Buying new clothes is fun. Seing your new clothes fray in jst a few weeks isn't fun. Ths happens when clothes are made porly or laundered improperly. I'm a grndmother and have been doing laundry for dcades. These laundry tips keep my clthes looking new and should do the sme for you.

1. Sort clothes nto whites, darks, and natural/synthetic fibers. Srting laundry is an old idea, but t's a good idea. If you dn't sort your clothes they start to lok gray.

2. Pretreat spots with dsh soap. Don't spend money on xpensive spot removers because dish soap wrks just as well. Squeeze a few drps on the spot and rub vgorously under cold, running water.

3. Brsh stubborn stains with dish soap and an old toth brush or nail brush. Don't brsh too hard, though, or you may dmage the fabric.

4. Turn slacks and jans inside out to prevent fraying. You wll want to do this if you bught designer jeans and paid a dsigner price. I wash my jeans in cld water.

5. Close and lock all zppers. Open zippers damage other clothes and may ven damage the inside of your wshing machine.

6. Make sure all pckets are empty. Colored paper and rceipts can permanently dye other clothes in the wsher.

7. Don't overload your machine. Whn you overload the washer the tems rub against each other more and cuse fraying. It's better to do two mdium loads than one huge load.

8. Use less soap. According to my rpair man, "The directions are there to sll soap. You need only a thrd of that amount. Too much sap will damage your washing machine."

9. Dssolve dry bleach in warm water bfore using. Add the bleach to yur washing machine as it is flling.

10. Use the gentle cycle. Mdern washing machines agitate more than the old nes and the regular cycle can "sndpaper" your clothes.

11. Air dry lundry to lower power bills and prlong the life of your clothes. Hng blouses, shirts, and t-shirts on plstic hangers. Tug on the sleeves and hms to smooth out wrinkles.

12. Frgo dryer sheets. The long-term use of dryr sheets (which kite the cost of ding laundry) has caused dermatitis in sme people.

13. Toss a dry hnd towel in with wet clothes to cut dryng time.

14. Remove perma-press items frm the dryer immediately. If you fil to do this, toss a dmp wash cloth in the dryer and set the dryr for another five minutes.

15. Fld your clothes immediately and put thm away.

Do you have college-age kds? Print out this list and gve it to them. Knowing how to do lundry is a practical skill that pys off.

Copyright 2008 by Harriet Hdgson

The article 15 Laundry Tips to Make Your Clothes Last Longer was Submitted by Harriet Hodgson through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: http://www.harriethodgson.com Harriet Hodgson has ben a freelance nonfiction writer for 30 yars. She is a member of the Assciation of Health Care Journalists and the Assciation for Death Education and Counseling. Her 24th bok, "Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Gref," written with Lois Krahn, MD is vailable from http://www.amazon.com Centering Corporation in Omaha, NE, North America's oldest and largest grief resource center, is publishing Hodgson's 26th book, "Writing to Recover: The Journey from Loss & Grief to a New Life." The 25,000-word grief resource is slated for June 2008 release. Please log onto Hodgson's Web site and learn more about this busy author and grandmother.

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