Storage and care...

[Smuterella]

...of clothing, shoes, make up etc

I am currently having a huge clear out and trying to organise my clothes storage as well as streamlining my make up etc.

So far I have sorted my clothes into keepers, throw aways and items to sell, and arranged the keepers in garment order on my still full clothes rail.

So, do you girls keep your rarely worn items - i.e. party dresses - in a suitcase or trunk until needed, do you use anything to protect stored clothes such as layers of paper or special clothing bags....

Any ideas on space saving storage for shoes, clothes, cosmetics?

 

[PolkaDotMeggie]

I think that is a great question, as I have been pondering those same thoughts.

My question is mainly geared towards the underpinnings. I just bought my stockings. I was planning on storing them in a handmade/decopage box lined with tissue paper.

How do you ladies store your dainties?


As for shoes, I always keep my shoe boxes (if I buy a new pair) and utilize them. If I had more room, I would certainly be more creative! I envision using hat boxes or someting much more fancy. But alas, my room is tiny :eusa_doh:

 

[Smuterella]

Yes, I'm thinking of getting a hat box for my stockings. But then there just more drawer space to fill up.

 

[The Shirt]

This is all on my to-do list. I am ok with handbags - but my dresses are starting to take over my closet. Some are special occasion ones that rarely see the light of day and I should give them more proper care. I'm hoping this will inspire me with a new pre-spring project.

 

[KittyT]

storage solutions

I am very lucky to have a large walk-in closet, so this hasn't been too much of an issue for me. My vintage dresses (including party dresses I don't wear often) take up about half of the closet, and everything else takes up the rest. For items like skirts I use those space saving stacked clip hangers that will hang about 6 skirts from one hanger. I prefer to hang items if possible because some vintage items can get fold marks or uneven fading if folded and stored for long periods of time. For items that will tend to stretch, like knits, I fold them and store them with cedar blocks in plastic containers under my bed. The unfortunate part of this, though, is that I tend to forget that I own those items.

My closet has enough space in it for a small chest of drawers, so I use that for storing linens, and I have a cardboard shoe caddy set up on top of that for the shoes I wear most frequently - so they are at eye level and easy to find. It fits about 20 pair of shoes and has been a convenient, inexpensive solution for me.

There are also 2 large shelves running the full length of the closet, so one of them is used for handbags. I have a lot of belts, so I got a round belt hanger and hung it from a nail on the wall, and have something similar that I use to tie my scarves around so they're easy to see when I'm looking for something in particular.

For my delicates - girdles and slips are stored in 1 drawer with the more precious items stashed away in a vintage lingerie case (you know, those quilted, satin envelope types you can find on Ebay). My other dainties are stored in a single drawer to which I've added fabric-covered dividers. This keeps different types of undies separate, with a separate area for bras, and another compartment for items like deodorant, fashion tape and dress shields. I've found this really helps in keeping my items organized and easy to find. It did take awhile to put together, though, but has been totally worth it.

My day to day hosiery is stuffed in a hatbox and my vintage hosiery is stored in a case that was purchased at Joann's. I added self-adhesive felt around any inside seams that could have rough edges, and have grouped types of stockings together, wrapped in tissue that I've marked with the type so I can find what I'm looking for (for example, nude stockings, contrast seamed stockings, fancy heeled stockings, black stockings, etc). They are stored with a scented sachet and my hosiery gloves.

 

[KittyT]

A note to ladies with little space - be sure to use vertical space for storing items. Hang items on the wall or put up shelves on your walls (or use bookcases). Hanging purses on the wall to display them looks nice and they double as decorations. Same for hat boxes - if they still have the ribbon or cord attached, you can hang them as decorations and store items inside as well. Another space-saving solution is to display items like clip earrings and hair flowers instead of stashing them in canisters, which leaves you more space for other items. I have ribbons pinned to the wooden frame of the mirror on my dresser - they hang to the side of the mirror and I just clip my hair flowers to them. I have used thumbtacks to pin strips of ribbon to the wall next to my dresser and I just clip earrings to them. It saves time also since these items will be easy to find and you won't have to dig through containers or jewelry boxes for them.

 

[PolkaDotMeggie]

For the clothes you hang, do you use the padded hangers?

 

[PolkaDotMeggie]

Another space-saving solution is to display items like clip earrings and hair flowers instead of stashing them in canisters, which leaves you more space for other items. I have ribbons pinned to the wooden frame of the mirror on my dresser - they hang to the side of the mirror and I just clip my hair flowers to them. I have used thumbtacks to pin strips of ribbon to the wall next to my dresser and I just clip earrings to them. It saves time also since these items will be easy to find and you won't have to dig through containers or jewelry boxes for them.

You are full of some fabulous ideas, KittyT. Want to come and decorate my closet? Would you take a picture or two for us?

 

[Smuterella]

Kitty - I have serious wardrobe envy now

 

[KittyT]

You are full of some fabulous ideas, KittyT. Want to come and decorate my closet? Would you take a picture or two for us?

I'd be happy to take some pics, but my closet doesn't have a working light, so I have to use little stick up LED lights. I might have to wait for a time when I'm home and there's natural daylight so I can take pictures. There's a window in my closet too, but it's been messily covered up and I'm too lazy to fix it. I assume it's for the best, as it might help avoid fading!

I did forget to add that the shoes that won't fit in the caddy and that I rarely wear are dumped in a pile on the floor. There is also an unfinished duct tape dress form taking up half of one of the shelves in the closet. There's nowhere else to put it. HAHA

Also, for the record - the clip earring/ribbon idea came from Miss Bella so she deserves the credit for that one.

For the clothes you hang, do you use the padded hangers?

No, but I should. I don't use wire hangers, though, as they leave creases in some items. It just use regular plastic ones.

Kitty - I have serious wardrobe envy now

My apartment has never been well-maintained by the landlord and is a total dump. But it's cheap. The closet is my favorite part. It does make it hard to leave! I've been spoiled and fully recognize it.

 

[Smuterella]

The reason for my severe wardrobe pruning/organisation is that I hope to move in with my girlfriend and she won't want all my girlie mess strewn around her apartment. She likes me dressed up but can't cope with the amount of stuff it takes to get me that way (and she has more clothes than me....seriously).

Oh for a walk in wardrobe, it is the thing that dreams are made of

 

[Mojito]

I have a lot of heavy beaded dresses - sometimes on lighter fabrics, like chiffon - so I have to store them flat in conservation boxes with unbuffered tissue paper between. I put the heavier dresses on the base and layer paper/light dresses on top. Every few months they get a check and I refold arms (or restuff them), streamers etc that have to be folded in. They live in one of our spare bedrooms - fortunately the boxes stack easily, so they can go on top of a large closet, under the bed (and sometimes on top). There are a couple of very solid, unbeaded velvets that can go on padded, wrapped coat hangers. Smaller items like material bandeaus are in a tissue paper lined drawer, wrapped up themselves. Stockings are in small boxes, but I could think of a better way to store them.

When I move I'll have a rethink and rationalisation of the storage "system", as it's a bit ad hoc at the moment.

 

[SarahLouise]

For the clothes you hang, do you use the padded hangers?

Definitely! They help the clothes hang better, particularly delicate crepe and rayon pieces, but I use them for all of my vintage clothes regardless of fabric. I get them super cheap from a discount store (£1 for 5).

As for storage, I really am not the right person to suggest advice as I currently have 2 overspilling wardrobes in my room which I can't even close and clothes hanging randomly around the house. I am awfully messy at the moment and need to organise my space better! I started off displaying my shoes on a rack but they get dusty so I prefer to keep them in boxes now, however I will be investing in one of those holders which you hang off a door (with pockets) to save on space. I have a large vintage jewellery box full of only my vintage pieces and some pearls hung around my dressing table.

My bag collection is half in my wardrobe and half all over my floor which is terrible as I caught my cat chewing the lucite handle on one of my straw bags the other day! She is just so naughty and I have to keep her away from my vintage items as she has a habit of clawing and biting everything in sight. I keep my vintage stockings in a separate drawer from the rest of my lingerie so they're easier to find and don't get moved around too much from me trying to find something. I keep belts rolled up and in a container in my wardrobe and scarfs hung on one hanger. I have read in a 'Make do and Mend' book that they recommend storing wool items in a drawer as opposed to hanging them as the knits can sag over time. I own far too much make-up and have a training case which basically looks like a tool box!

 

[LizzieMaine]

One suggestion for vintage suits that won't be worn a lot is to keep them in inexpensive garment bags -- an extra layer of protection against moths is always a good idea.

A make-do-and-mend project that can be helpful for storing stockings and other delicates is to line a dresser drawer with fabric from an old slip -- helps to keep the snags at bay.

If you live in an old, small house like I do, you probably have very little-to-no closet space -- if so, over-the-door racks can be very useful. I keep my shoes on one, which keeps them off the floor, out from under the bed, and always accessible.

 

[PS]

How do you ladies store your dainties?

I was out looking for hat boxes when I came across some boxes at TJ Maxx.

(not my photo) Mine is like this except fabric lined in and out and zips shut. I have old dressers and everything kept snagging.

 

[Paisley]

All great ideas. All I can add is that I invested in a closet organizer that has two levels to hang clothes on.

 

[KittyT]

At your request...

Hosiery storage. Box was inexpensive and purchased at Joann's. You can see the black self adhesive felt I added to the inside over any seams or rough edges. Stockings wrapped up by type in labeled tissue paper. This solution has worked incredibly well for me.

Hat boxes. One is for winter scarves, the next for winter hats, and the next for vintage gloves.

I am a big fan of hanging things on hooks. In my last apartment, I had a wooden mirror propped on top of my dresser with no wallspace on the sides for hooks, so I put screwed hooks into the frame of the mirror for hanging necklaces. I am also a huge fan of those 3M Command hooks with the removeable adhesive. I use the nice chrome colored ones for hanging all my necklaces. I also use vintage ashtrays as dishes on my dresser for things like rings and hairpins.

2 ribbons are attached to the mirror frame with thumbtacks and I clip my flowers to those. Loose flowers just get clipped to the feather boa using pincurl clips. Miss Bella Hell uses old kitchen canister sets for storing things like hair flowers, jewelry and toiletry items.

Ribbon attached to wall with thumbtacks. Perfect for holding earrings.

 

[KittyT]

My proudest storage achievement - drawer dividers! Worth the effort, believe me. You can do this with simple cardboard, but I covered mine with fabric. The main divider is held in place by 2 tiny squares of cardboard that have been glued to the drawer on either side of the divider at each end. The subdividers were done by folding over an inch or so of the covered cardboard, and just gluing the fold to the main divider. The end of the subdivider is held in place by little cardboard squares glued to the drawer.

Not the prettiest photo, but belt hangers are great for scarves and belts. As you can see here, I just bent a wire hanger to tie my scarves around so they don't take up drawer space.

This is the best shoe storage ever. Boots are on top.

And I swear, those vertical skirt hangers are the best. I have several with 4-6 pairs of clips on them. If you pair 2 skirts together for each set of clips, you save a ton of space. I have 21 skirts stored in my closet on a mere 3 hangers!

 

[Paisley]

I made drawer dividers, too (although not as attractive--I just cut up a sturdy carboard box). It works great.

I'll have to try the earring ribbon idea.

 

[PolkaDotMeggie]

Thanks for the photos, Kitty. The image I had in my head was no where near as neat and organized as the way you have it!