When it comes to clothes, I am a firm believer in quality over quantity. I much prefer to invest in fewer good quality clothes and shoes than loads of poor quality goods that fall apart after a couple of washes.

The only downside to this, is the better quality your clothes are, the more likely they are to have more expensive cleaning requirements. I know some frugalites say they buy nothing more than wash-and-wear because it means keeping the cost of cleaning down, but the thought of living in nothing but wash-and-wear makes me feel blue. However, the reality is that no one can live in just silk and cashmere, so a certain amount of easy-wash fabrics are included in everyone’s wardrobe – but you can make them last as long as possible by looking after them properly. You will save money in the long run.

So, in the interests of maintaining my clothes well and therefore needing to buy new things less often, I have discovered lots of tricks to getting around expensive laundering costs. Here are my favourite tips.

Silks
Unfortunately a very expensive silk garment will need to be dry-cleaned; there’s no getting around it. However, I have found that with silk garments from places like Topshop and Zara you can get by with a gentle hand wash in cold water. Use a very gentle hand wash detergent, fill the bath with cold water, swish your clothes around and drip dry on a hanger. Remember to use clean water between each item because silk colours will run slightly.

Jersey
I am a sucker for jersey fabrics right now, but if you bung them in the wash (even according to their washing instructions) you can end up with yucky pilling before long. I prefer to wash them gently in cold water by hand (as above) and drip dry; especially because the spin cycle in the washing machine (even the gentle one) will misshape jersey fabrics very easily.

Wool and cashmere
Run lukewarm water in the tub and use a specialist gentle liquid wool wash detergent.  Turn items inside out and gently swish in the tub without rubbing, stretching or wringing. Drain the tub and rinse garments with the shower head until water runs clear. Press the water out of the garments without wringing, lift gently (they will easily stretch while wet so be careful) and reshape before drying flat on a clean towel.

Delicate lingerie
Never put delicate lingerie in the washing machine, not even in a garment bag. They so easily get ruined and bent out of shape if you do. Once again, I use a delicate liquid detergent and hand wash them in the tub in warm water. Then leave them to drip dry over the shower rail.

Wash and wear
For the rest of my clothing that only requires bunging in the washing machine, I still take more care than the label instructs, because washing machines are brutal. I use liquid detergent, cold water (or warm at the most, never hot) and a low spin cycle speed. I also never use fabric softener because they can actually make your clothes dull and ruin some fabrics (not to mention the havoc they wreak on washing machines); and I NEVER put anything in the clothes dryer. I don’t even own one. Clothes dryers are the enemy of keeping your clothes in good shape for as long as possible!

Sheepskin
Like any Australian, I have a healthy collection of ugg boots to keep my feet cosy at home (And ONLY at home. Sorry, but if you wear ugg boots in public you should be ashamed of yourself. You look like a Telly Tubby!), and cleaning them is pretty straightforward. Most spills only require a wipe with a clean damp sponge. However, I recently spilled oil on them and thought they were ruined until I found a tip that said to sprinkle talcum powder on the spill to absorb the oil; leave for a few minutes and brush clean. Repeat a couple of times if necessary. It worked.

Do you have any good clothes cleaning tips to share?