Building your wardrobe costs a lot of money and protecting it should be a priority. Properly storing and caring for your garments will ensure years of good use. Clothes often become wrinkled and musty while in storage. Use these tips to keep your clothes in good shape and smelling fresh, whether you’re using them or not.
1) Hang your clothes while you store them if you can. Use a spare room, garage, basement, or corner of your bedroom to store a rolling garment rack. Hanging your coats, suits, and dresses will help them to keep their shape. Using a garment rack cover will help you keep dust off of your stored clothes and ensure that they’re not exposed to excess moisture.
2) Don’t you just hate it when you pull your clothes out of storage and they smell bad? You put them in clean, but they still come out with musty odors. Cedar hangers or cedar accessories absorb the moisture that causes this moldy mildew smell. This is more important if your stored clothes are near a bathroom, if you live in a humid climate, or if you store your clothes in a basement or garage. The deodorizing and moisture absorbing quality of cedar is what has made it so popular in closets across the globe.
3) You can store more items in a smaller space by using specialty clothes hangers. Space saving hangers are great for storage. They are slim, fit close together, and allow you to cascade items so that you use less space on the hanging bar. Choose slim hangers that are strong enough to hold up your garments without bending. If the clothes don’t hang properly from the hanger, they will get wrinkled while in storage.
4) Store items that you don’t want to hang, like sweaters, in vacuum sealed bags or plastic containers that seal. You can keep them smelling fresh by using used dryer sheets. Don’t use new ones, because they can leave a white waxy film on your clothes. Using containers that seal or cedar accessories ensures that moisture is not a problem for you.
5) Be creative when it comes to storage. There’s no need to fill up your closets with your out of season clothing. Store containers underneath couches, beds, in the garage, or install a ceiling bracket and hang them from there. Try not to use space in your every day closet and you’ll have more room than ever before.
6) Keep in mind that our body oils are left on clothes that we’ve worn. Make sure that you get suits, dresses, and sweaters cleaned before you store them. Body oils can cause damage to certain fabrics, attract moths and other pests, and make your clothes smell bad.
7) Use the clothes hangers that work best with your garments. Keep outfits paired with hangers that cascade or combination hangers. If you’re careful and follow these rules when storing your clothes, then they will come out of storage fresh and ready to wear.
About the Author: Charlie Hafter is on the staff of Closet Hanger Factory, a leading online resource for clothes hangers. Get all of the closet and clothes hanger accessories you could need at http://www.closethangerfactory.com, which is recognized worldwide for their excellent quality hangers.
