10 Important Wardrobe Hacks Every Woman Should Know

Women are typically fashion forward – or at least they want to be – which is why it’s so imperative that all women know these wardrobe hacks. Some of them are practically lifesavers. Others may not ever be anything you need to worry about, and some are so life-changing you will feel your world rock right beneath your feet. These tips and tricks will help you save your clothes and keep your wardrobe looking brand new for years to come – your family’s as well. Read on to find out which wardrobe hacks are the most important for women to know.

Break in New Shoes

The only thing wrong with new shoes is the way they feel the first time you wear them. You have to break them in. However, wearing them around the house is sometimes just plain painful, even though it’s better than suffering through a date night in brand new shoes. Fill some Ziploc bags with water and place them inside your shoes and place your shoes and water bags in the freezer for about 12 hours. It will stretch out the fabric and make your shoes feel like an old comfy pair that you’ve worn a hundred times.

No More Under Arm Stains

All it takes is a little bit of sweat and BAM! The armpits of your tops (white especially) are now ringed with sweat stains that never seem to go away. Unless you can stop yourself from sweating all together you are going to want to try this simple wardrobe hack. Spray lemon juice on the stains before you wash your shirts. The lemon will fight the stain and prevent it from settling into your clothes, which helps your detergent remove it almost completely from your clothing.

Keep Clothes Wrinkle Free

You iron before you leave the house (or let your dry cleaner do it for you) but it never fails that your clothes wrinkle on the way to where you’re going. It almost seems pointless to even bother ironing in the first place. If you want to preserve your wrinkle-free look as long as possible, just iron them. No, really. Just iron them and then let them hang up for at least five minutes afterward. The longer you allow the “ironing” to set in, the longer it will take items to wrinkle again even after you wear them around.

Restore Patent Shine

When you by a patent leather handbag, clutch or shoes, you fall in love with the shine. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long before the shine of patent leather wears off – pun intended – and you’re left with a pair of shoes or a bag that are dull, dull, dull. To revive your shine, all you need to do is reach beneath the sink in your kitchen and grab your Windex. Spray it on your shoes and wipe them down like you would a window or mirror and the shine will be right back. It’s a simple patent leather solution.

Remove Makeup from Clothes

Accidentally rubbing your shirt on your face when you put it on or take it off means makeup on your collar, which is difficult to remove. If you want to remove makeup from your clothing, you’re going to want to rub shaving cream on the stain and it will come right out. It’s a simple solution, really. It also works well if you happen to give your husband a hug and accidentally get makeup on his shirt as well. It’s a good idea to keep a little bottle of shaving cream handy at work to help you combat makeup stains on your clothing.

Preventing Hose Runs

Few things are as frustrating as realizing you have a run in a pair of nylons. While it happens to everyone, it’s never something discreet. It’s always the biggest, most noticeable run around.   What you’ll need to do to prevent runs in your stockings is spray your legs and hose with aerosol hairspray before you leave the house in the morning. It helps to prevent your stockings from running – unless you snag them on something sharp in which case there’s not much you can do.

Scratched Leather

This little gem helps you with your handbags and your shoes (and your furniture or vehicle upholstery as well). Scratched leather happens, especially to items you wear or carry on a regular basis. Before you panic, however, go ahead and try to remove scratches from your items by grabbing a q-tip and some moisturizer. You can use any moisturizer you have at home for this little project. Place a little on a q-tip and rub scratches in leather until you can no longer see the scratch. It works like a charm to make leather look new again.

How to Clean Suede

Suede; it’s such a gorgeous material, but when it comes to wearing it on your feet, it can be a bit of a pain. Suede shoes are luxe and gorgeous, but they’re dangerous. The same goes for your handbags. Suede bags are beautiful, but it doesn’t take long before they’re dirty and a big disgusting. There’s a simple way to clean them. All you need is to cut the crust off a piece of white bread and let the bread sit out until it’s nice and stale and then rub it all over dirty suede. Now you have clean suede shoes and bags.

Deodorizing Vintage Materials

Women love a great piece of vintage couture, but you probably do not love the smell that comes with a vintage piece. It’s less than stellar. The next time you find a gorgeous treasure (say a Louis Vuitton bag at a consignment shop or estate sale) you’ll want to remove the smell from the item stat so that you don’t smell like mothballs and so everything in your own closet doesn’t take on this unfortunate smell. Make like a bartender and mix a half cup of vodka with a cup of water in a spray bottle (shaken, not stirred) and spray your newfound treasure.

Keep Denim Dark

For the most part, no one wants to wear anything but dark wash denim. Lighter washes are very 1980s. However, it’s not always easy to keep dark denim dark, what with washing machines and dryers. Even if you’re like most women and you feel that your jeans can go three or four wears without being washed, you will worry about fading. Worry no more, ladies. All you have to do is place a half cup of distilled vinegar into the washing machine as your jeans go through their final rinse and they’ll keep their dark hue.