Thanks to Target for sponsoring this post!
As we transition into fall, I wanted to do a quick article with some tips that I have picked up to properly care for denim. It can take ages to find a perfect pair of jeans and I just found some adorable back to school clothes for my girls at Target. The new Back to School clothes we found are so cute- I really want to try and keep everything looking great for as long as possible.
My children both wear uniforms to school but on Friday they are allowed to wear jeans to school. This obviously adds a lot of excitement to our lives as we can have a little fun with their outfits. Denim is very important in our house.
We found some adorable back to school clothes at Target this year. My big girl got these dark wash, cuffed jeans and a super soft pink sweater that she loves. My little girl prefers dresses and skirts so I picked up this cute little gold tutu and jean jacket at Target for her. The jean jacket will work beautifully this fall over her dresses and her uniform.
I think these little outfits are so cute and I am hoping they will keep the color and shape after lots and lots of use. I also really wanted to pick up some of the cute colored denim, we found some bright pink jeans that will be so fun for winter. In the past when I have purchased brightly colored jeans for my kids, they fade and the color looks awful right after I buy them! So frustrating!
So I did a little research to find out how to properly care for denim- both for my girls’ denim and also to properly care for my jeans and my husband’s jeans. Most people just toss jeans in the laundry and wash them with everything else- I certainly do. But there are a few easy little changes you can make to keep your jeans in great shape and to (hopefully) prevent fading.
So here are some simple steps to take care of your denim:
- Make sure to get a great fit. Any rips or tears in fabric suggest that you might not have a great fit.
- Avoid stuffing your pockets with phones, wallets, keys etc. as that can stretch the jeans and create holes.
- Dry clean jeans if possible. This is not terribly practical for everyone and you do not want to dry clean often but if you have some nicer jeans you might consider dry cleaning instead of washing.
- Hand washing is the best way to care for jeans but if that is not an option, there are some easy tips below for a standard wash.
- Launder as infrequently as possible. For adult jeans you probably only need to wash them after every 4th wear or so. Experts suggest not washing new jeans for 6 months after purchase. That is totally impractical for the majority of us with children but something to keep in mind for nicer adult jeans. For children’s jeans you probably need to wash after each wear or every other wear. But check and see if the jeans really do need to be washed before you toss them in the hamper. To freshen up jeans without washing- hang them by the belt loops in the closet for a few hours or use a steamer.
- Wash jeans inside out to preserve the color. For dark washes you probably want to wash them alone the first few times to ensure the dark indigo doesn’t transfer to other clothing.
- Use a laundry soap specific for dark colors or preventing color fade. Tide and Woolite make laundry soap specific to dark clothing. I have also read that Dr Bronner’s castile soap works for jeans! Just a little goes a long way.
- Use a gentle cycle and warm water to wash.
- Never use bleach on white jeans. The bleach can make the material deteriorate so try laundry whiteners that aren’t as harsh.
- If you can remove them before the spin cycle ends. If you have the ability to watch your jeans in the washing machine, try to remove them before the end of the spin cycle. The spin cycle is hard on jeans so best to let them go for just a few minutes to remove some of the water and then pull them out about halfway through to minimize the damage.
- Line dry denim or use the gentle/low setting on your dryer. The dryer is really hard on jeans so try not to use it if at all possible.
- Store jeans by folding them not hanging. When you are actually putting jeans away, it is best to gently fold them to store them. This helps to keep the shape and prevents any creases.
So some of these aren’t practical for children’s clothing in particular but many others are simple enough to follow and will hopefully extend the life of your families’ Back to School clothes.
If you’d like to do some shopping at Target this week, you can find girl’s jeans located here and boys jeans located here. Jeans are 40% off this week!
And here are a few other articles you might like:
How to Clean and Dry Your Pillows
Sources:
GQ.com ,JCrew.com, MarieClaire.com
Target makes going back to school easy.
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