3 Creative Bedroom Storage Furniture Ideas to Lighten Your Closet’s Load

bedroom storage furniture ideas bed surround

The key component in keeping an organized bedroom is to have a closet space that’s well-designed and highly functional.

A well-managed closet can keep clutter from spilling out into the rest of the bedroom, but a closet won’t always be able to handle all of your wardrobe storage needs.

That’s when it’s time to consider some bedroom storage furniture ideas to help lighten the load in your closet a little.

Bedroom storage furniture ideas you may not have considered

Perhaps you’re looking for some supplemental storage systems for the bedroom for the following reasons:

  • your bedroom closet is too small
  • you own too many clothes and can’t find the time to properly thin out your wardrobe
  • you want to make better use of the storage space in your bedroom

A dresser and nightstand/bedside table are some obvious examples of bedroom storage furniture most of us use.

If you’re looking for some additional outside-the-closet bedroom storage furniture ideas to keep things tidy, here are a few outside-the-box suggestions.

1. Bed surround

When it comes to adding extra non-closet storage space to a bedroom, it’s hard to beat a bed surround.

This versatile piece of furniture gets somewhat overlooked when homeowners are considering the best bedroom storage furniture ideas.

Here’s why a bed surround is worthy of your consideration when you’re looking for smart ways to furnish your bedroom:

  • maximizes your bedroom storage space
  • provides a comfortable sleeping space
  • adds a stylish decorative touch to a bedroom

Let’s start with the valuable underbed storage a bed surround provides. The integrated storage drawers are perfect for things like out-of-season clothing, pillows, and blankets. And unlike a traditionally open underbed storage space, all your belongings will stay clean and dust bunny-free.

Bed surrounds can also include everything from nightstands, a headboard with cabinets and shelving storage, and even a custom wardrobe (or two).

And with a bespoke bed surround design, everything from the drawer sizes, shelf widths and depths, lighting placement, finishes, and any other available features can be customized for you.

bedroom storage furniture ideas bed surround 2

2. Wardrobe

A wardrobe (also known as an “armoire”) is another smart solution to turn to when you need more bedroom storage. The beauty of a wardrobe is that it can fit anywhere there’s free space in a bedroom.

Some people are under the impression that a wardrobe is little more than a furniture enclosure with an extra hanging rod or two, along with a shelf.

While it does function as an extension of your closet for clothes hanging space, a wardrobe can do so much more. Many of the useful accessories and features that make a closet organization system so effective can be added, too. Examples include:

  • full-length mirror
  • drawers with dividers
  • pullout shoe rack
  • a valet rod, tie/scarf rack, and decorative hooks

Wardrobes are a great storage option if you’re finding a shared closet space too frustrating to maintain with your partner. Create a separate storage space for one of you by adding a wardrobe to your bedroom.

Bedrooms aren’t the only room in a home where a wardrobe can be added, either. They’re ideal for a playroom, storage room, guest room, or any room without adequate (or any) closet space.

And just like a bed surround, going the custom route for the wardrobe you’re buying allows you to personalize the design to suit your needs, both functionally and aesthetically. With decorative touches like metal grill or glass doors, crown moulding, and stylish door and drawer pulls, a bespoke wardrobe becomes a beautiful furniture display piece.

3. Wall bed

You might not think of a wall bed when you’re considering bedroom storage furniture ideas, but it might actually be perfect for your needs.

A wall bed’s clever design is all about space-saving and nothing occupies more floor space in a bedroom than a bed. Wouldn’t it be nice to reclaim the floor space a bed takes up when you don’t need it?

Wall beds (also known as “Murphy beds”) conveniently fold up into a stylish cabinet when they’re not being used. That makes them ideal for guest rooms, micro-condos, or any room where space is limited.

You could also optimize your available space by creating a multi-purpose room that functions occasionally as a guest room and as a home office the rest of the time.

And we’re not including wall beds on this list of creative bedroom storage furniture ideas just because the bed itself can be stored away.

A custom wall bed can also incorporate surrounding drawer and cabinet storage, to really expand your bedroom storage options.

bedroom storage furniture ideas wall bed

Great bedroom storage furniture ideas to keep you organized

Organized Interiors has the highest quality bedroom storage furniture ideas and custom closet solutions for your home.

Schedule a free in-home design consultation with us to discover how our 40+ years of organization expertise can help you to improve the storage flexibility in your home.

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How a Home Entertainment Centre Can Enhance Your Viewing Space

home entertainment centre

Despite the popularity of mobile devices, there is still very much a place in the home for a dedicated room that’s optimized for the best viewing experience.

Watching movies, TV shows, and other streaming media on a tiny smartphone or tablet screen has its limitations.

It simply can’t compare to the communal experience of enjoying your entertainment with a group of friends or family on a large TV screen, with a good surround sound system to enhance your sense of immersion.

One of the best ways to create the perfect viewing space at home is to upgrade a room with a home entertainment centre.

Why a home entertainment centre instead of a home theatre?

Having a standalone home theatre room that’s outfitted with a high-end projector, huge professional projection screen, state-of-the-art sound system, and ultra-comfy chairs sounds great in theory.

While a home theatre may be the next-best-thing to an actual trip to the movie theatre, for most homeowners they’re simply not practical.

They may not have the space for a home theatre or the budget to set one up properly. For many homeowners, however, having a home theatre will be just a little too niche for their taste.

There’s also the fact that the addition of a home theatre provides a poor return on investment.

That’s why a home entertainment centre (also known as an “entertainment unit”) makes so much sense.

Create a tidy space for all your tech

The number of gadgets and devices we to use to consume all of our media these days can be downright head-spinning.

In addition to your TV, your living room or recreation room where you do your viewing likely contains many of these types of tech devices:

  • cable or satellite receiver/PVR
  • video game console
  • streaming box
  • surround sound system or soundbar
  • Blu-ray player
  • virtual assistant/smart speaker (like the Apple HomePod or Amazon Echo)
  • modem and router
  • an external hard drive for extended media storage

Trying to keep so many devices and their many cables organized isn’t easy. That’s one of the things that makes a customized media storage unit like a home entertainment centre so special.

Every device and the storage space they need will be taken into account in order to create a clean, organized home entertainment hub.

A custom home entertainment centre also effectively manages all the cables that are part of your setup so they’re tidy and hidden, instead of an unsightly, tangled mess.

white home entertainment centre with 2 chairs

Organize your accessories and media

On top of all those audio and video components, there’s also all the accessories that comes with them that need to be kept organized.

Remotes, gaming controllers, and other accessories used in your viewing room can cause clutter and get lost easily without some manner of organization. TV remotes, in fact, are the most commonly misplaced item in homes.

And while streaming’s popularity has shrunk the physical media collections in many homes, some homeowners still have Blu-rays, DVDs, vinyl records, and CDs they might not wish to part with just yet.

A home entertainment centre is a practical, all-in-one piece of furniture that creates media and accessory storage space that surrounds the devices you watch or listen to everything on.

Remotes and accessories like spare cables can be kept organized in spacious drawers. Your stored media can be kept hidden behind cabinet doors to maintain a clean room aesthetic.

Or, if you prefer to show off your impressive Blu-ray movie collection, you could store them on open shelves.

The benefits of a custom home entertainment centre

A custom home entertainment centre isn’t just built to fit the storage needs for all of your electronics and media.

You can also have it designed to effectively complement and blend seamlessly with your home décor by choosing finishes and the perfect style of decorative hardware.

A wide range of cabinet door styles are available, from metal grill to glass to solid panel. Refined touches like LED lighting can further enhance the look of a home entertainment centre.

And to really add to the ambiance of your viewing room, an electric fireplace can even be incorporated into the entertainment unit’s design.

A mini bar could also be added to truly make your viewing room the perfect inviting space for hosting get-togethers.

home entertainment centre with bar

Add extra functionality to a home entertainment centre with a bar.

One-of-a-kind home entertainment centre designs

Choosing the right type of home entertainment centre is important because it will be the centrepiece of your living room or whichever room it’s located in.

To enhance your viewing space with a one-of-a-kind custom home entertainment centre, schedule your free in-home design consultation with Organized Interiors.

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9 Smart Organization-Related Gift Ideas for the Home

gift ideas for the home, presents under christmas tree

It’s the holiday season and you’re probably looking for some great gift ideas for that hard-to-shop-for person on your gift list.

Choosing something that helps the people in your life stay a little more organized makes for a gift that’s both thoughtful and practical.

We’ve put together a list of some helpful gift ideas for the home that can be used for gift-giving budgets both large and small.

Ranging from full room makeovers to some handy gadgets and devices, all of these gift ideas for the home will enable anyone to keep their house or condo tidier.

1. Label maker

label makerWhether it’s used in somebody’s home or office, a label maker simplifies the process of creating easy-to-read labels for just about anything. 

Any user will have plenty of printing sizes, fonts, symbols, and character colours to work with in order to produce labels that have a consistent, professional look.

The handy devices come in handheld and desktop models and while they may be small, they offer a lot of versatility. Use them for:

  • all-purpose labelling 
  • crafting and gift-giving
  • making iron-on labels for clothing

2. Device charging station

We use so many electronic devices nowadays, which means we also have lots of device chargers scattered throughout the home.

Give someone you know a multi device charging station to make it easier to keep their family’s smartphones, tablets, and chargers a bit more organized.

A charging station naturally won’t be used every time someone in the house needs to recharge their device. However, adding a device power station to the kitchen, front hallway, or living room provides a convenient, central spot that can cut down on clutter and time that’s wasted looking for the proper charger.

Charging stations come in a few different designs. There’s the plug-in type, the dock type, and the pad type, where you just place your devices on the pad to charge them.

3. Custom closet makeover

Are you buying for someone who regularly complains about the disorderly state of their bedroom closet?

You can help them reclaim the hours of lost time they waste every year dealing with a messy closet by treating them to a custom closet makeover.

An effective closet organization system creates a place for everything and is the best solution for maximizing the storage space in a closet.

With a custom closet makeover, your gift recipient’s storage needs and design tastes can all be accommodated in order to create a functional wardrobe storage space they’ll love.

walk-in closet

4. Purse organizer

Any woman in your life will appreciate the usefulness of a purse organizer. These liner inserts are set within a purse and are loaded with pockets and compartments that will keep any purse well-organized.

These organizers can also be conveniently removed to easily transfer the contents from one purse to another. Purse organizers are very affordable as well, ranging in price from $5 up to around $40.

Make sure you choose a purse organizer that’s not made from heavy material, so as not to weigh down anyone’s purse too much.

5. High speed mobile scanner

mobile scannerA high speed mobile scanner helps to cut down on the paper clutter that contributes to a home’s disorganization.

If someone you’re buying for has been slow to adapt to modern times and still gets their bills via snail mail, give them a scanner to digitize bills, receipts, and other important documents that need to be kept.

Go for a mobile, high speed scanner model to make scanning anything in the home as easy as possible. A mobile scanner can also be used to digitize a photo collection (and provide a digital backup of anyone’s valuable family pictures).

Some scanner models will only scan documents and some will only scan photos, so look for a multi-purpose scanner that can handle both tasks.

6. Craft room

Giving someone the gift of a dedicated space that allows them to enjoy a hobby they love will be a special gesture that isn’t soon forgotten.

Organized Interiors’ craft room designs make space for anyone’s creativity, whether their passion is for:

  • drawing
  • sewing
  • music
  • scrapbooking
  • pottery
  • painting

A craft room can also allow a gift wrapping station to be set up, providing an organized, easy-to-use wrapping area for future holiday seasons and other gift-giving occasions

craft room

7. Bluetooth tracker

Next to smartphones and remotes for TVs and other A/V devices, house and car keys are a home’s most misplaced items, according to a survey done by a company that designed an iPhone location app.

The survey found that at least once a week, 28% of the respondents misplaced their car or house keys.

If this is a regular problem for someone you’re buying for this holiday season, help them out with a Bluetooth tracker that can be attached to items such as:

  • key rings
  • wallets
  • purses
  • smartphones
  • luggage

The small tracking tile is synced to a smartphone app that helps you pinpoint the location of your lost item. Tile is a reputable manufacturer of Bluetooth trackers and they carry a variety of tracker types that make great stocking stuffers.

8. Coffee pod spinner

gift ideas for the home, coffee pod spinnerWhat’s more convenient than single-serving coffee pods? As pod coffee makers continue to become more commonplace in homes, many new delicious flavours and brews become available.

Sure, you could keep your kitchen counter tidy by keeping all of those pods in a decorative basket or jar, but that doesn’t always make your favourite coffee flavour the easiest to find.

Gift someone with a coffee pod spinner, which makes it easier to find and organize coffee pods. Prices typically range from around $12 to $60.

9. Entertainment centre

Could someone you’re buying for this holiday season use an upgrade to the room where they watch their movies, TV shows, and streaming content?

Maybe the storage space for their TV and A/V devices just lacks style or maybe their entertainment room looks untidy.

A cluttered home entertainment space these days isn’t uncommon. After all, consider the large number of electronics we use now, such as PVRs, streaming boxes, video game consoles, surround sound systems, sound bars, etcetera.

That creates a setup with a lot of wires, remotes, and additional peripherals that can create a disorganized look in a room.

Consider giving a customized entertainment centre to someone as a gift this year to create a stylish, all-in-one storage space for a room’s electronic devices and accessories.

gift ideas for the home, entertainment unit

Give the gift of organization this holiday season

Organized Interiors can help you with some of these smart and practical gift ideas for the home. Visit our showroom in Vaughan to get a little organization inspiration this holiday season.

We also provide complimentary in-home consultations. It takes less than a minute to fill out this consultation request form and we’ll promptly get back to you.

Happy holiday shopping!

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7 Shared Closet Tips and Ideas to Create a More Harmonious Space

For some couples, sharing a closet space can be quite the challenge.

A shared closet space unquestionably has a different dynamic than a one-person closet space.

Adapting to using a shared closet as the result of a new living arrangement can be one of a couple’s biggest challenges once they start living under the same roof.

Even if you’ve been with your spouse for a long time, maybe you’ve never quite seen eye-to-eye on your shared closet arrangement.

And if one partner’s organizational skills aren’t exactly their finest attribute (to put it diplomatically), that only makes things more of an uphill battle.

shared closey

Couples commonly clash over closet clutter

A survey by self-storage company SpareFoot found that clutter was the cause of arguments for 48% of the cohabitating couples they polled.

Not surprisingly, messy closets were the main reason for couples arguing about clutter.

Another study of 3,000 adults in the UK for Esure Home Insurance found that 40% of respondents argued regularly with their partner over lost items.

Stop having the same arguments over and over with your partner about your shared closet.

Use these seven tips to make the closet you share a harmonious space, instead of a space that causes tension and conflicts.

1. Declutter first and organization becomes easier

51% of the couples arguing about closet clutter from that SpareFoot survey ended up getting rid of some clothing to appease their partner.

When you’re working your way towards creating a harmonious shared closet space, it’s essential to ensure the closet isn’t being occupied by non-essential items.

One group of organization experts (the National Association of Professional Organizers) estimates that 80% of your clothes are only worn 20% of the time.

That sobering statistic explains why it’s such a challenge keeping any closet space tidy.

Simplify things by decluttering your closet and getting rid of things you and your partner never (or rarely) wear. Start by moving your out-of-season clothing somewhere else, which will make the closet space easier to manage.

2. Divide and conquer

Another reason to declutter before making over your closet is you’ll get a much better idea of how much space you both actually need.

Once that’s been established, start divvying up the space. A 50/50 split probably won’t be practical, as one of you will likely have more to store.

For this process to truly work, some give and take needs to happen, which hopefully results in a space-sharing arrangement that works for everybody.

Be open-minded about the fact that some flexibility may be needed with your setup once it’s in place.

3. Leverage a closet designer’s expertise

Leaving your shared closet redesign to a professional will be beneficial because of the expertise they can bring to the project.

Most importantly, a professional closet designer will know how to plan smartly in order to maximize the storage space your closet can provide.

They’ll also have ideas and suggestions you may not have considered that can improve and enhance your closet design.

One major factor that impacts the effectiveness of a shared closet space is how carefully each individual’s needs were taken into consideration when the closet was designed.

Does your closet design give each of you enough hanging space? Were the right closet accessories incorporated into the closet design?

Is the closet laid out perfectly to accommodate the users’ heights in order to make things easy to access? This one is an important detail that can get overlooked if you buy a one-size-fits-all closet organizer from a store, instead of investing in a custom closet system.

4. Utilize effective closet storage systems

Squeezing the wardrobe of two people into a confined space and making that space function efficiently requires both creativity and well-chosen closet storage systems.

A reach-in closet makeover will be the “foundation” of the space. This organization system makes it easier to group like items together and will enable you to keep your closet tidy with less effort.

You’ll enhance the reach-in closet’s functionality by adding useful accessories like tie and belt racks, shoe racks, and pullout valet rods.

If one partner has a large watch collection, keep the timepieces properly wound and displayed with some watch winders. To keep a jewellery collection organized, jewellery drawers can be incorporated into a closet’s custom cabinetry design.

For drawers that are being shared, use drawer dividers to ensure easy organization. And no one likes to look at or smell their partner’s dirty laundry. Solve that problem with some hidden laundry hampers.

drawer with dividers in shared closet

Add drawer dividers to shared drawers to keep things organized.

5. When small won’t cut it, go big

While a closet makeover will make wardrobe management easier for a couple, it may be a simple fact that your main bedroom closet is just too small. That’s a common problem in old houses.

If you have a spare room that’s rarely used, converting it into a large walk-in closet (also known as a dressing room) is one effective way to keep a shared closet organized.

You’ll both have much an ample amount of storage space to work with. That minimizes the likelihood of arguments that result when one partner’s belongings start migrating too far into the other partner’s space.

Here’s another bold idea to consider if your home’s space allows for it – just avoid sharing a closet altogether.

If you have a much bigger wardrobe than your significant other, take the entire dressing room while leaving your partner with all of the space in your bedroom’s existing closet.

6. Use supplemental bedroom storage solutions

If you lack the space in your home to create a large walk-in closet/dressing room, there are other practical storage options available.

Use other bedroom storage products to add storage space that supplements what your closet can provide. Here are some suggestions:

  • wardrobe
  • bed surround
  • add another closet with a quick and easy solution like create-a-closet
shared closet, create-a-closet

Expand your storage options with added bedroom storage solutions. create-a-closet adds closet space anywhere.

7. Maintain your shared closet

Making your shared closet space function without any issues requires work, even when the best storage and organization systems are being used.

To be sure, they’ll make it much easier to keep your closet organized, but a consistent, ongoing effort from both parties will result in fewer arguments over the tidiness of your closet.

It doesn’t hurt to have some checks and balances in place. Perhaps once or twice a year, you can each take a little time to take care of decluttering your part of the closet.

Respect each others’s closet space boundaries. And keep the lines of communication open (in a civil manner) about closet-related matters.

Doing so will result in keeping this part of your relationship healthy and headache-free.

Transform your shared closet space

If a makeover of your shared closet space sounds like a smart way to restore harmony in your relationship when it comes to how your bedroom closet is used, we can help.

Schedule a free in-home consultation with Organized Interiors. One of our talented design consultants will show you and your partner how we can turn your closet into a stylish, highly efficient space.

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9 Clever Seasonal Clothes Storage Tips Everyone Should Know

Woman holding sweaters, seasonal clothes storage

Photo by Dan Gold on Unsplash

Living in a cold climate means having a larger wardrobe than someone living where the temperature barely changes.

Unlike a Floridian, wearing shorts outside in the middle of January simply isn’t an option for Canadians.

Or should I say most Canadians. There are those strange people, after all, who you occasionally see at the local Tim Hortons on a frigid winter day bundled up with a thick coat, toque, and…wearing their shorts. We don’t get it.

The bi-annual ritual of seasonal clothes storage

For the rest of us who stick to weather-appropriate attire, the perpetual seasonal clothes storage cycle is a fact of life.

At least twice a year in the spring and fall, it’s time to carry out the ritual of swapping your seasonal clothing for whichever apparel is best suited to the coming season.

Whether it’s packing away your swimwear or shorts in the autumn or your mitts and sweaters when springtime arrives, there’s a right way and a wrong way to store your seasonal clothes.

It’s well worth it to take the time to do things properly when it comes to seasonal clothes storage.

You’ll extend the life of your clothing. And when your organized seasonal apparel emerges from its hibernation months from now, you’ll have fewer headaches to deal with.

Use these nine seasonal clothes storage tips whenever you’re changing over your wardrobe.

 1. Pare down your wardrobe

Switching out your wardrobe when seasons change presents the perfect opportunity to take stock of what you own and “thin the herd” a little.

An MSN.com poll found that 63% of those surveyed planned to get rid of outdated clothing in the next year. However, life tends to get in the way sometimes. We don’t always follow through on those well-intentioned plans, unfortunately.

That’s one reason so many of us have so much unworn or barely worn clothing in our closets. One study by PR agency 10 Yetis estimated that the closets of U.S. women contain an average of $550 worth of unworn clothing.

Undoubtedly, seasonal clothing that doesn’t fit, is out of fashion, is damaged beyond repair, or was bought on sale but never worn will comprise some of that closet clutter.

While you’re going through your clothing collection, spend a little extra time to pare down your wardrobe.

Getting rid of clothing you never wear will create much-needed closet and drawer space. You’ll save a good amount of time every year by having fewer non-essential things to go through when you’re looking for something to wear.

2. Wash and repair your clothes before storage

button, seasonal clothes storageAny seasonal clothing should be properly washed and folded before being packed away for several months. For your more delicate items, round everything up for a visit to your dry cleaner.

Leaving an untreated stain on an item of clothing that’s being stored for awhile will usually create more problems for you later on. The stain will only set in further and cause a worse discolouration of the fabric.

The smells of body odours, perfumes, and colognes left on unwashed seasonal clothes will be more difficult to get rid of the longer you don’t deal with them. Clean clothes will also be much less likely to attract pests like closet moths.

Always be sure that your washed seasonal clothes are completely dry before they’re put into storage containers. Damp clothes being stored in a sealed space with no airflow is a recipe for mould and mildew problems.

Take care of any sweater de-pilling or necessary mending tasks, such as fixing broken zippers or replacing missing buttons on your seasonal clothes.

Invest a little extra time to make all of the seasonal clothes you’re storing fresh and ready-to-go as soon as you need them the following year. Your future self will thank you.

3. Use plastic storage containers

Always use clean plastic storage containers/bins with secure lids instead of cardboard boxes for your seasonal clothes storage. Be sure to label them in order to make finding things easier.

Even a thicker cardboard box will eventually fall apart and they’re harder to move around. Cardboard boxes are also susceptible to infiltration from rodents and insects.

Clothing stored in cardboard boxes for lengthy periods of time may also develop white or yellow stains.

Don’t overstuff your plastic storage containers, as you’ll cause tough-to-remove creases and wrinkling.

Loosely storing things in your containers and leaving a bit of space in them will also allow air to circulate.

4. Use mothballs properly for seasonal clothes storage

Wait, there’s a wrong way to use mothballs?

Well, as much as mothballs are indeed an effective solution to prevent insects from feasting on your clothes, remember that they are, in fact, a pesticide.

That means there’s a certain level of toxicity in the product, which makes them a hazard to pets, children, and you if you’re using them improperly. Toxicologists recommend that anyone handling mothballs wear gloves.

To eliminate any safety worries, you could spend a little extra and get chemical-free mothballs. Cedar blocks and cedar-lined chests are another safer option.

Also keep this in mind: mothballs need to be used in an airtight container or bag to be most effective. You also need to use the right amount of them. And remember that after awhile, mothballs lose their potency and will need to be replaced.

5. Where to store your seasonal clothes

Not all of your stored seasonal clothing will be folded up and put in storage bins. You’ll want to hang some things, so try creating more storage space in your closet by adding a closet organizer and some helpful accessories, like extra hanging rods.

Adding an extra shelf to your closet’s upper reaches can also provide the perfect space to keep items you won’t need for some time.

Just don’t overcrowd your closets with so much of your stored seasonal clothing that it ends up restricting your everyday use of the space.

To free up closet space, here are a few more places you can use for seasonal clothes storage in your home:

  • wardrobe
  • larger walk-in closet/dressing room
  • bed surround with underbed storage
  • suitcases
  • laundry room with extra cabinet storage space (you’ll want to use a dehumidifier due to the high moisture levels, however)
  • mudroom
seasonal clothes storage bed surround

A bed surround with underbed drawer storage is the perfect seasonal clothes storage solution.

6. Store things in a climate-controlled space

Wherever you plan to store your seasonal clothing, ensure it’s in a climate-controlled area of your home.

Stable storage conditions with consistent temperatures (preferably cool) are recommended to keep your clothes as well-preserved as possible.

Only use your basement if it’s not too damp and don’t store your clothes too close to your furnace. Avoid using your garage unless it’s climate-controlled.

Your storage space should also be clean. Considering how hot and dusty most attics are, that might rule them out as a seasonal clothes storage space for you.

It’s also a good idea to store your things in a darker space, especially if you’re using clear storage containers. This will prevent your clothes being stored for long periods of time from fading.

Some of your seasonal clothes may be packed away for a particularly long time without being used. If so, check in on them once a year to make sure there’s no storage issues.

7. Don’t hang certain items

Even if you have plenty of available hanging space in your closets (lucky you), some of your seasonal clothing won’t take kindly to being hung for months at a time.

Sweaters or any of your more delicate knit items will lose their shape when hung for lengthy periods of time.

Prevent the stretching of your favourite sweaters by always folding them away in a drawer or plastic storage container.

For long-term storage of delicates (including things like quilts or a wedding dress), wrapping the items in acid-free tissue can also be beneficial.

And if you are using hangers for something being stored, use high quality padded or wood hangers. They provide better support for your garments than wire hangers.

8. Don’t use plastic bags for seasonal clothes storage

It’s not common knowledge that long-term storage of anything in a dry cleaning bag isn’t advisable.

The “dry” in “dry cleaning” is somewhat misleading. There’s no water being used in the process, but liquid solvents are.

And if those liquids aren’t thoroughly dried by your dry cleaner, moisture trapped inside that cheap plastic bag can cause yellowing and mildew problems on the fabric.

Even if your dry cleaned items were fully dried when you brought them home, the plastic covering just doesn’t give your more delicate clothing the chance to breathe, which it needs.

Get some breathable garment bags for long-term storage of your winter coats, suits, and formal wear that only gets used sporadically.

Dry cleaning rack seasonal clothes storage

Don’t use plastic dry cleaning bags for long-term clothing storage. (Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash)

9. Not everything should be vacuum sealed

Using a vacuum sealing process with a vacuum attachment or hand pump for your seasonal clothes storage items might seem like a good idea.

While you may be able to save storage space, not everything you’re storing should be vacuum sealed, however.

When the natural fibres in some types of clothing are tightly compressed, the material can take months to return to its natural form (which it just might not).

As we’ve mentioned, clothes made from natural fibres benefit from having some air circulation so they can breathe. Vacuum sealing obviously eliminates that completely.

Delicates and any clothing or textiles you own that might be described as “puffy” or “fluffy” should be off-limits from vacuum sealing. Here are some examples:

  • bulky winter coats and down jackets
  • towels
  • winter gloves
  • comforters
  • pillows
  • leather products
  • sleeping bags
  • anything made from wool, cashmere, or silk

Find better ways to store your seasonal clothes

Schedule a free in-home design consultation with us to help you find better ways to store and organize your seasonal clothes, everyday clothes, and just about anything else in your home.

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