I bought one of those clear plastic upright totes on wheels. It has 2 drawers in it. I wheeled this into my bedroom closet. I keep my bandanas and sweat bands in the top drawer (I work out and we live in the desert).
I moved to a small apartment and the bedroom is very small. I need some ideas for storing clothes. I have two small sets of drawers and a hanging rail but the rail looks out of place. I have hung a nice curtain on it but it still looks bulky. Any inexpensive ideas I could use without cluttering the room up would be great. Many thanks.
By helen from UK
Don't you have a closet in your bedroom? I don't have anymore clothes than will fit in my closet and the dresser and chest of drawers. When you can't fit them all in the amount of storage for your clothes it is time to sort through clothes and get rid of some of them.
Apartments in the UK tend to be very short on storage space, unfortunately. We don't have a single closet in our entire place! Those stackable plastic tubs make for decent storage, more sturdy than boxes. You might also try some of those vacuum bags that compress clothes.
How about under your bed? Or under anything? Do you have luggage not in use? How about some big decorative wooden boxes (like a trunk or a hand painted wooden box). Or how about a coffee table made out of a trunk or wooden box (put clothes inside). Go to flea markets and thrift stores and find something cheap and redo it yourself to go in your space. You probably have some places to store things - just look around - you may have to reorganize - change things around.
One thing I learned about living in small spaces is to utilize wall space more. Can you install some shelves on the walls? You can store some neatly folded sweaters or other tops. If you can hang another rail below that one that you have, it will double that space for storing shorter items like jeans, shirts, etc.
I had the same problem. I started a vintage suitcase collection. Usually less than $3 at yard sales or thrift stores. Lots of colors and shapes. They stack well or sit nice on a shelf. The luggage tags help me remember what is in each one. I get lots of compliments.
I am planning on storing my daughter's winter clothing and I was wondering if anyone has any tips for storing clothing in the garage and keeping it from getting mildew or bad smells. Any suggestions?
I strongly suggest investing in the giant sized Space Bags (walmart). You suck the air out of the using the vacuum.
We use the very large Rubbermaid Plastic Totes with a strong plastic bag inside the tote. Add the clothing, blankets or winter wear of all sorts, and a couple bars of good smelling hand soap like Tone, and store them for 20 years if you have to. When you open them, you only need to shake them out and hang them up or put them on your bed. They are clean when you store them, them they will be just as clean and sweet-smelling as they were when you packed them away.
Be sure to put twist ties on the large plastic bags to keep it all inside...and you can even add wide Scotch tape
around the lid of the tote if you want to. This is the best way I've ever found to store these items for as long as needed. All the best, Julia in Boca Raton, FL
How do I store white suits to avoid yellowing stains?
By sharon from Nashville, TN
I've never had anything white or light have yellow stains except when there was a smoker in the house. It permeates through the tiniest spaces even with closed closet doors and dresser drawers. In any event, just store the clothing in very well sealed garment bags.
PS - Plastic garment bags from the cleaners are okay but place tissue paper on the shoulders of the clothing on the hangers and tie off the bottom of the bag.
Plastic bags from the cleaners are not OK! Plastic is a petroleum product and eventually breaks down and causes yellowing.
Tahlula, I guess I've been lucky using dry cleaning bags because I have some clothing items that have been stored in them for years because they are sentimental items. Your comment made me wonder why clothes would yellow because of them so I just did some surfing and it turns out that it's not the plastic in and of itself that causes the yellowing but rather the dry cleaning fluids. Then I went to my closet and and double checked those clothing items that have been stored in them and only one was slightly discolored and, as it turns out, that item is indeed the only one that had been dry cleaned.
(Submitted via email)
Hi Deeli,
I think the tip about not storing clothes in dry cleaning bags for long periods of time because the plastic breaks down and releases CFC gasses came from some clothing care expert I saw on Martha Stewart. I hope you find what works best for you.
All my best, Gina
Hi Gina :-)
Thanks so much for your dry cleaning plastic bag information and well wishing for me finding a solution but the solution/thoughts were for Sharon ;-)
Based on what I discovered and posted for Sharon when checking my closet of plastic covered clothing (some stored in the plastic for over two decades) is to not use a dry cleaners for clothes cleansing and then store in plastic.
As for Martha Stewart's advice please read this link from her site regarding dry cleaning :-( www.marthastewart.com/
I am interested in finding out how I can store my children's outgrown clothes until I hand them down to my future nieces and nephews. I have heard from others who have stored them in Rubbermaid type boxes that the colors of the clothes all bleed into each other.
Any suggestions to keep clothes looking nice without spending a lot of money?The best way to store clothes for a long time is the same way to store quilts. Wrap each piece of clothing in white tissue paper. This prevents the fabric from touching anything else. Please note that all stored fabrics should be folded as little as possible (don't over fold, not fold as small as you can get it). Also all stored fabrics should be taken out, checked for condition (ie: mildew) and washed once a year. I hope this helps you.
Mrs Kathy Cohen
Select a large plastic bag to store the clothes. A clear trash bag, zip top bag, or space saving bag would be appropriate. Transfer the stack of clothes into the plastic bag and remove excess air while sealing the bag.
Use a permanent marker to label the outside of the bag with the size of clothes, gender and appropriate season. An example would be "Size 3T, Girl, Summer."
Stack the bags side by side in a large plastic storage box. These should be placed in order from the smallest size of clothing to largest, with the smallest size against one end of the container. As you add more bags, they should go in order by size.
