In American culture, we go through everything at a blindingly fast rate. We purchase way too many single-use products, like paper plates and plastic cutlery. We misuse items that would last longer if we took care of them properly and stored them in a safe place instead of bringing something like an iPhone out into the pool with you. It really is just a disaster waiting to happen. But we can avoid all that if we put in place some simple guidelines to ensure that we’re really getting our money’s worth out of our goods, like clothing. You may really love that bright red sweater your aunt got you for Christmas, but you probably shouldn’t wear it every other day during the winter season. Which brings us to the first tip:

1. Rotate Through Your Clothing

It’s so easy to slip on the same old sweatpants everyday when you go to school/work, but think about those nice jeans that have been stored away in your closet for the last 3 months. On top of that, you probably forgot about a lot of other old clothing you have that you’ve never even worn. A good thing that might trigger your planning for the next outfit is to check the weather app on your phone or check it on the news. If you know what the day is going to be like, think about what you want to wear.

2. Don’t Dress to Impress If You’re Going to Sweat

Thinking of wearing that nice, thin, white t-shirt on your upcoming outing? Think again. If you’re hiking towards the top of the mountain, your looks are going to be the least of your worries…trust me. You might look nice at the bottom of the path, but it’ll change once you get to the top. Save yourself the agony and just wear older clothing, like your crowd-favorite tie-die t-shirt with a hole near the neck. You’re probably going to get more holes in your shirt, so why not get a head start?

3. “Put It Away…Nicely”

I will confess, I am not the best when it comes to storing my clothes. Sometimes I have so much clothing that I get fed up and I just throw them into my drawers. My mother would just look at my after doing the laundry and say “put it away nicely, Jessica”. Think of your mom peering over your shoulder while you do your laundry if it helps. If you want your old flannel shirt to make it into the next year, fold it up and carefully place it into your storage. Don’t chuck it in there; it’s been through a lot with you and it deserves some respect. Make the lumberjacks proud!

4. Save Yourself Some Hot Water & Detergent

A cardinal rule for washing clothes is to almost always use cold water, or at least that’s what my mom and grandmother have told me, and I’m not about to argue. If you use hot water, the colors can sometimes bleed out into other clothes, ruin them, and you may want to throw them away afterwards. Got shirts with graphic designs on them? Turn ’em inside out. Jeans that need to be washed? Try doing a separate load so that the rough fabric of the jeans doesn’t rub off too much on softer clothing. And however much detergent you think you need? Try using a little less if you’re not using a little bit already.

5. Be Delicate With Your Clothing

When you wash your clothing, be sure to set it to “delicate” instead of “regular”. Then, after every third of fourth cycle, you can put the cycle on “regular”. Just try to mix it up once in a while because putting the setting on “delicate” will allow you clothing to last longer than if you washed them on a “regular cycle” every single time.

6. Don’t Want Clothes to Shrink? Just Don’t Use the Drier

This might prove to be a bit more difficult to do. It’s so much faster to dry clothes this way, but it can also take away some of the quality of your clothing with every cycle if you’re not careful. If you can, try to avoid using the drier so much. Another pro tip is that you really shouldn’t be bras putting in the drier anyway because they don’t last as long. For how much we have to pay for those lousy things, I just hang them up after every wash to dry.