Cheap and Simple Ways to Make Your Clothes Feel New Again

Now is a great time to take stock of what’s hanging in your closets, littering your shoe racks, and folded in your dresser drawers. What can you get rid of or donate? And of the things you do want to keep, what needs to be cleaned, repaired, or stored away?

I spoke with several Wirecutter writers and editors to discuss how they’re cleaning out, caring for, and investing in their wardrobes, from adding a cleaning agent to the wash to polishing their leather boots. You can use these methods whether or not you’re in lockdown, but we hope that they will prove especially useful while you’re stuck inside looking at your things.

Donate what you don’t need anymore

“The first thing I did when the coronavirus pandemic hit was clean out my wardrobe,” said senior staff writer Eve O’Neill. “Since I haven’t been able to go to Goodwill during lockdown, I’ve been donating and consigning through the mail, by sending the good clothing to ThredUp for consignment and the more used clothing to Give Back Box.”

Even after the COVID-19 lockdown has lifted, ThredUp (a popular online consignment shop with a focus on designer items) and Give Back Box (a vendor service that gives to retailers and charities to help people in need) are great resources for anyone looking to slim their wardrobe and, even better, have a positive impact. Check ThredUp’s selling guide to see which seasonal items are in demand, then order a clean-out kit to earn cash or just make a donation. Give Back Box accepts donations much more liberally.

Refresh your workout clothes

Once Eve sorted out what needed to be donated, she used NikWax BaseWash to clean her performance fabrics. BaseWash will return your socks, sports bras, and shorts to their original softness. And it will remove any unsavory smells that they’ve picked up as you’ve been furiously exercising through lockdown (or that have lingered since your gym was last open).

Add BaseWash to the washer alongside your detergent, and the water-based treatment will clean and deodorize your base layers. BaseWash is meant to go in the fabric-conditioning drawer, but if the washer doesn’t have one of those, you can dump it in the main compartment with the detergent. If you have a woolen base layer, try NikWax’s Wool Wash.

But if you don’t have easy access to a washing machine (or the clothes won’t stand up to one), you can wash your workout gear by hand. “I grew up dancing, which means basically living in non-machine-washable leotards and tights,” said associate staff writer Dorie Chevlen. “I learned early on that if you want an article of clothing to last without stains, you should hand-wash it with Purex’s Fels-Naptha.” Fels-Naptha is also a favorite of drag queen superstar Shea Coulée (video). If you have a bathtub, that’s ideal, but you can use a sink or bucket, too. Embodying chaotic-good energy, Dorie went so far as to suggest that a “big popcorn bowl” would work too.

“Wet the fabric, rub into it with a bar of Fels-Naptha soap, and soak that for about an hour. Then wash it as normal,” Dorie told me. Some people also use Fels-Naptha to make their own laundry detergent, or as a remedy for poison ivy or poison oak.

Dye (or re-dye) it black

If you have black clothes that have faded to a murky gray (or clothes that can’t be cleaned back to their original state), you can always take the option of dying them black.

“I was a depressed, goth teenager. In high school, me and my best friend decided to dye all of our clothes black—imagine, two dark-haired girls in plaid mini skirts and combat boots trolling the aisles of Walgreens for Rit dye. It was the ’90s to the hilt!” senior staff writer Lesley Stockton told me. Nowadays, Lesley uses black iDye for Natural and Poly Fabrics to keep her black clothes as dark as she wants them to be. (You can also buy black natural and polyester dye from Blick, if stock at Dharma Trading Company is unavailable.)

“iDye is great because it’s affordable and it comes in a little plastic packet, and the packet dissolves, so you don’t risk getting your hands gunky when you use it,” Lesley explained. “Each packet should work for 2 to 3 pounds of fabric. When I refreshed my black skinny jeans, I did two pairs with one packet of iDye because I want my jeans to be hit with the most saturation,” she said. And although she could have dyed more than two pairs of jeans with one packet of dye, Lesley lives by the motto that “it’s not done until it’s overdone.”

After you dye your clothes, make sure you separate your colors to prevent them from bleeding: Wash your black clothes together, and use Woolite Darks Detergent for longevity.

Resourceful defuzzing

“I realized I only had one woolly sweater to wear while quarantining with my family in the New Jersey suburbs,” said research editor Christina Colizza, who thought she’d be enjoying warmer weather in March and April. When it was colder than expected, she realized she would have to defuzz that one sweater to keep wearing it. “My favorite sweater eventually became my unofficial quarantine uniform; it got extremely pilly before its time.”

“Luckily I had a clean, disposable razor,” Christina told me. To defuzz a sweater, “start by laying your clothes across something flat—like a table, rather than your bed, which is prone to have a little give that could result in a too-close shave. Pull the sweater taut and begin to use the razor as you would on your body, gently and methodically so as to avoid small cuts.” Christina suggests a beard trimmer for this activity, too. In any case, keep in mind that slow and steady wins the race when it comes to defuzzing.

If you’d rather buy a traditional fabric shaver, editor Ria Misra recommends this Fuzz-Away from Remington; she’s had hers for five years, and it’s still in good shape.

Clean any nasty stains off your clothes

This is the perfect opportunity to put in the time and effort required for cleaning any hard-to-remove chemicals from your clothing. If you’ve been using your time in lockdown to work on DIY projects, you may need to clean off dried-on paint (where the method of approach depends on the paint type). Grease stains are also eternally frustrating, though they can just as easily be from pizza as from home renovation. And it might be a good time to give clothes a long OxiClean soak to try and remove sweat and antiperspirant stains.

Since people began protesting in June, many may be dealing with various chemical irritants used by police forces. These can stay on your clothes if you don’t handle them properly, so cleaning quickly is your best bet. If you’ve recently been exposed, take off your clothes as soon as possible, and put them in a bag to avoid further contaminating your home (and take a cold shower to clear any lingering materials from your skin). Your clothes may be salvageable, but use gloves to handle them, and wash them multiple times to remove any traces.

Pack it all up

After you’ve had a chance to donate what you want to give away and to clean the rest, whatever you’re not wearing—your sweaters and coats during the summer—should be stored safely in breathable storage bins, like those in our guide to the best storage containers. The iWill Create Pro Storage Boxes with Zipper Lids are inexpensive—$24 for two containers—and they work perfectly for clothes that require some airflow. They’re especially good for items that you don’t need every day but still want to have access to just in case. These containers are also good looking, so you won’t mind putting them on display in your closet or even your hallway.

Try a leather shoe tree for longevity

I spoke with Wirecutter audience development strategist and shoe-care extraordinaire Caleb Chin, who told us how to care for leather shoes if you want them to last a long time—a good project for anyone who’s still stuck inside.

“Everyone should be keeping shoe trees in their leather shoes when they’re not wearing them, because shoe trees help to retain the shape and structural integrity of your shoes by reducing creasing and absorbing moisture and odors from your feet.” But he advised against buying plastic shoe trees, because they won’t absorb moisture and odor.

“Even the cheapest wooden shoe trees will last for years,” Caleb assured me. If you can’t get to Nordstrom Rack for its great in-store, two-for-$25 shoe-trees deal, this well-reviewed shoe tree from Houndsbay costs $20, and it’s made from US-grown Eastern red cedar.

Step-by-step leather-shoe care

Caleb was kind enough to walk me through the basics of his leather-shoe maintenance. First and foremost, you should “brush your shoes off with an Allen Edmonds horsehair shoe brush,” Caleb advised. “When it comes to brushes, I’ve found it’s worth paying more for a larger brush; it’s easier to generate friction with the larger dimensions.”

Then gently wipe shoes down with a damp cloth, and let them dry for 10 minutes. Skip the saddle soap on your dress shoes and leather boots, since it’s often unnecessary.

Brush your shoes again with the horsehair shoe brush, and then apply small dabs of shoe conditioner. Caleb recommends Saphir Renovateur; it contains leather-nourishing substances like beeswax and mink oil, which give this conditioner its higher price point. Massage it into the shoe’s leather in a circular motion. “Use your fingers to dab less of it than you think you’ll need,” he told me. Let the shoe dry, again, for 10 minutes.

Where’s that horsehair shoe brush? Buff the shoe again, applying moderate pressure. “The shoe will really start to shine now,” Caleb said. “The leather will have had time to absorb the nutrients from the conditioner, and then buff off the residue.” After you’ve done this, wait 24 hours before you wear the shoes again—12 hours, if you’re really crunched for time.

Use shoe trees, a horsehair shoe brush, and conditioner every few weeks, and you’ll extend the life of your leather shoes significantly.

Prepare for wintertime

If you’ve finished doing everything else on this list and you’re looking for a new task—even if this isn’t necessarily the season for it—Ria suggests spraying your heavy, outdoors boots with Red Wing Shoes Leather Protector, before they have to face cold, wet weather in the fall and winter. While not appropriate for dress shoes (follow Caleb’s instructions for that), the protective spray acts as a barrier between the boots and the outside world, allowing you to simply wipe away salt or water before either soaks into the leather’s fibers.

At mention of Ria’s boot protector spray, Eve released an unexpected sigh: “I have an amazing suede trench coat that I don’t wear because I haven’t taken the time to spray it with the proper protectant spray! Time to do that.”