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How to Store Clothes in Long Term Self Storage

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hanging clothes

It can be easy to pack clothes away into bin bags and leave them to gather dust in your loft for the next twenty years. However, this is doing more harm than good with regards to the clothes you’re storing. In a bid to banish the popular cardboard box or bin bag storage solution, we have a few helpful tips to ensure your clothes remain in pristine condition.

 

  • Chuck, Keep, Store or Sell?

Before you put any of your clothes in storage, have a declutter first. Empty your wardrobe and make four piles. Put those piles into categories; chuck, keep, store and sell. Sell the good quality pieces that you don’t want and give the rest to charity, as long as they’re in good condition. Sorting into these categories can free up space in your wardrobe, give you a monetary injection and it makes a mammoth sized task seem considerably smaller.

 

  • Wash Your Clothes Beforehand

Dirt that has collected on your clothes, prior to storing them, will eventually set into the fibres of your clothes over a period of time. Stains, for example, will be increasingly difficult to remove when the time comes to retrieve your garments.

Washing your clothes beforehand will save you time and effort when the time comes to take your clothes out of storage, especially if you have a considerable amount of them to store. Ensure that your garments have thoroughly dried before stashing them away and that you’ve dry-cleaned any items that require it prior to storing.

 

  • Storage Solutions to Avoid

It’s all too common for people to use cardboard boxes, plastic bags and vacuum sealed packs to store clothes. There are a number of problems that go alongside these storage solutions. Plastic bags trap moisture, creating the perfect conditions for mould to grow. As well as this, it can cause irreversible yellowing of light coloured garments.

Vacuum sealed packs aren’t necessarily a no-go when it comes to storing clothes as it depends on how long you intend to store them for. By removing all of the air from the bag, you’re compressing the garments and subsequently, their fibres. It takes a substantial amount of time for those fibres to bounce back to normality. These bags could be an option for clothes that will only be in storage for a few months (such as seasonal garments).

The best solution would be a simple plastic box with a lid. For older items, line the box with old (but clean) bed sheets and always store in a dark, dry, cool, clean place.

 

  • Keeping Checking

It’s important to keep an eye on the items you have in storage. Checking them once a year will be enough to prevent any long-lasting damage. It also gives you another chance to cull other items that you don’t want a year on.

 

With nearly 50 years worth of experience, you can count on Barnes of Lincoln’s family-run service to ensure your moving experience is stress-free. As well as providing free quotes, we offer to pack, prepare and transport your belongings to their new location, as well as helping you move in. Moving abroad? No problem. We offer an international moving package at excellent prices. To find out more, contact our friendly team today.

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