How to care for your underwear, socks and pyjamas

Your unmentionables deserve good care, too. Here's how to keep them in good shape.

Unfortunately, the elastic that keeps undergarments in place often wears out long before the fabric. Here are some tips to prolonging the life of the stretchy stuff:

• Rotate how often you wear your undergarments so that all get even use. If a pair gets buried deep in your drawer, the elastic will loose its stretchiness, rendering the undergarment useless.
• Avoid drying underwear and bras at high temperatures, which can also wear out elastic. Bras should be line-dried to keep them in proper shape.
• If the elastic straps on your bra are starting to loosen and fall off your shoulders, sew a piece of elastic across the straps in the back, about 15 centimetres (six inches) above the bra's back strap, to hold the arm straps in place.

Why is it so hard to find both socks in a pair at the same time? It's a universal problem. Here are a few tactics that you can use to keep track of them:

• When you're doing the laundry, pin pairs of socks together with safety pins.
• Before tossing them in the wash, place all your socks in a zippered, mesh bag — the kind sold for hand washables.
• Buy several pairs of the same kind and colour of socks. That way, if one gets lost, then the remaining sock can be paired up with another one like it.

• Deter holes from forming in your socks by pumicing the rough spots on your feet.
• Getting rid of dead skin is good for your feet, too.

Dry socks on a low setting in the dryer so that the elastic stays flexible and your socks stay up on your legs.

• Buy pyjamas a size too big to allow room for tossing and turning when you sleep.
• Choose pyjamas with expandable waists so that you can breathe comfortably while sleeping.
• Wash pyjamas in a pillowcase to preserve the flannel. Hang them to dry on plastic hangers to avoid pilling.