10 tips for making your stuff last longer
One thing sure to bring a tear to the eye of a frugal WalletPop reader is the sight of a product put out to the curb for trash pick-up that could have, with a tiny more care, lasted much longer. To that end, we offer these 10 suggestions on how to stretch the lifespan of your possessions.
1. Quit washing your jeans How often do you wash your blue jeans? After each wearing? Once a week? Once a month? According to some enthusiasts, you are destroying what should-be a longtime love affair. Blogger Dr. Denim states the most enthusiastic denim lovers will wear their new jeans six months before the first washing, then three months before a second washing.
And these aren’t washings as you might picture them. Carl Chiara of Levi Strauss and Co. told the Wall Street Journal that at the six-month mark, he soaks his jeans in the bathtub with some very mild soap and lets them air-dry. That’s it.
There is also an environmental spin to this issue: The United Nations put out a video encouraging people to wash their jeans less often.
Heat, water and detergents can make those new jeans look old in a hurry, but that is not such a good thing when the goal is to increase the lifespan of your favorite denims.
More from WalletPop: 10 drugstore products physicians do not recommend 2. Dry your razor blades Among the most overpriced items on the pharmacy shelf is the razor blade. An eight-pack of Gillette Fusion five-blade cartridges from Amazon costs $2.64 per cartridge. If you go through one every two weeks, you will spend $68.58 in a year. If you could cut that in half, what would you do with the extra $34 in your pocket?
Could these savings be as simple as drying your blades after each use? Oxidation of the steel blade can dull the slicing edge quicker than wear and tear against your facial hair, and the bathroom is the perfect climate for oxidation: warm and moist. If you store your razor in the shower, do not be surprised if you find those telltale specs of rust on your blade after only a few days.
To extend the life of your blade, dry it carefully after use (if you use a hair dryer, waft it over your razor, too) and store it in a drawer away from the sink and shower.
There are a number of devices on the market that promise to resharpen your blades, but tiny information on whether they really work or not. Have you tried one? What was your experience?
More from WalletPop: 8 things you will be paying more for soon 3. Coddle your tires A set of good tires can set you back $400, so the pay-off from getting extra life from them can save you significant dough. Extending their life is not rocket science, either. The Michigan Natural and Energy Resources Dept. recommends:
Keeping them inflated to the proper psi; check weekly. A set of tire pressure valve stem caps can help, and costs less than $10. Rotate your tires every 5,000-8,000 miles. Use the tire size your automobile was designed for; smaller tires will wear more quickly. Keep your automobile aligned; misalignment will show up in uncommon tread wear. Avoid quick starts and stops. When your tires are smoking, you may be accelerating too fast. If you store tires, stack them on their side in a dry, cool place, no more than four high.
More from WalletPop: 10 most overpriced products you should avoid
4. Keep your shoes pristine With the price of shoes today, squeaking out an extra year or two of shoe life can help you save up for that new pair of Manolo Blahniks. Among the tactics you can employ:
Buy decent quality. Those half-price shoes will most likely last less than half as long. Alternate your shoes (this applies mostly to men, I believe, since most women do not wear the same shoes day after day). By having two pairs of each day shoes and alternating them, you give your shoes a chance to breathe and properly dry out. Dry them completely if you have gotten them wet. Consider using a waterproof spray to keep the rain off, especially in the winter if you live in the north. Clean them thoroughly before polishing, and polish often. The polish is not just cosmetic; it protects the leather. Buy shoes that can be resoled. When shopping for kids’ shoes, have them wear heavy socks to reserve a tiny room for their rapidly growing feet. Break the habit of wedging yourself in and out of shoes without tying or untying the shoelaces. Use a shoehorn for those that fit tightly.
More from WalletPop: 10 things that aren’t free, but should be
5. Make your perfume last Perfume is modified by your body chemistry, so perfume will not smell the same on every person. Every perfume goes through three stages after it is applied to your skin: the top note, the middle note and the dry-out note. Depending on how it reacts to your body, these phases may go by quickly or last and last. Work with your perfume purveyor to find a signature scent that has staying power on your skin.
You can also extend the life of your perfume by applying it properly. This begins with moisturization. The perfume will stick to moist skin better than dry, so applying it before dressing, while fresh from the shower, could help it last. Using a non-scented moisturizer on those parts of the skin when you are about to apply it could also help.
Choosing where to apply it can also be a factor. Avoid the “pulse points”, those parts of the body where you can clearly detect a pulse, because blood flows close to the skin there, so that skin is warmer — inside wrists, neck, behind the ears, on the ankles. Apply the perfume on parts of the body insulated with a fat layer (your upper arms, or your outside thighs, for example).
If your scent dies quickly on you, apply lightly but more frequently.
6. Keep that Christmas tree green Some of the most enthusiastic season celebrators will put up their Christmas trees just after Thanksgiving and keep them up until the New Year. They risk having a dried-out fire hazard sitting in their living room for weeks. But you can take steps to keep that tree remaining supple and green all the way to the take-down.
The first rule: purchase fresh. Perhaps you are lucky enough to live where you can pick out and cut down your own; if not, ask the vendor where the tree came from, and how long ago it was cut. Take a look at the needles. According to the National Christmas Tree Association, a fresh fir tree’s needles “should break crisply when bent sharply with the fingers — much like a fresh carrot,” while a pine tree’s needles will be supple and resilient. Also check for excessive needle loss, wrinkled bark and a musty odor, all signs of a tree too long from the saw. Favor lots that shade their cut trees from the sun.
Before you take home a tree from a tree lot, ask the vendor to cut off an inch from the bottom of the tree, which will help the tree take up water. At home, keep the water reservoir at the base of the tree full of water. Aspirin, sugar and other folklore additives aren’t necessary to keep the tree green.
Place the tree away from heater grates, fireplaces and any other source of heat. Don’t expose it to direct sunlight, either.
7. Make your clothes last Not all clothes can go without washing like the blue jeans mentioned above, but there are ways to extend the life of your underwear, children’s wear, shirts, blouses, slacks and jammies. These include:
Treat spots rather than wash the whole piece of clothing. The new stain-remover pens work very well, and if you can save a washing, that piece of clothing will last longer. Line dry rather than tumble dry. It’s not only ecological, it adds that wonderful fresh sunshine smell to all you wear. Avoid using dryer balls; they soften clothes by beating on the fibers, not a recipe for long life. Maintain your body weight. Easier stated than done, but some of us eat our way out of clothes long before they wear out. Hang and/or fold your clothes. It’s all too simple to toss wrinkled clothes in the wash basket before they have actually been worn enough to warrant washing. Reserve a set of clothes for dirty tasks, and change into them before digging in the yard, changing your car’s oil or washing your dog. Use the sniff test to determine if a shirt or blouse is ready for the laundry, rather than automatically toss it in after a single wearing. Ask a loved one’s help; your nose is used to your own body odor. Remove and store those extra buttons sewed onto better quality clothing, so you can replace them when needed rather than ditch the piece of clothing.
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10 tips for making your stuff last longer - DailyFinanceTop 10 Tips and Tricks for Making Your Stuff Last Longer
10 Tips For Making Your Stuff Last Longer
How to make things last longer
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Submited at Tuesday, October 12th, 2010 at 8:00 pm on Finance by madison
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