Somewhere around September the jumpers start feeling absurd and the shorts are at the back of a cupboard you cannot reach. Time for the switchover.
Worth saying up front that plenty of people never do this at all, and that is a perfectly valid choice if you have the hanging space. If you do not, a proper seasonal swap buys back a surprising amount of wardrobe, and doing it correctly means next September you are unpacking clothes you can actually wear rather than something musty with holes in it.
[collection-carousel="wardrobe-storage-solutions"]
When to do it here
Most seasonal storage advice online is written for the northern hemisphere, which puts the switchover at completely the wrong time of year for us.
In practice that means the summer switchover lands around late September or early October, and the swap back happens around April or May. Do it on a dry day rather than a humid one, for reasons that will become obvious.
The one rule that matters most
Everything goes away clean. Not nearly clean. Clean.
This is not about tidiness. Integrated pest management guidance recommends storing garments clean, because perspiration, food residue and body oils on fabric attract clothes moths and other fabric pests.
A jumper worn twice and put away looks fine and smells fine to you. To a clothes moth it is a marked target.
What the damage actually is
Two useful consequences follow from that. Your cotton t shirts are not really at risk, so the care goes into the wool. And seeing a moth flying around is not the problem, it is the sign that eggs have already been laid somewhere you are not looking.
[collection-carousel="clothes-hangers"]
How to store it so it survives
The storage conditions matter as much as the cleaning.
Note the word ventilated, because it cuts against the instinct to seal everything in airtight plastic. If there is any moisture in the garment or the air when you seal it, that moisture has nowhere to go for six months.
|
Where you are storing |
Best container |
What to watch |
|---|---|---|
|
Under the bed |
Low fabric or vented bins with lids |
Dust, and leaving space for air around them |
|
Top of the wardrobe |
Lidded boxes or baskets |
Heat rises, so avoid storing wool right under a ceiling |
|
Garage or shed |
Honestly, nowhere ideal |
Temperature swings, damp and rodents |
|
A spare cupboard |
Breathable garment bags for hanging items |
Packing too tightly |
|
Anywhere humid |
Sealed tub with a desiccant inside |
Check it after a month to see how it is going |
That last row is the compromise. If you must seal things up because of dust or pests, put a desiccant in with them, since silica gel and similar products lower the humidity inside an enclosed container and reduce the conditions mould needs. People storing clothes in damp houses report exactly this working where plain plastic tubs did not.
[collection-carousel="home-storage-baskets"]
On mothballs
Short version, there are better options.
Traditional mothballs are commonly based on naphthalene, which is a recognised health hazard. Published reviews describe recurring health concerns and poisoning cases associated with naphthalene mothballs, which is reason enough to think twice about putting them in a box of clothes you intend to wear.
Cedar and lavender are pleasant and popular, and their repellent effect is modest at best. They are not a substitute for the two things that actually work, which are storing clothes clean and keeping them in sealed or well managed containers.
A sensible order of operations
Doing it in this sequence saves the most time.
-
Pull everything out first. Yes, everything. You cannot sort what you cannot see.
-
Make a leaving pile. The switchover is the natural moment to be honest about what you did not wear all winter.
-
Wash or dry clean what is going away. Non negotiable, especially the wool.
-
Make sure it is bone dry. Any dampness now becomes mould by autumn.
-
Box it by category, not by person. Next April you will want all the jumpers, not all of Dad's things.
-
Label the outside. Including what is in it, so you are not opening four boxes to find one coat.
-
Rehang summer clothes with space between them. Airflow prevents the musty wardrobe problem entirely.
[collection-carousel="wardrobe-on-sale"]
In short
-
Not switching over at all is a legitimate choice if you have the space.
-
In Australia the summer swap lands around late September or October, and back again in April or May.
-
Most online seasonal storage advice is written for the opposite hemisphere.
-
Everything goes away clean, because sweat and oils attract fabric pests.
-
Clothes moth larvae eat keratin, so wool, silk, fur and feathers are the items at risk.
-
It is the larvae that cause damage, not the adult moths you see flying.
-
Store textiles clean, dry, cool, dark and reasonably ventilated.
-
Airtight plastic traps any moisture that was there when you sealed it.
-
If you do seal a container, add a desiccant.
-
Garages and sheds are the worst option for temperature, damp and pests.
-
Naphthalene mothballs are a recognised health hazard.
-
Cedar and lavender smell nice and do comparatively little.
-
Box by category rather than by person.
-
Label the outside of every box.
-
Rehang the summer clothes with space between them.
Do it on a dry day, wash everything first, and label the boxes. That is genuinely the whole method, and it is the difference between a switchover and a salvage operation.
Slimmer clothes hangers free up a surprising amount of rail space, our wardrobe storage solutions cover the boxes, bins and absorbers, and there are often good buys in the wardrobe sale if you are kitting out from scratch. The top ten coat hangers rundown is a useful shortcut if you just want a recommendation.
[collection-carousel="home-storage"]
