Fashion
This Is How To Properly Store Your Winter Clothes To Keep Them Fresh For Next Season
True story: last year, I forked a fair bit of £££ out for a lovely, super soft Acne grey scarf. "This'll last me years," I thought to myself as I handed over the £100+ FOR A SCARF. Little did I know, it would only last me until the following winter, when I would discover it covered in moth holes, in all its beautifully expensive glory. The lesson learnt was that leaving it above the radiator, hanging on the coat rack out in the open and unprotected, was not the most sensible idea. Moths thrive in these places, as does the damp. But how can you store your winter coat and other precious clothing such as knitwear to keep it safe through summer?
Well, there are a few set rules for how to store your clothing both safely, neatly and to save space. You need to consider a number of things when putting away your winter clothing, most notably as mentioned above, that moths thrive when items are left alone for long periods of time undisturbed. Space may also be a big issue for you, as it certainly is for me living in London. With a small closet and only a few shelves to fold things on, I am limited so need to find clever space-saving solutions.
Keep reading to find out how to keep clothing safe and stored away this season.
1Invest In An Anti-Moth Device
Once I experienced my not-so-fun encounter with the moths of SW London, you better believe I invested in all the preventative measures I could. This started with moth balls and the like. Moths notoriously do not like lavender, so chuck some of that around the coat hanger of your coat and/or in between your knitwear. You can also buy sprays to kill any bugs currently on your beloved clothing (gross). I got all this stuff over on Amazon, but you can buy it in a bunch of places, including your local dry cleaners, which leads me on nicely to my next point.
2Dry Clean Your Favourite Pieces Before Storing Them
Now that the weather's getting warmer, it's a perfect time to send in your coat and other delicate knitwear in to be dry cleaned. This way, there's no instant rush to go and pick it up, and come next winter, you'll have a lovely clean coat. Oh, and having it cleaned also helps to kill off anything weird lurking on your clothing (again, gross). According to Good Housekeeping, any food stains left unwashed can attract moths, and any lingering oils such as deodorant stains or perfume can discolour your fabric.
3Avoid The Damp
Much like many canned goods and other food items, your coat and knitwear are best stored in a cool, dry area. In short: avoid damp like the plague, unless you want your coat to come out next winter smelling stale and rocking some interesting stains on it. Hopefully in your home you won't suffer from damp areas, but to be careful, keep coats and the like away from garages, or anywhere where moisture can seep into the air.
4Vacuum Seal If You're Short Of Space
If you live in London (or any big city for that matter), chances are you're low on space. That means that keeping your coat and thick, chunky knitwear alongside your current summer clothes, can really be rather annoying. For this reason, invest in some vacuum seal bags (again, Amazon), in order to keep things stored safely and cleanly, and to save valuable space you could be using to display your Birkenstocks, skirts, and crop tops for the warmer months.
5Keep Clothing Behind Closed Doors
Whether you vacuum seal away your clothing, or keep it hanging or in neat piles, you'll want to store it behind a closet door (as opposed to, for example, an open hanging rail). This will serve as an extra defence against moths, and will also ensure your coat etc is in low lighting, which Good Housekeeping also hints is important.
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Follow these tips and your favourite winter wear should stay safe, dry, and most importantly moth-free all summer long.
