You know the situation, the end of the season is approaching and you have a tonne of clothes that you have no intentions of wearing for the next few months.
The question we regularly get is:
“What can I do with my out of season clothing? Can I store them?”
If you live in a flat in London, or just have limited living space, you will undoubtedly have run into the problem of limited storage space. Storing out of season clothing is no exception, especially when you consider that a winter wardrobe may consist of coats, boots, thick jumpers, scarves, hats and more.
If you run out of closet space and don’t want your clothing and accessories lying around your home, what are your options?
Consider Using Offsite Storage For Your Out Of Season Clothing
We briefly touched on this in our previous article “PART 2: 10 Reasons To Use Spaceways Box Storage”.
In the article, we mentioned the fact that if you own garage space, you probably do not store your car in there in this day and age. One, because you can barely open the car doors when parking in the garage (great design!), but secondly because we have so many accumulated items and have no space to store them.
The garage and other such areas become the go-to place for home storage.
What is the issue with storing out of season clothing in your garage?
First and foremost, garage doors are much easier to break into when compared to offsite storage facilities.
The Metropolitan Police state:
“It’s strange how most people don’t secure their shed or garage in the same way they do their homes. People often end up using a flimsy lock or padlock to protect the contents – whether it’s a car, bike or lawnmower. The fact is, a burglar will usually try a shed or garage first because they can find the tools they need to get into the house” (met.police.uk)
Secondly, and just as important, garages are not temperature controlled at all. When it is cold outside, the inside temperature of the garage will be freezing. If it is hot out, it will be hot in the garage, too.
Temperature swings like this are not suitable for your clothing, or for most other household items for that matter.
Using Offsite Storage For Out Of Season Clothing
Due to these situations of limited space at home, potential theft risk and the inherent temperature fluctuations of storing items in places like sheds and garages, an offsite storage facility could be the solution you need.
Snippet from “PART 2: 10 Reasons To Use Spaceways Box Storage.”
“Most storage providers will operate a facility where the temperatures are kept in a tight range to prevent any form of decay or damage to the items stored there.
As an example, Spaceways, who are part of the Kelly’s Group of companies, operates a facility that stores a variety of items, such as:
– Paper-based archive records
– Data Tapes
– Deeds & Wills
– Business Furniture
– Office Equipment
– Household Furniture
– Household Items (including clothing for the long term)
– Student Items
…and much more!
As we store such a variety of belongings and data, we ensure to keep our facility at ideal temperature ranges to maintain the integrity of all of these.
Due to the way Spaceways store items, in individually sealable boxes, it is much cheaper to store by the box than it is to store in a self-storage unit or traditional self-storage space. Spaceways charge just £4.90 a month per box filled. Ten boxes (which holds a lot of items) is only £49 a month!”
Not only is it affordable, but it is also convenient.
Spaceways operate a box storage with pick up and delivery service. This means we can drop our Spaceways boxes to your location for you to fill (for free) and then return to collect your full boxes and take them into storage (also for free). Then when you are ready, deliver your boxes back to your location within 48 hours.”
To read the full article from the above snippet, please click PART 2: 10 Reasons To Use Spaceways Box Storage.
Let’s say you choose to store your out of season clothing with a box storage provider such as Spaceways, what are the best practices and how do you go about it?
- Below, we shall start by covering the top five tips you should consider when packing your items to be stored with an offsite storage provider.
- We shall then look at the simple process in which you can book this type of storage with Spaceways.
1. What Is The Best Way To Store Out Of Season Clothing? Top 5 Tips
1. Ensure to wash all items before packing them into boxes
It is always a good idea to wash all of your clothes before packing them into boxes. If you are storing more delicate items, a trip to the dry cleaners can be a good option too. If you were to store clothing that was stained or that contained odours (such as body odours, perfumes & aftershaves), it would make the job of getting these out again much harder than if washed beforehand.
2. Do not store in plastic bags for long periods
The main reason for this piece of advice is because most fabrics and materials need to breathe. Placing them into air-tight plastic bags will not allow for this to happen. The above applies to the plastic dry cleaning covers too. Some may not be aware of this, but when a dry cleaner cleans your clothes, they use liquid solvents (instead of actual water – hence the name “dry” cleaning).
If for whatever reason, the solvents are not completely dry, then moisture can become trapped between the garment and the cover, which will start to discolour your clothing. Most dry cleaners ensure to dry thoroughly to avoid this, but keeping the item in plastic once you have received it back is not a good idea.
3. Mothballs vs Cedarwood Blocks? Do they work?
If you have followed the first step above, the use of these may be redundant. Regardless, it is still an area that is worth taking notes on as it could apply to other items you leave stored at home.
Mothballs
How do Mothballs work? Mothballs or Moth Crystals work by releasing small amounts of fumigant gas to kill off any bugs and pests etc. Because of this, it is only advisable to use them in properly sealed storage containers or boxes that are kept away from people and pets in general.
Cedarwood Blocks
Cedarwood contains natural oils that kill off moth larvae and other pest larvae that may be hiding in your clothing. Interestingly though, it will only kill off the younger larvae and not the older eggs. Another interesting point to note is that as the scent fades, so does the effect. You can include multiple cedar blocks to mitigate against this, but they do seem to have a time limit for how long they are useful.
4. Is it better to hang or fold my clothes?
When answering the question on whether it is better to hang or fold clothing when putting items into storage, it does depend on the item in question. If you are using thin wire hangars to hang your suits and other types of formal wear, you are probably ruining them without knowing it! The best way to store these types of clothes is on proper hangars that are made for them. Anything else, t-shirts, jumpers, trousers and more, can all be folded and packed into boxes for storage for long periods, no problem.
5. Do not vacuum seal everything
Finally, vacuum sealing is a great way to save on space when you are putting your belongings into storage. Using vacuum bags, you can get a lot more into your boxes for sure! Just bear in mind that it is not a good idea to vacuum seal everything you bring into storage. When you vacuum seal your items, because all of the air is extracted, that compression action can actually be damaging to some of your garments. For those larger, “puffy” winter jackets, it can take a long time for the original fibres to return to normal.
Out of season items that should not be vacuum-sealed include:
- Bulky Coats
- Thick “Fluffy” Winter Gloves
- Clothing Made From Wool or Down
2. How do you book out of season clothing storage with Spaceways?
The process to book your storage with us is very simple and, most importantly, affordable at just £4.90 a month per box.
Spaceways operate a storage with pickup and delivery service.
Once you order on our website, we shall drop our Spaceways boxes to your home for free. On the date you select during the booking process, we shall return to collect your packed items.
Everything will be taken into storage. You will also receive access to your online account where you can check on the status of your boxes and, when you are ready, order the redelivery of your items. Subject to availability, we shall have your belongings back to you within 48 hours.
It is simple, effective and affordable.
To book your clothes storage in, click the “Book Now” button above to begin the process. It takes less than 1 minute 47 seconds to do!
So, what will you do with your out of season clothing?
Spaceways have been in the storage business for a number of years now, and we have found the tips above to be the most relevant when looking to store your out of season clothing offsite.
To get started, just click the purple “Book Now” button to book your storage in today!
If you have any additional tips, we would love to know!
We hope you found this article helpful and hope you find our out of season clothing storage service useful, too!
