Earlier, the heating unit in my clothes dryer went out. When the workers came to repair it, they took out the dryer drum and scattered dozens of lost buttons across the floor.

I resolved not to lose any more shirt buttons.

My solution is a little labor intensive, but so far it’s been working. I button up all of the shirt buttons and then turn the shirt inside out.

When the shirt is dry, I turn it right side out, unbutton a couple of top buttons and hang it in the closet.

By buttoning all of the buttons, the force on each individual button is reduced. By turning the shirt inside out, the buttons won’t be pulled by the other clothes in the dryer.

A middle step happens when I transfer the clothes from the washer to the dryer.

Instead of throwing all of the clothes, towels and wash clothes into the dryer as a big mass, I take them one at a time and shake them out. It lets me see when there are loose threads and might help them dry a little more evenly.