How/where do you store out of season

**Judi Dial** · 08-23-2011, 12:41 AM

clothing? bedding? outerwear? shoes?

We have 1 large walk-in closet, and 2 coat closets. There are walk-in closets in both of the other "bedrooms" but they're our offices and the closets are full of office equipment, crafting supplies, etc.

I have the beginning of a new system in place, but I'm wondering how you do this? We live in an area that basically requires two full wardrobes: 10-20 below in winter to over 100 in summer (both are unusual extremes, but they do occur here).

So, do you have 2 wardrobes? a coat with a removable liner? flannel sheets? And how do you store the stuff, decide what needs to be out NOW or put away?

Thank you!

Judi

**Trishagirl** · 08-23-2011, 07:19 AM

I store extra winter stuff in a wardrobe in our laundry room. I store summer clothes in my drawers I have deep drawers in my dresser so I can do this. I also have an extra closet upstairs that I can store stuff. I don't use flannel sheets dh doesn't like them he gets too hot. I don't have a coat with a removable liner, just a reg. winter coat.

**Russ** · 08-23-2011, 07:23 AM

I think those vacuum bags would be the perfect thing for bedding and coats if your space is limited. I have never used them so I cannot comment on how well they work.

These are what I was thinking of > https://www.spacebag.com/15/index.dtm?mid=563894

**monkeywrangler71** · 08-23-2011, 07:47 AM

First off, I'm terribly jealous of your 2 coat closets and 3(?) walk-in closets. I only have regular closets in the bedrooms and one tiny little coat closet.

In the winter I keep my summer only clothes (shorts, tanktops, bathing suits) in a plastic tote under the bed. In the summer I move those to my closet and put winter clothes in the tote. I box up all the mittens/scarfs/hats and put them on a shelf in the basement. I can't stand having them around. The boots are in the basement as well.

If I had two coat closets I would put all the out of season stuff in the one at the door that gets used the least, and then switch twice a year. I would even put stuff like sunscreen and bathing suits in there in the winter. Then when the seasons change you don't need to go all over the house trying to remember where all the different things are tucked away.

**nuisance26** · 08-23-2011, 07:56 AM

~We do not have a basement or accessible attic space so we store in our shed. Our house is so small that we cannot keep out of season stuff in here.
About 6 years ago I bought huge poly bags from Ikea for this purpose. They are made of tarps, zipper shut and are super cheap. These aren't the ones we have(ours are tall and clear) but are much like them: FRAKTA Storage bag for cart - IKEA
These things hold massive amounts of bedding and clothes and keep it clean, dry, pest free, and odor free. Our shed is not airtight and squirrels got into it last year. They made a big mess. None of their mess got into the bags though. Awesome product!
In late September I pull out the bags from the shed into the back yard and pull out all the Fall stuff. This takes about 2 hours but I get to work in the Autumn sunshine.

I consolidate the Winter stuff(heavy blankets, snow gear)into one bag so I can find it easily at the first snow. Then as I wash all the Fall stuff I pack up the summer stuff. I repeat this process in reverse in April. The entire switch over takes a week or two because of the amount of laundry.
My Uncle had an awesome system in his basement. He'd just put an entire season of clothes on their hangers direct out of his closet into a hanging garment bag. Then the hanging garment bag stored on a portable clothes rack. Boxes of seasonal shoes and accessories were stored on an adjacent shelving unit. Switching out seasons must have been so easy!~

**Momto5RN** · 08-23-2011, 08:00 AM

dh keeps his winter stuff on a clothing rack in basement
i keep kids and mine coats on rack in basement
my and dds have bins in basement for summer / winter
younger two boys have bins under their beds for off season
oldest ds has just taken over a corner of attic bedroom for some of his clothes since oldest dd has moved out ( more a work clothes vs reg clothes situation )

bedding - i have those vacuum pack bags i got at cvs 75% off for any bedding that is seasonal .

**Contrary Housewife** · 08-23-2011, 10:19 AM

Winter shirts and sweaters, and extra blankets, the electric blanket.... all squeezed into the tiny master bedroom closet. Easy to get to, so items will come out as needed.

We each have a winter jacket, it does not get too severe here. Right now they are hanging on the curtain rod in the downstairs bath with the heavy winter coats because our hall closet is 'under construction'.

Summer things like swim suits are in the dresser drawer.

**akolb** · 08-23-2011, 10:59 AM

Our large vacuum storage bags SAVED my sanity! A friend moved in with us and we lost the storage we had in the guest bedroom.
They are soo worth the cost, I fit ALL of my sweaters/long sleeved into one, two down comforters in another and other extra winter gear in another.

**krbshappy71** · 08-23-2011, 11:36 AM

I have had space bags break so I wouldn't rely on them for repeat usage. If its grandma's quilt that you just want to squish down and store for safe keeping then it is good for that, but I wouldn't recommend them for something you are going to need access to on a regular basis.

I use under-bed totes under all the beds. I keep coats that are flexible (liners that can be removed) out year-round and super big coats get stored. I have hats/mittens in a basket on top of the front-closet shelf, not in plastic.

We also have extreme temperatures and long stretches of ups & down temperatures. A lot of our clothing has to be out unless its something super-winter like turtlenecks and super-summer like bathing suits. If I put too much away I end up just fishing for it again, so the under-bed storage is much handier.

**shoiji** · 08-23-2011, 01:58 PM

I keep my fall/winter/ and spring/summer coats in my coat closet. They stay there all year round.

My out of season clothes are stored in two separate rubbermaid containers in the closet. I go by fall/winter and spring/summer. I have a large dresser in the bedroom that I keep my clothes that I do not hang up. I switch out the clothes at the beginning of fall or spring. I do keep things like short sleeve tops and camisoles out all year round since they can be put underneath fall/winter clothes to help stay cool.

**Libby** · 08-23-2011, 04:03 PM

I had a wide closet all to myself and then DH moved in

So in a fit of panic trying to find space for all of our clothes in that one spot, I purged BIG time. Let's just say my wardrobe now consists of classic basics: things that can be worn all year long with each other and layered. (with exception of shorts/tanks & sweaters LOL) I still think I have too many clothes and will do another purge soon for the fall.

Are you able to pare down your wardrobe along with the bed linens etc so that you have 'just enough'? Maybe keep 1-2 extra's if truly needed but only if you have room to store them.

Basically we have one home for an item and don't swap out things. We try to keep what we use/need in the space we have.

HTH

**oheoh's momma** · 08-23-2011, 04:28 PM

I have the same problem. WE have multiple coats. I allow 1 very large tote person for out of season clothes. (hubby has a extra one for work) and they are in the storage room that is mess. we have 2 ceder chests for blankets and one very large box for blankets. My system needs help now it is time to purge help me please. Cause it is not working

**shoiji** · 08-23-2011, 06:01 PM

I have used the space bags. They work well however they can get quite heavy so you might want to think about that depending on how high you will be storing them.

**Sophia** · 08-27-2011, 12:38 PM

I keep mine in totes in closets. dh has all his hanging year around in his closets as well at the boys. (I think I have more clothes LOl) and I keep some stuff in dressers. I have 4 closets. The boys are 3x15 and mine is walk in and dh's is a good size. I also have the vacuum and iron board in mine and a file cabinet. I have the hook hangers that my winter coats hang on. I have different coats. some everday and some for church. TC

**2ndGenGranola** · 08-28-2011, 05:26 PM

We turned our "coat" closet into a pantry and the pantry into a coat/costume storage area.

The under the stairs coat closet just wasn't practical for us. We usually enter through the garage, the kids couldn't reach to hang up, it was just weird shaped...

The pantry was in with the dryer (heat and humidity...great).

I gutted the coat closet and hubby and kids made shelves all the way back. Oh! So much easier! Medicines go way up high, lesser used foods waaay at the back, often used item right in the door. It is sooo much easier.

We hung 2 closet rods in what was the pantry. The back part houses seasonal items and holiday items. Dish towels, swim towels and like are closer to the front. I have some costumes that hang in there along with the coats. I have a shoe rack over the door so the kids can just hang hats and coats over the little shoe hooks. Since we enter at the garage, it is right there! Coats never enter the house.

Other seasonal items are here too.