It’s a wrap: 5 tips to store away off-season clothes

Temperatures in the country are dropping and sooner or later, you will have to pack away your summer essentials. While it may sound like an arduous task, prepping your clothes for storage is a good practice for a number of reasons. For one thing, your clothes will last longer, meaning you won’t have to go on a frantic shopping spree once the weather starts to warm up again.

Come next summer, you’ll also be able to find your bathing suits, sundresses, and sleeveless blouses without tearing apart your closet. Plus, you won’t be pulling your hair out because you’ve discovered your favorite pair of shorts has some sort of mystery smell attached to them as they weren’t stored properly. Compiled from Bustle and Huffington Post, here is a list of storage tips that you can make use of while making Sunday your cleaning day.

1- Wash and dry

Make sure all your clothes are properly washed before deciding to move them into storage. This will get rid of stuff such as random food or drink spills you may have forgotten about that can cause your favorite shirts to mold or discolour. It will also keep your clothes looking new over winter.

2- Choose garment bags over plastic ones 

Sometimes you might have items such as nice summer dresses that need more care than just folding them up and shoving them into a box. That’s where garment bags come in handy. Garment bags will protect your clothes from getting wrinkled and dirty and also keep your closet looking neat. Be sure to dry clean any dresses or summertime formals before neatly placing them in garment bags. Then, all you have to do is hang it all up.

3- Cedar wood works wonders

You have everything packed up and you’re just about done. Hang in there just a tad longer — your clothes need a little extra protection before you put them away for the season. Use a few cedar wood sachets to tuck into your storage boxes and tie around your hangers. Cedar is known to ward away insects such as moths, that might damage your clothes. But we guarantee it won’t leave behind any unwanted smells.

4- Keep the temperature in mind

The atmospheric conditions and environment you are storing your items in can cause damage if extreme. Research suggests that clothes should be stored in conditions that do not exceed 23°C with a relative humidity of 55%. Even though there is no harm in storing items anywhere as long as the space is clean, this tip would be beneficial if you really want to keep them super safe.

5- Grab those dry softeners

One last tip! When you finally put those boxes under the bed or in the storage room, put a few dryer softener sheets in between your cotton overalls and other summer items. That way, when you pull them out next spring, you won’t need to rewash your clothes to have them smelling clean again.

Compiled By Manaal Khurram

Published in The Express Tribune, September 25^th, 2016.

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