Increase the Shelf Life of Your Infant and Toddler's Clothes with These Useful Tips

You must be on cloud nine after buying that expensive designer piece of clothing for your toddler. But how long will it last? Can you make this costly clothing last longer than the usual clothes?

Of course, you can! But it requires some tricks to prolong the shelf life of your toddler’s clothes. Essentially, you need to change your washing habits in order to achieve the objective. The following paragraphs will give you some insightful tips and ideas to increase the durability of your toddler’s clothes.

The best and the most simple way to get the most out of your toddler’s clothes is to follow washing instructions that are tagged along with the cloth. If the instructions say not to allow direct sunlight while drying, it simply means that the fabric and colors are delicate and should not be exposed to direct sunlight, which could damage the clothing.

Here are some other useful washing tips to help you wash your toddler’s clothes in a manner that doesn’t take away the precious lust and life of the cloth:

• Cotton clothes should never be bleached as bleaching breaks down the cotton fibers.
• The fabric softeners, like Ivory Snow, Dreft, etc., should be avoided as these products leave a coating on the cloth that adversely affects its absorbency power. Instead, white vinegar can be safely used.
• While washing diapers, avoid using detergents that have enzymes or whitening enzymes. For instance, Fabricare.
• Never use boiling hot water to wash your toddler’s clothes. Instead, warm water should be used in order to remove dirt, smell, and germs from the clothes, while at the same time, making sure that clothes do not remain wet for a long time.
• Dryer should be used in moderation. Excessive use may lead to tears, while lesser use may not serve the purpose of drying.
• Air drying will ensure fluffiness, wrinkle-free, and shrink-free wash.
• Cold water may also be used if the color of clothes is sensitive in order to prevent from fading.

Another point of note while we are discussing the ways to increase the shelf life of your toddler’s clothes is the question of hanging or tucking the clothes in the closet. Ideally, shirts should be hanged while the rest could be easily folded and tucked neatly in the closet.

The storage of clothes (in a closet) is most often an ignored aspect in the homes. Firstly, make sure that clothes are properly dried before settling them at their designated positions, as wet clothes can often stink after some time affecting even the dry clothes. Secondly, make sure to use a deodorant that doubles up as bacteria repellant in order to prevent worm attack on the sensitive clothes.

In case the clothes are stained, make sure that the stain remover is not so hard that it affects the color of the fabric. One of the safest stain removers is lemon juice. Just squirt a little on the stain and set it out in the sun. It all takes just a couple of hours to remove the stain.

These few simple tips will keep your toddler’s clothes safe from early wear and tear and increase their shelf life.

Managing your Toddler while your Newborn Baby needs your attention.

My daughter’s first birthday has arrived.
When she was newborn we listened to numerous suggestions on how best to integrate her into the family, with other siblings and in particular, with our toddler boy. Sammy came to the hospital the first day Rachel was born with my parents who were staying at our house with him.

With an 18 month old, I’m not sure that was necessary. Sam was used to being taken care by his grandparents for a few days at a time and it may have been more confusing to him than if he had just stayed at home. As he then had to leave the hospital with my parents while my husband and I stayed there for another 2 days
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When we came home I made sure that everyone else was holding Rachel most of the time and I spent my time playing with Sammy. My biggest challenge was that I had a c-section which meant that I couldn’t carry him for 6 weeks and as an 18 month old he still wanted to be carried up and down stairs. We struggled through, with some tears from Sammy and from me as well. I wasn’t worried about giving him too much attention and creating a monster because I could tell from his behavior that he was struggling to adjust. So patience, a lot of help from family staying with us and lots of hugs and kisses made it all okay. We got him a baby doll so he also could take care of a baby and it was sweet to watch him take care of her. It was also a good training tool for teaching him appropriate levels of ‘gentle’. It was a nice experience and I think because he was learning how to care and dress her some cute infant clothes we picked up at Little Loungers boutique online, so learning to be soft and gentle with Rachel was an easy progression. If he had been a little bit older, even 6 months older, conversations beforehand about what was going to happen would have been helpful and I have also heard that putting photos of your toddler in the baby’s bassinet at the hospital is a nice touch when the toddler comes to visit.

I suppose the most important factor is throwing all of your love and attention to your toddler/child daytime because you’re going to be up all night with your infant anyhow so they can have attention from you then and having many hands will ease the transition.

It is so nice to be at the end of the first year and seeing how much my two kids love each other.