In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month we are here to talk about organizing lingerie. We’ll leave it to you to do the checks that will save your boobies. Let us help you save those bras!

Sort and Store

If you have more bras than you know what to do with it may be time for a sort and purge. Begin by pulling out all of your bras and underwear. Make two piles, toss and keep. There is no donate pile here. Nobody wants any part of used underwear…trust us. Toss anything that is stretched out, ripped, doesn’t fit, or has an evil underwire poking you in the ribs.

Now it’s time to think about how many bras you actually need. InStyle suggests that 4 is about the right number of every day bras.

…you shouldn’t wear your bra every day, so the elastic has time to readjust and come back to a resting pose. If you follow that logic, then you need four.

In addition, you will also want a good strapless bra, and if you are active, a few sports bras as well. How often you want to launder your bras will help you determine how many you need. Once you know how many bras you have then you can begin to think about how to store those over the shoulder boulder holders.

House Beautiful suggests that one reason your bras get all bent out of shape is that you are storing them wrong. You should never fold a bra, or wad it up in a ball. Bras need to be laid flat, preferably in a drawer, to maintain their shape. A Divided Lingerie Drawer is the perfect way to keep those unmentionables (which we are spending an entire post totally mentioning!) ready to offer support at a moment’s notice.

Pairs of underwear are much less picky. They can be folded, rolled, or even wadded up if you so choose. However, a divided drawer can make it much easier to find your favorite bra and underwear combinations.

Keep Things Clean

Experts agree that the best way to wash your bras is to hand wash them. Cora Harrington, founder and editor-in-chief of The Lingerie Addict told Huffington Post that hand washing and air drying are best because:

Lingerie uses very delicate fibers and elastics—it has to because it’s laying against sensitive areas of the body all day.

It is recommended to wash bras every two to five wears, depending on how much you sweat. Washing bras less helps to preserve their elasticity and shape, which means you don’t have to replace them as often. Yay for your bank account, boo for the time consuming process.

We know that in this day and age, many of us are too busy to regularly hand wash our intimates. The good news is there are ways to protect your bras while washing them in the washing machine.

Experts recommend these tips for machine washing:

• Always use the delicate cycle.
• Wash with like items. Heavy items like jeans, towels, or sheets can be hard on your bras.
• Put your bras in a lingerie bag to protect them from getting twisted.
• Hook your bras closed before washing so they won’t snag other items.

The biggest tip from experts is to NEVER, EVER, EVER put your bras in the drier. Always hang or lay them flat to dry. If you choose to hang your bras, do so by the middle of the bra (called the gore), not the strap. When you hang by the strap the weight of the cups can stretch our your bra. Which makes the picture below a no-no…but we’re figuring you weren’t planning to hang your bras by the side of the road anyway.

If you want to stretch out the time between washes Cosmopolitan suggests rinsing your bra in the shower!

Take your bra into the shower with you and rinse it with water, which will help to wick away body oil and skin buildup, then hang it by the center gore to dry. Frequent rinsing will help you cut back on the frequency with which you need to launder your bra, which means it won’t be subjected to the potential damage machine-washing can cause.

Now that’s what we call a fantastic tip! While you’re in the shower rinsing your bra you can also take a few minute for a quick breast check. It’s a win win! Feel for lumps. Save your bumps.

Take Care and Be Aware

There is no question that Breast Cancer sucks! Breast Cancer is the second leading cause of death in women. So this month take the time to make yourself aware. NationalBreastCancer.org is offering a free breast health guide. Learn more because Together We Can Make A Difference.

When it comes to bras and boobies…Big Or Small, Let’s Save Them All!