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How to Make Your Clothes Last Longer Without Spending Big
Stanbic IBTC team
Not applicable

They say “clothes don't make the man”, but few people are seen without them. We know clothes cost a lot of money and you want them to last as long as possible. To protect your sartorial investments, we have some tips that can help you spend less on your wardrobe.

1. Know yourself - The first step in maintaining your clothes is to be aware of your clothes’ cleaning limits. So, if you can’t afford to dry-clean your clothes, don’t buy dry-clean-only clothes. You’ll only regret it later when you can’t be bothered with the cost or hassle of upkeep, and you’ll either have to get rid of the clothes, or wear them wrinkled.

2. Colour wisely - If you have a habit of spilling food down your front, there’s no shame in wearing lots of dark colours. Dark colours like brown, charcoal gray and navy blue hide a multitude of clumsy moments.

3. Folding vs. hanging - Make sure that you don’t fold clothes that need to be hung and don’t hang clothes that need to be folded. Sweaters stretch on the hanger and dress shirts don’t do well when folded, unless you are an expertly masterful folder.

4. Dress for the task at hand - It can be tempting to simply get messy chores done while wearing whatever it is we wore at work, but that’s a fast way to ruin work clothes. If tackling a potentially dirty project, don’t do it in a dress shirt and trousers. Also, please wear an apron while cooking.

5. Stop laundering so often – Generally, the fewer times you wash, the longer the clothes will last. Washing is the fastest way to help the fibres break down.

6. Keep all those buttons - Every time you buy a new clothing item that comes with spare buttons, immediately put the buttons in a container reserved entirely for buttons and spare thread. It’s easy to lose track of these important surplus buttons, and it’s one of the fastest ways for a cardigan to become useless.

These are all proven ways to care for your clothing and extend their wearability. Use these preventive measures always to preserve your wardrobe and in turn, your wallet.

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This post was written by Ugodre Obi-Chukwu, a chartered accountant and Founder of Resourcedat, Nigeria’s first online document and data sharing website. He asks intuitive questions to try to demystify popular norms that affect the way people live, think and spend money.