The Best Tips For Storing Your Summer Clothing As We Head Into Fall

With the summer ending and fall shifting into focus, it's time to figure out clothing storage. For those maximalists at heart who have a lot of clothing, or those who have a smaller closet space, it's essential to store summer clothes in order to make room for fall and winter wardrobes. It simplifies your visual clothing layout; the only things in your immediate closets and drawers are the clothing you're wearing that season. There are summer fashion trends that will help you seamlessly transition into fall, but for the most part, summer clothing needs to get packed away. It's more efficient and makes dressing that much easier, plus it keeps things organized and clutter-free.

But this also means that an entire season of clothing needs to get packed up and stowed away. However, it's not as daunting as it sounds; in fact, with the right tips and informed frame of mind, it's a simple process and one that makes the changing seasons that much easier. To tackle this in the most efficient way, Women.com spoke exclusively with Olivia Parks, owner of Nola Organizers to get her expert advice on how to store summer clothes as the seasons change. Parks was a treasure-trove of tips, and her first piece of advice is to be prepared for the process. "Try to have everything you need ready and out before you start packing away your summer clothes, such as bins, labels, and a few bags for donations," Parks told us. It's best to set yourself up for success. 

The first thing you need to do in the process of storing summer clothing in readiness for fall is declutter. This phase is culling the herd, so to speak, before packing anything away. "Go through your summer clothes and decide what you still wear, what you can donate, and what you're ready to get rid of," Olivia Parks told Women.com exclusively. "There's no point in using storage space for clothes you already know you won't wear next summer." 

The end of a season is a really useful time to assess one's wardrobe. If there are pieces of clothing that you didn't wear all summer, it might be a sign that the garments aren't pulling their weight in your wardrobe. After all, you want to get the most mileage out of every piece in your wardrobe. This is the moment to reach for the donation bags you grabbed to prepare for this process. For extra help, there are ways to take a more sustainable approach to purging your wardrobe. For pieces that are too worn to donate, it's also useful to have a bag for clothing that needs to be thrown away. That way, come next spring when it's time to swap out winter clothes for summer ones, you're not wasting time going through the same hemming, and hawing over clothing you feel ambivalent about.

While some organization gurus promote the idea of dumping everything on your bed or on a clean sheet, this isn't always the most helpful. Sure, it can force you to complete the task so that you have somewhere to sleep that night, but it can also be incredibly overwhelming and get very messy if the sorting project becomes more work than you initially expected. Olivia Parks suggested instead that you focus on categories. "Work through your clothes one category at a time instead of pulling everything out at once and ending up with a giant pile on the bed," Parks told Women.com exclusively. "You could start with your dresses, then shorts, swimsuits, shoes, and so on. It keeps you from pulling your entire closet apart and having clothes everywhere and also helps you stay organized throughout the process."

Parks is a firm believer in organizing through categories. Once you've decluttered and donated or tossed what you are no longer keeping, sort all of your summer clothing into groups. Keep dresses together; fold swimsuits together. The same goes for summer footwear, tops, hats, and shorts. Not only does it make packing up easier, but it also makes unpacking easier come spring.

In order to store away summer clothing successfully, in such a way that the clothing remains protected and in good shape for the next summer, the storage containers themselves are very important. "I recommend using containers that are easy to access and protect your clothes," Olivia Parks told Women.com exclusively. "I really like clear bins with lids because you can see what's inside, and under-bed storage can work well if you're short on closet space." 

One of the most important details of clothing storage for the change in seasons is the shape of the clothing when you store it. "Make sure everything is clean and completely dry before you pack it away," Parks stressed. If clothing is packed away when it's dirty, stains can set, or the garments can produce odours. Dirty clothing can also attract moths and bugs that can infest clothing and seriously damage garments. If clothing is put away damp, it can grow mildew, another sure way to destroy your much-loved summer wardrobe. So make sure that everything is clean and dry before you pack it away for the winter. 

One of the best ways to stay organized while packing away summer clothes is to use a labeling system. Since you'll already be storing things by category, per Olivia Parks' advice, this makes the process of labeling your containers that much easier. "You may think you'll remember where everything is, but six months from now, it's easy to forget where things are and what is in what bin," Parks explained to Women.com exclusively. "Labels make it much easier when it's time to bring your summer clothes back out." 

A label maker gets the job done, but a more DIY-system is also effective. Tape a piece of paper on each clear bin with its contents visible on the lid or on the side. This way you know immediately what's stashed away in the bin. Of course, with clear containers, sometimes it might already be evident what's in there; but labels are useful if there's more than one variety of item. Having your storage containers labeled is also very useful if you happen to take an unexpected trip during the winter, where you might need some summer clothes, or a bathing suit. If your clothing is labeled, you can easily grab the things you need without having to root through your entire summer wardrobe.

One of the most common mistakes when it comes to caring for off-season clothing is storing the containers in the wrong place. Olivia Parks talked about the worst places to store clothing. "One of the biggest mistakes is storing summer clothes somewhere they could be exposed to moisture, extreme temperatures, or pests," she told Women.com exclusively. "Garages and attics might seem like easy options, but they aren't always the best places for clothing unless the space is climate-controlled and your clothes are well protected." There's also the risk of flooding in garages and rain leaks in attics, so this is important to take note of. 

But it's not just about protecting your clothes from environmental hazards. It's also important to store your clothing in an accessible place. If you tuck your bins too out of reach, then switching out your wardrobe next spring becomes more of a hassle than it needs to be. Parks suggested storing the bins on the top shelves of your closet, ideally, if there's room. She also said a guest closet worked, or using under-bed bins to make the most of the space under your bed.