Storing Winter Clothes

It’s almost the middle of May and after a beautiful weekend of near perfect weather I decided it’s time to switch the winter and summer clothes! Bring out the flip flops! I am fortunate enough to have a spare room with an extra closet where I store my out of season clothes. Each fall and spring I switch the clothes and it’s a breath of fresh air! It’s like a shopping spree – most of the clothes I forget I even had! What a great feeling?!

Any clothes that need dry cleaned go to the cleaners before packing them away for the next 5-6 months. When the clothes come back from the cleaners I store them on wooden or plastic hangers – not the metal hangers from the cleaners to protect the clothes. Also, I do not store clothes in the cleaner bags as the bags can contain chemicals that can damage clothes over the long-term. I fold all sweaters and put them on a shelf. Hanging sweaters can cause wear on the fabric and misshapen the sweater so they are unwearable next year.

Some additional tips include not packing away dirty clothes. Stains are more likely to set and clothes are more likely to retain odor. Any worn clothes should be cleaned before storing the clothes for the winter months.

Put a dryer sheet in shoes you’re storing away to absorb moisture and odor. Stuff shoes with newspaper to keep their shape and also help absorb moisture.

The sock drawer is often overlooked in this semi-annual changing of the clothes! Be sure to sort through the sock drawer – through away any socks without a match and any socks that are worn out. Also if there are socks you have not worn within the last 12 months those socks can be donated.

How do you store your off season clothes? Any tricks for transitioning to the next season? Summer will officially be here in 41 days but Spring is HERE!!! Are your clothes ready?