Donate
Donate what you did not wear this winter season. We all have different winter clothing we just did not want to wear this year. Donate them! Do not waste your time preparing these items for storage when you probably are not going to wear them next year. Get rid of them! Is it designer? Send it to us! Has it been loved a little too much? Donate it to Goodwill.
Wash Your Clothes
Make sure your winter clothes are in their best condition. Odors or stains if not removed properly can get permanent and attract moths (ewwww). Just wash your winter clothes or get them dry cleaned before storage please! As far as your shoes go, clean and polish your boots to make sure they are ready to go for next winter. And de-pill your sweaters so they are ready to go!
Tip: do not use fabric softer moths and insects are attracted to those too!
Hang or fold?
In general, you should be hanging what you normally hang and folding what you normally fold. A good rule of thumb is: Hang anything that will wrinkle when folded. Fold anything that will stretch when hung. If you have the closet space hang down coats and pleated winter skirts.
When folding use acid free tissue paper to pack your clothing. This will prevent color transfers and snags. As well as protect vintage, delicate, or special items.
Storage, Storage, Storage
When storing winter clothes, the most important thing to consider is what is the best option to protect your clothes and fit your space. The most common go to options is plastic bins and vacuumed sealed bags. Vacuumed sealed bags are great for bulky winter items like poly-filled winter coats and large ski/ snow pants. However, do not store Down coats in vacuumed sealed bags. Hang your feather filled items or back them loosely in plastic storage bins. Make sure all buttons are fastened and all zippers are zipped up. Pack delicate sweater and shoes outside of vacuum sealed bags as well. Uses shoe sharpener or tissue paper to help your shoes keep their shape.
Skip the moth balls
Once your clothing is all packed up and sealed place some pest repellent. Do not bother with your grandma’s moths’ balls opt for lavender sachets or cedar balls.
Tip: using Charcoal balls can help control odors to make sure your winter clothes smell fresh all year round.
Where to keep them?
Keep your boxes of clothes in a climate controlled, cool, and dark place. Avoid attics and garages.
Here are 10 more helpful tips to save space when storing your winter clothes
- Use tissue paper or newspaper to help keep the shape of your shoes and boots
- Store your clothes in luggage. If you do not use your luggage that often use it as storage. Instead of using a plastic bin use the luggage to store your vacuum sealed bags.
- If you have more hanging space, use hanging vacuum sealed bags
- Refresh your lavender sachets by squeezing the bar or placing it in the sun
- Refresh cedar by lightly sanding it
- Inflatable boot shapers take up less space when not in use
- Underbed bins allow you to take advantage of the space under your bed.
- Using clear bins, you can see what is inside of the bin
- Labeling bins makes it easy to quickly find what you are looking for
- Put deodorizing sachets in winter shoes before storing them