Tips on How to Keep Your Clothes Clean and Organized

Clothes are with us and on us throughout our life. Whatever the challenge, they take the hit. With proper care, clothes can serve us for years, if not decades, and even be passed on to future generations. The question is how to clean our clothes and organize them in order to make them last? In this post, a reputable Manhattan maid service shares its secrets of clean and tidy closets.

Easy tips on proper clothes cleaning

Sort your laundry before washing

Most people know clothes should be sorted by color (at least divided to darks and lights) to avoid color bleeding. However, New York City cleaning service experts also suggest sorting laundry by type of clothes, such as swimsuits, bedding, towels, delicates, etc., as they require different temperatures and approaches.

Prewash stains in advance

If you’ve got a heavily stained clothing to wash, soak it in cold water for an hour or two before washing or treat the stains with a stain remover or detergent to facilitate the task for your washing machine.

Opt for short and cold when possible

Cold water and a short cycle are always a safe option, so if you doubt how to wash your favorite T-shirt, go with the shortest and coldest cycle to avoid possible shrinking. Hot longer cycles are better for jeans, towels, and white bedding.

Do not overdo with detergent

More detergent doesn’t mean cleaner clothes. In fact, this extra portion of detergent may leave an ugly whitish residue on laundry and cause color fading.

Turn dark clothing inside out

Colorful fabrics rub agains each other in a washing machine, causing color fading. Turning them them inside out before washing helps retain the vibrancy of colors.

Learn your dryer settings

In most dryers, the normal cycle is too hot for all clothes except for towels and denim. So to avoid shrinking, ensure you choose a lower temperature. Shirts are better off if air-dried on wooden hangers rather than dried in a dryer because it may ruin the fabric and leave you with a shirt one size smaller.

Wash swimsuits and underwear by hand

Even though it’s tempting to throw everything into the washing machine and then into the dryer, with delicates such as swimsuits and underthings, technology can do you a disservice, ruining the elastics. So if you want your delicates last, wash them by hand with a gentle detergent (or even shampoo) at cold temperature and then let them air-dry on a rack.

Treat your jeans with care

Even though many people swear by never washing their jeans to protech the fabric, there is nothing beautiful in dirty, smelly, or sagging-at-the-knees jeans. A mild proper wash will neither ruin fabric, nor damage the color. Just ensure that you turn them inside our to retain that beautiful hue, and use the lowest temperature possible for jeans containing elastics. For washing black or dark jeans, use a special detergent for black items.

How to properly organize items in your closet

Just as we cannot wash all kinds of clothes in the same way, neither can we store them in the same way. Some clothing items are better off in a drawer, while others will thrive on hangers. And still, there is a short list of things that should be stored neatly folded on the shelves. Maids from the above-mentioned cleaning services in New York are happy to share their best clothes organizing practices.

1.    Keep your closet only for current season items

Think about storing your off-season clothing elsewhere to make room in your closet for the proper display of your seasonal items. Ideally, clothes should be arranged loosely, without being tightly packed. So, take everything out of your closet and sort the clothes into piles by season, making separate piles for clothes you want to donate or toss. Before you put your current-season stuff back in the closet, clean it by wiping all its surfaces using a microfiber cloth and all-purpose surface cleaner.

2.    Know what to put where (hanger, drawer, or shelf?)

Keep your drawers for smaller items such as underwear, sports bras, socks, accessories, etc. Dresses, shirts, blouses, skirts, and jackets are better off on hangers with some space between them, while knit sweaters and T-shirts will better retain their form if stacked folded on a shelf. Putting these items on hangers would cause ugly sagging on shoulders and make your clothes stretch under its own weight. Denim is unpretentious when it comes to storing. Put it wherever comfortable for you. However, just like with your sweaters and T-shirts, ensure all your jeans are clearly displayed, so you can see the assortment well to create versatile outfits.

3.    Get creative with organizing your stuff

Consider buying shelf dividers, containers, bins, or other storage organizers that help store clothes more efficiently and keep your closet tidy all the time. Some creative means include even suitcases, paper shopping bags, boxes, and vases where you can neatly store your delicate accessories.