If you live anywhere with distinct seasons, like Massachusetts, Ohio, or New Jersey, you’re likely familiar with the juggling act of swapping out seasonal clothing. Even if you live in a more temperate climate like Florida, you may have a bulky winter coat you push around your closet all year.
Seasonal clothing may be a fact of life, but you shouldn’t feel sentenced to cramped closets or dressers. Before you give away your favorite ski jacket or cram one more swimsuit into the corner of your closet, hear what Luci Petlack, Ph.D., says about the best way to store clothes.
Clothes Storage Ideas From a Lifestyle and Home Organization Extraordinaire
Luci Petlack, Ph.D., created Luci’s Morsels, a blog dedicated to insights about style, food, travel, and family. To help her readers live happy, sustainable lives, she shares a wide range of home organization tips, including the best way to store seasonal clothing.
“We have a house from the 1920s with lots of storage for serving ware and not much for clothes. This is what ultimately got me started on seasonal clothing storage,” Luci shares. “I only keep what’s in season hanging in my closet.”
Luci uses and recommends several clothing storage ideas to combat the limited space at home.
1. Let Your Clothes Breathe
If you’re wondering the best way to store winter clothing, don’t pack your seasonal clothing containers to their brims.
“The biggest mistake I see—besides not storing out-of-season clothing at all—is leaving clothes tightly wrapped up,” Luci shares. “Especially if something has been dry cleaned, you want to let items air out, whether they’re being stored or just hanging in your closet.”
You may be tempted to use vacuum-sealed bags as containers to store clothes, but encasing your clothes in plastic cuts off airflow and seals in any lingering scent or grime on the fabrics. Luci recommends using storage bins whenever possible, but if you have clothing that won’t fold easily, use cloth garment bags to keep your closet organized.
2. Store Your Clothing Neatly
Neatly storing your clothing may seem like common sense, but when you wake up on that first chilly morning of fall and scramble for your sweater, it’s easy to shove summer clothing in the first open space you find. The more disorganized your closet becomes, the more the clutter can stress you out. Even if you’re not consciously bothered by the wadded-up linen shorts in the corner, your brain sees it as unfinished business, so keep those summer clothes neatly folded.
Another benefit of neatly storing your clothes is sustainability. Luci notes storing out-of-season clothes nicely creates the feeling of shopping without buying anything new, which reflects the recent underconsumption trend on social media. Underconsumption emphasizes how extending the use of clothes you already own is healthier for the environment and your budget.
3. Understand How To Prepare and Clean Seasonal Clothing
Before you toss all your seasonal clothing into the washer, lay out each item and review their care instructions. Improperly washing your clothes is the fastest way to ruin them, so if a dress’s tag says to dry clean it, you should dry clean it.
“You must make sure all clothes are completely dry before storing them or you could have problems with mold,” Luci says. “I also like to neaten anything up, such as hemming any tears or holes, using a sweater stone on pilled sweaters, and cutting any loose threads.” She also recommends buttoning or zipping up clothes to help them maintain their shapes.
4. Handle Delicate Fabrics With Special Care
The best way to get the most mileage out of your seasonal clothes, Luci says, is to put them away cleanly. Any clothing pieces made of materials like silk or polyester will cling to stains and grime, making them trickier to remove. Use washing tips for seasonal clothing to avoid making any messes worse.
Once you’ve cleaned your delicate fabrics, Luci also recommends taking steps to prevent musky odors during storage. “I like to use charcoal air filter bags to diminish the musky scent, as well as small lavender sachets,” she notes. Lavender is also a natural pest deterrent, in case you’re concerned about any surprise guests potentially invading your storage boxes.
If your seasonal clothing still has a stale scent or wrinkles the next time you pull it out of storage, give it a quick wash without laundry soap for a gentle refresh.
5. Maximize Your Closet Space With Small Space Clothes Storage Ideas
If you have limited closet space for seasonal clothing, Luci has you covered. As she’s adapted to making the most of less storage space, she’s found that having a smaller wardrobe “is easier and often more fulfilling.”
When you downsize your closet with clothes storage ideas like the one-in-one-out method, you can make the most of your space without stressing about clutter or hanging on to clothing pieces you don’t need or want. If you’re not sure which seasonal clothing items you should keep, Luci recommends learning how to find your style as a starting point for minimizing your wardrobe.
For the seasonal clothing you plan to keep in your closet, don’t worry about labeling or categorizing them. Luci neatly stores her clothes in two large bins so she can easily pull out what she needs without too much searching.
6. Give Yourself More Flexibility With Self Storage
Whether you’re still figuring out your style or have an extra bulky parka that will never fit in your closet, take the pressure off yourself with self storage. You can apply Luci’s helpful clothes storage ideas in a storage unit without giving up any real estate in your closet or dresser.
If you rent with Compass Self Storage, you can enjoy a variety of storage unit sizes and features like climate control, which gives you peace of mind when you need storage for clothes.
Our extended access hours and storage facilities’ proximity to major roads and highways also makes it easy to swing by your storage unit to pick up an extra sweater or scarf when it works best for your schedule.
Find a Clothing Storage Unit at Compass Self Storage Today
When the best way to store winter clothing and other seasonal fashion is to give them a home away from home, choose Compass Self Storage. Our affordable month-to-month leases and convenient locations are perfect for creating space at home and staying organized in any season.
Find a storage facility near you and simplify your clothing storage strategy today! Explore our blog to learn about other ways self storage can make your personal or professional life easier.
