Handy wardrobe tips

YOU can now keep your clothes in good order with the help of these wardrobe and laundry tips.

1) When you hand up clothes on narrow hangers, the weight of the fabric can create ugly pulls in shoulders and sleeves.

Avoid this by buying large broad hangers with smooth edges or hangers that will let you clip on to clothes. Do make sure the clips are smooth and round so they don’t damage fabric.

2) Narrow hangers with dips in top are excellent for hanging spaghetti strap tops and dresses. However, if you find your straps are too wide for your hanger, buy a pack of small felt furniture pads and place these on top of the hanger, just where you want your straps to sit - and stay.

3) Cat, dog, rabbit and other pet hair is easy to remove from clothes with the help of a strip of masking tape. As there is very little glue on these, it can be used safely on most fabrics.

If you have expensive light material, be safe and do a small test area first. If you don’t have masking tape, try running damp rubber gloves over the piece.

4) When throwing clothes into the washing machine, prevent snags by closing zippers and clasp hooks, and making sure all the buttons are undone.

Remember to check pockets too: you don’t want a leaky pen, lipstick or tissue shreds all over your laundry.

5) Wash small loads often rather than big loads once a week. Your washing machine works best when clothes have space to move about. Also, don’t overdo the soap.

Check the bottle and use the cap to measure the correct amount needed. Soap left behind after rinsing can cause streaks – as well as rashes.