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How To Prepare Clothing For Long-Term Storage

When you want to clear out your closets and dressers to create extra space, renting a self-storage unit can provide the perfect option for stashing away your seasonal items. The key to keeping your clothing in great shape is knowing how to care for it when putting it into storage. Here are some tips you can use for storing your clothing.

Choose Climate-Controlled Storage

Climate-controlled storage can help prevent damage caused by extreme changes in temperature. This is particularly true for delicate items, such as fur or leather coats. Ask the facility about the average temperature that the unit will be kept at to ensure you have the right conditions for storing your clothing.

Have Clothing Cleaned First

Take the time to clean all of the clothing you'll be putting into storage. Take suits, gowns, and coats to the dry cleaner, and launder your denim, cotton, and polyester items. Be sure that everything is sufficiently dried before packing your items away. You may also want to iron everything to prevent wrinkles from causing permanent creases or lines in your clothing.

Use Breathable Garment Bags

Breathable garment bags provide a great solution for storing away items that need to be hung. Opt for this type of garment bag, instead of a plastic one, to allow air to flow freely. This can prevent moisture buildup that might otherwise happen inside plastic bags. Pack only a few items in each bag to prevent the restriction of air flow, and organize similar items together so you can find your clothing when you need to. Invest in a rolling garment rack to hang these items on, and use plastic storage bins for everyday clothing such as sweaters and trousers.

Create Cedar Chip Sachets

Clothing can be susceptible to certain types of pest infestations, including moths. However, mothballs can leave behind an unpleasant odor. Instead of using mothballs, consider creating cedar chip sachets. The wood chips can repel moths while leaving a fresh scent in your storage unit. Small cotton drawstring bags can be used for this purpose. Hang them on hangers in between your garment bags, and place them inside your plastic storage bins to keep moths at bay.

Before you pack your clothing away, sort each item by size and season. This will help to keep everything organized and easy to find when it's time to take clothing out of storage at the beginning of every season. For more information, talk to a company like Belmont Self Storage.


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