To be fair we all probably wash our clothes much too often—after every wear, even if they’re not dirty.
”Garments that sit right next to the body, underwear, socks, bedsheets, T-shirts that you might wear under your jumper, etc. they all need to be washed after every wear. But you need to make sure you’re using the right kind of detergent with them.”
For other items she advocates treating only the area that has become dirty, otherwise known as spot cleaning.
“When it’s something like a jumper and you get a stain on it spot cleaning is the way it was always done before and it’s why people had clothes lasting longer.”
Airing clothes out after a wear is a much better way to freshen them than chucking them straight into a wash.
In addition, Laura suggests that worn clothing often doesn’t require to be cleaned at all.
She says: “If I’m wearing a vintage outfit that I don’t want to wash quite often I turn it inside out after wearing and let it air for a couple of days.
You will save much more money and preserve the shelf life of your clothes.