Luxury goods invariably run up a hefty price, but what can also end up being costly is failing to care for them after purchase. Of course, accidents can happen, but many people can end up neglecting the upkeep needs of their items and lose their value or utility as a result. Keeping your favorite things in great condition is the goal, even if you make good use of them often. So, here are some useful ways to go about keeping everything as good as new the correct way.

Removing the price stickers

Glassware and flatware take center stage every night at home and become even more integral when hosting parties and get-togethers. Price stickers, or just barcode stickers, are incredibly tedious and rarely come off without leaving behind some glue that even the mightiest of dishwasher settings can't always remove. A similar issue can arise from anything that has had tape feature in its packaging.

To avoid damaging the items when trying to clean off the sticky leave-behinds – as you can’t let them remain and become that strange grey sticky smudge – you shouldn’t turn to razors, knives, or any coarse cleaning tools. Just as you would to remove sticky residue from plastic, on glass or flatware, you’ll need nail polish remover, cloth, and a plastic card. With these standard household items, you’ll be able to get rid of the sticky marks quickly and without tainting your items.

Many quick-fix cleaning materials and methods have done the rounds online over the years, particularly on social media platforms like TikTok, but it’s usually best to avoid them. This is because many of them defer to chemical solutions or rough tools that could end up scratching, discoloring, or damaging your stuff in general. So, it’s wise to keep it soft and basic when it comes to getting rid of the sticky spots left by price stickers or tape.

Keeping your tomes intact

In an age of reading articles online and turning to eBooks and audiobooks, real hardcopy books have only become more treasured – especially if they’re signed, very old, or are a limited edition copy. However, if not looked after, books can decay and deteriorate quite drastically. Dust is the primary culprit of book damage, and it doesn’t even need to be piling up for decades. When dust accumulates on the books, the acidic elements of the dust will slowly start to damage the pages and covers. 

If you have particularly old books, especially ones that are already showing their age, you can turn to a vacuum cleaner. To do this, grip the book closed by the spine, run a brushed vacuum cleaner nozzle down the top pages from the spine outwards, and repeat on the other sides. Being delicate during this process is key, and while you may need to take a couple of passes on particularly old or dusty books, repeating the process gently five times is better than rushing it once and causing more damage.

When dealing with newer books, the range of tools that you can use to keep your books in the best condition possible expands. You can go from utilizing microfiber cloths on leather-bound books to a touch of warm water on the new fad of cloth-bound books. You’ll find that you can remove dust, smudges, grease stains, bugs, and odors from any of your books with the right equipment to hand.

Caring for designer clothing

Whether you like to add a new designer coat to your collection each season or will be jumping on Chanel’s new handbag release as its campaign features stars Brad Pitt and Penélope Cruz, the first step towards keeping your designer clothing and accessories looking brand new is to make more space. Either, you should make more closet and wardrobe space or remove the pieces that have essentially become clutter as the pieces need room to breathe to keep shape, avoid creasing, and the like.

Capsule wardrobes offer another path to help avoid any issues caused by having too many items in one space. Wearing or taking the same items repeatedly will, naturally, wear them down faster and increase the chances of damage to the materials, either by substances in the world or by your own sweat, for example. So, it's good to rotate with a capsule wardrobe system. When you’re dealing with delicate fabrics, before storing or after use, steam clean rather than iron to ensure that the harsh hot plate doesn’t damage anything.

Make your luxury items last as long as possible while still being able to enjoy using them by using the tips above!