Before storing summer clothes, be sure each garment is clean and free of stains. If not, wash or dry-clean anything you’ll want to wear next year. If you plan to hang stored clothing, use plastic or wood hangers that won’t rust. If you plan to fold and box items, invest in quality plastic storage bins to keep moisture and vermin away from fine fabrics; polypropylene (stamped “PP”) is best. And while you’re sorting and rearranging your clothing, Garde Robe says, take advantage of the time to clean and dust drawers, shelves and closets to ensure that bugs such as clothes moths won’t get at your fashions.
Tag: fall closet clean-up
Declutter During the Change of Seasons
Instead of treating the end of summer like a funeral, embrace the cooler temperatures by preparing your wardrobe for them, Goedeker’s Home Life says. Give beach towels and bathing suits a wash before putting them in storage, and set aside any T-shirts or other summer garments that just didn’t get worn this year. Then, unpack the flannels, sweaters, jackets, blankets and scarves you’ll be using in the months ahead, taking care to eliminate any that have outlived their usefulness. Finally, pack up those lightly-used also-rans and contact ClothingDonations.org for a pickup. You’ll be able to start the season with less clutter!
Get Your Style On for Fall!
There’s a crispness in the air, leaves are beginning to change and the summer sky is giving way to fluffy fall clouds. What does all of this mean? It’s time to conduct the semi-annual closet shift—swapping out the summer wardrobe for warmer fall/winter clothes.
But don’t just trade one pile of clothes for another. Changing seasons can be a great time to purge those lightly-used or not-at-all used items from your closets. Face it, if you haven’t worn those coral printed crops or that Hawaiian shirt the entire season (and perhaps even for seasons before), it’s time to clear some space for clothing you will wear.
In Real Simple, Rebecca Daly offer six helpful tips to help you purge those items from your closet*:
- The old bag you used to love, but now just takes up space on your closet shelf! When cleaning closets it can be easy to focus on clothes alone, but don’t neglect to review the other items that take up space—like those bulky bags you no longer use.
- Old undergarments. Another closet item or dresser drawer item that tends to be overlooked is undergarments. If you’re not wearing them, throw them out—or, if there’s still useful life in them—add them to your donate pile.
- Stained clothing. So your favorite white beach cover-up somehow has become stained with unidentifiable spots. If you’ve washed and dried the item, those spots aren’t going away! It’s time to toss!
- Well-worn old sweaters. We all have them. Piles of sweaters that are full of pills, snags or stretched beyond recognition. Put them in the discard pile!
- Shoes that have taken their last steps. They may have been beloved at one time, but if the heels are worn off, the toes are scuffed or they simply don’t fit quite right and you rarely wear them, it’s time for them to go.
- Those old jeans that just don’t have the right look or fit anymore. If they’re baggy, holey, or following a style trend that has seen its day, it’s time to part with them, regardless of how well-loved they once were.
There! Doesn’t that feel better? Once you’ve gone through your closets and drawers to declutter and dismiss, you’ll have room to welcome the new fashions and trends that will keep your spirits up over the fall and winter months.
*Oh, and by the way, as you’re doing your fall closet clean-up, keep us in mind. We’ll come and pick up your gently-used items and find them new homes—benefiting our veterans in the process!