect on your clothing. The reason for this is that even with a second rinse, you’ve used so much soap that there is still a soapy residue left on your clothing. This residue doesn’t come out of your clothes once it dries and can actually affect how durable the item is.

Depending on your occupation, your clothing can actually help define who you are. The best way to keep them looking their best and avoid your having to spend a ton of cash, wash them in cold water on the recommended cycle with the proper amount of detergent then line dry them. Doing your laundry with this process will ensure that your clothes stay new looking for as long as possible.