IT’S SO HARD TO SAY GOODBYE…

If you’re like me and you have a favorite bra that makes everything sit in the right place, it’s so easy to ignore the warning signs that your bra is on the shelf past its expiration date. Here are a few indications that it’s time to trade it in for a newer model:

• If it looks worn out, then it’s time to throw it out

• Stretched out elastic is a clear sign that your bra is no longer offering the support that it should

• If you’ve kept up with your New Year’s resolutions and you’ve lost a significant amount of weight, congratulations! Now it’s time to get refitted and look for a bra that shows off your fab new body

• When your bra starts riding up your back, even it knows it’s time to get out of there. It’s no longer doing the job and has to go

• When your molded cup bras have lost their shape, they certainly won’t look flattering under your clothes and need to be tossed

These rules apply whether you’re talking about your foundation garments or your sports bra. As a rule of thumb, you don’t want to keep sports bras for more than a year or regular bras for more than 6 to 9 months.

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Write the date of purchase on the care label in permanent marker. It makes it easier to sort out which items need to be thrown out. As the ink starts to fade, you know that it’s almost time to replace your bra.

LET’S AIR SOME DIRTY LAUNDRY

Now that you’ve tossed the old stuff, you can concentrate on extending the life of your newer items by keeping them better preserved.

Hand washing delicates is the best way to clean lingerie and it’s worth it if you have the time. However, for many of us that’s not an option. Here’s an easy way to machine wash delicates.

1.Hook all of your bras closed

2.Apply the stain pre-treatment to any areas that need deeper cleaning. Be sure to blot and not rub

3.Place items into the removable mesh lingerie wash bag that is inside your Dirty Little Secret lingerie bag. Keep the load light and fill the bag no more than ¾ of the way full

4.Place the mesh bag in the washing machine on the delicate cycle. If you don’t have a machine with a delicate cycle, you want to wash them on the shortest cycle using cold water. Take the mesh bag out of the machine before the spin cycle begins

5.Remove your regular bras and sports bras from the lingerie wash bag before placing it in the dryer. Heat destroys their fibers and will cause them to break down your bras even faster. You can then place the lingerie wash bag in the dryer

6.You can either lay your bras flat or hang them to dry. But first, I like to use a technique that I learned in knitting to remove the excess water. Place the bras flat on a dry towel and roll it up into a tube and press out the excess water.

7.Finally, you want to reshape your molded cup bras and let them dry

A GIRL’S GOT TO HAVE HER SECRETS

Having a nice selection of bras and undies that you can rotate is a great way to prevent your favorite items from getting worn out quickly. The downside is that it makes the task of storing and organizing your lingerie a bit of a chore. You’re probably wondering who has the time to think about their lingerie storage. Who even has that much lingerie? Well, when you consider the investment that you’ve made in your sports bras, daily wear bras and your nicer lingerie items, you’ll quickly realize that you probably have more items than you even realized. While it doesn’t seem like a big deal to throw everything in the drawer, this can lead to fabric being stretched out and wearing down faster.

Proper storage of lingerie is very simple. You want to keep like items together. Panties, thongs and sports bras should be folded into small squares and lined up. Storing daily wear bras is a different matter all together and can be very tricky if you’re limited on drawer space.

• When possible, you want to line your bras up in your drawer vertically with the cups nested to help them retain their shape.

• If you don’t have enough drawer space, the Dirty Little Secret is the perfect way to store bras and other delicates that don’t fit in your drawer.

• A third option is to place your bras on hangers and put them in the closet

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Whatever method you choose, you want to make sure that you keep your bra cups from getting crushed or dented. Not only does this cause the padding to break down, these lumps and bumps can be seen through your clothes ad it’s definitely not a good look.

Following these tips and techniques will help your bras, sports bras and other foundation garments to last a really long time.