How are you going to get today's wardrobe into yesterday's closet? If you're typical, you own more clothes than your grandmother ever did and keeping them in shape and stored properly can be a challenge.

Air and wear might well be the motto of Carolyn Mendelson, author of Home Comforts (Simon & Schuster).

Air and brush clothing, especially woollens, before putting them back into the closet, she writes. "This removes dust and perspiration and reduces the number of times you will have to clean or launder them, which helps them last longer."

Let woollens rest for a day or two between wearings. Wool's natural elasticity will help them regain their shape.

Hang clothes with the top, middle, and bottom buttons buttoned and zippers closed. Empty pockets before hanging up. Woven wool suits, dresses and blazers do best on wide-shaped hangers; the padded ones are good, she says.

Don't hang clothes too close together. You know they'll wrinkle, but also consider that a crush of clothes leaves too little air in the closet and that can trap odours. Shedders also can leave fibres on other clothes.

Don't wash or clean clothes any more than necessary. That can wear them out faster. If you put on a shirt for an hour and decide to change, then just hang it up, buttoning the neck, middle and bottom buttons. Let it air for a while before returning it to the closet. "But if clothes have received a real perspiration bath or heavy soil, wash them sooner rather than later and wash them frequently. Dirt and sweat will cause fabrics to deteriorate."

And, of course, weed out seasonally. "Garments that have hung for a year without use should be washed or cleaned and then removed to long-term storage," she writes. "After two years without wearing, give them away to someone who can use them."

In her book, Mendelson also covers laundering wool, gloves and mittens and how to store summer clothes and unpack winter clothes.