How to Prepare and Store Your Winter Gear
Are you tired of the cold and the dark yet? Unfortunately, there’s a lot more to come. But while it can feel as though the winter will last forever, there’s lots to look forward to. The sanctioned face-stuffing of the festive period. The excitement and promise of the new year. And the eventual blossoming of spring. Yet, while warmer and brighter weather may feel like it’s a million miles away, it’s important to be prepared for it. By the time spring rolls around you’re likely to want to clean out the old and make way for the new.
This will likely mean that your bulky winter gear takes up space in your wardrobe which could be better suited to more seasonally appropriate attire. For this reason, many choose to keep their chunky winter wear in a storage unit when the sun comes out to play. But if you’ll be using our Self Storage in Wimbledon in this way, it’s essential to do it properly to protect your clothing. Here’s how…
First, make sure your winter clothes are fully cleaned
When we wear clothes, they come into contact with bacteria from our bodies, our breath and our sweat. Over time, even if clothes look visibly clean, these bacteria can spread. While this isn’t necessarily a major health hazard, it can cause clothes that have been kept in storage to smell more than a little funky when retrieved. Not to mention potentially attracting vermin to your clothes. Fully washing and drying clothes prior to storage can keep them fresher for longer.
Vacuum seal for short term storage only
Vacuum sealed bags are a clever and convenient way to reduce the space which stored clothes take up. However, this is only advisable if you are storing clothes in the short term (a few weeks or months). Keeping clothes vacuum sealed for months or years on end can cause the fibres to compress meaning that they don’t fit as well (or at all) when you come to retrieve them next winter.
Pack clothes in plastic containers with their own lids
Be sure to store your winter gear in plastic containers with tightly fitting lids. Never keep your clothes stored in a cardboard box or plastic bin bag. Plastic bags can trap moisture, which in turn can lead to the buildup of mildew on your clothes. Cardboard boxes on the other hand are easy for bugs, silverfish and other pests to infiltrate.
Store with cedar balls to deter moths and mustiness
Finally, while your storage provider will take every care to ensure that moths and other insects have no way of infiltrating your storage unit, it’s a good idea to throw some cedar balls in with your clothes. These are free of the toxic chemicals present in traditional moth balls and can ensure that your clothes will be kept smelling clean and fresh for longer.
At Henfield Storage we’re committed to providing storage solutions that are perfectly suited to your unique needs, no matter what you need to store. With high quality, dry, secure and climate-controlled storage available on flexible terms, we’re your number one choice for self storage in Wimbledon, Chiswick, Southwark, Staples Corner, Wimbledon and Horsham.
Click here to get to know our self storage options a little better!