For many, summer is the best time of year thanks to the sunshine and warm weather. That warm weather is the best, as it allows you to wear your favorite clothing! Of course, once summer ends and the air turns chilly, you’ll need to figure out the best way of storing clothes from summer.
The challenge when storing summer clothing, however, is to ensure dust, dirt, moisture, and vermin don’t destroy them while stored. To help you do exactly that, the storage experts at NSA Storage put together this informative, helpful article. If you’d like professional guidance to store your summer clothing correctly and keep everything pristine for next season, read on.
Why Storing Clothes Correctly is So Important
Let’s face it; clothing, especially high-quality clothing, can be quite expensive. Plus, many of us have a deep connection with our clothing because it allows us to express our unique selves. For those two main reasons, and several more, storing summer clothing correctly is important.
When you store your summer clothing the correct way, you ensure that insects, moisture, rodents and more don’t affect them. Not only will proper storage protect your clothes but it keeps them in excellent shape to use again next year. That’s why, if you truly value your summer clothing, storing them correctly is a must.
Easy, 5-Step Guide to Storing Summer Clothes Like a Pro
Below we’ve put together step-by-step instructions to store your summer clothes like a professional. If you follow these steps to the letter, your summer clothing will stay in pristine condition until next season.
1. First, Clean Your Summer Clothes Well
If you spilled something on your favorite blouse or pair of jeans, you’d likely clean it off right away. However, what most people forget is that body oils, sweat and dead skin can also negatively affect your summer clothing. If you don’t wash them off now, by next year, your clothing could be badly stained or even ruined.
That’s why, whether in your washing machine or the dry cleaners, cleaning your summer clothes well is crucial. A proper deep cleaning will get rid of any stuff that could ruin your clothing while stored for the winter.
2. Make Sure Your Summer Clothes are Bone Dry Before Storing Them
This next step might be even more important than cleaning your summer clothes. That because moisture can cause mold and mildew, which can both ruin many different fabrics. Even a small amount of moisture left on your clothing can create big problems during storage.
In short, make sure your summer clothes are bone dry before storing them. An extra few minutes in your dryer or, even better, hung out in the sun, is a great idea. It could mean the difference between pristine clothing next season or having to toss a lot of your precious wardrobe.
3. Store Your Summer Clothes in the Correct Containers
There’s a lot of debate about which containers are the “correct” containers when storing summer clothing. The fact is, large, plastic bins have as many attributes and drawbacks as cardboard boxes. For example, while plastic bins better protect against insects, they also keep in moisture that can cause mold and mildew. Cardboard boxes, on the other hand, allow your clothing to breathe but also allow vermin to easily get inside.
Professional packers use a combination of the two, including double-corrugated wardrobe cartons for hanging clothes. Considering there are no plastic alternatives to wardrobes, cardboard is really your only choice for hanging clothes. The same professionals recommend putting your folding clothing into plastic containers with lids that seal well. (See Step 5 for preventing damage to your clothes from insects and rodents.)
4. Don’t Overstuff Your Clothing Storage Containers
Yes, plastic containers and wardrobes can get expensive. That’s especially true if you have a large collection of summer clothing. For this reason, many people tend to stuff their containers as full as possible. Professionals, however, highly recommend against this practice.
The reason why is that clothing needs room to breathe, especially fabrics like silk, cotton, and wool. By packing too much into one container, you might end up defeating the purpose of that container. In other words, don’t stuff your storage containers like a squirrel stuffing its face in autumn. Leave a little room so that they can breathe.
5. Do Whatever You Can to Protect Your Summer Clothes from Insects and Rodents
Insects and rodents like mice and rats can quickly decimate your summer clothing collection. Keeping them away from your clothes is crucial to ensuring they stay in pristine condition. There are a few ways you can do this:
- Use red cedar blocks or chips, which naturally repel insects, especially moths. Place a block in each box or bin. If you have chips, place 2 handfuls in a swatch of old stocking that’s tied on both ends.
- Place sachets filled with lavender in your boxes. They smell great and do a fantastic job of keeping bugs away.
- Bay leaves, commonly used in Italian cooking, are an excellent bug repellent. You can sprinkle a few in each clothing container you store.
- Essential peppermint oil works well to prevent rodents. Put two or three drops on a cotton ball and place 3 or 4 of them in each clothing container.
- Seal cardboard boxes with metal tape which creates a stronger barrier against rodents and insects.
- Use an airtight bag sealing device to seal your clothing into bags. (Be sure they’re extremely dry and that the particular fabric can handle being compressed.)
Should You Choose a Climate-Controlled Storage Unit to Store Your Summer Clothes?
We’ve already mentioned that moisture can create mold and mildew which will damage your summer clothing. One of the best ways to prevent that is to choose a climate controlled storage unit to store your summer clothes.
These specialized storage units keep the temperature and humidity stable throughout the year. Professionals highly recommend climate controlled storage if you have a large collection of summer clothing to store. It’s one of the best ways to prevent damage from mold and mildew and keep your clothes dry and fresh.
Final Thoughts
As we’ve seen, keeping your summer clothes in pristine condition is an important consideration when storing them. If you’re like most folks, your clothing is a part of your identity, so keeping everything nice is genuinely important. To that end, we hope you found this guide useful and the information within actionable.
If you plan to store your summer clothing in a storage unit, NSA Storage can help. We have clean, secure and affordable storage units around the United States. We also offer climate controlled storage at the majority of our facilities.
When you’re ready, you can easily reserve a storage unit online in many American cities. Until then, we wish you the best of luck storing your summer clothing as well as you can. Like us, we’re sure you can’t wait to use them again next year when summer returns!