By Fashion and Style Blogger Alison Gary

Living in GHI, we have our own special needs and issues, especially when it comes to storage.  When I moved into my two-bedroom frame in 1999, I was moving from a two-bedroom apartment I shared with my sister.  You would think moving from an apartment to a house would mean more storage, but the square footage and the age of the home meant I actually had to part with several large bags of clothing.

That being said, as a fashion blogger I still have a pretty large wardrobe and over the many years living in Greenbelt, I have figured out ways to store all my clothing, outerwear, and accessories in a careful manner and a manner where I can find everything.  Hopefully some of my systems can work for you and your GHI.

Maximizing Real Estate in Your Closet

– Use Slimline hangers.  I didn’t fall for the hype of those velvety slimline hangers.  I had perfectly good hangers acquired over years of working retail and asking for hangers when shopping at the mall (yes, they will often give them to you for free!).  However, I had a neighbor in GHI rave about how the slimline hangers truly transformed her closet so I decided to try them out and became a convert.

There’s infomercials for these hangers, and they are always promoting them on QVC, but you can find them quite cheap at our nearby Ross and Marshalls.  Not all velvet slimline hangers are created equal – do a bit of a test drive before you leave the store – pull gently on the hooks, check the other packages for damaged or cracked frames.  I still use traditional hangers with clips for skirts, but have switched to the velvet slimlines for everything else.  This one change doubled the space in my closet and also made it easier to actually see what was in there!

– Zone your closet.  Most GHI closets seem to be a second thought in the construction of the home, are tucked into a corner of the room with angled walls, dark corners, and narrow doors.  Use your space wisely by organizing your closet into categories or zones.  All pants together, all shirts together, all skirts together.  This will make it easier to fill your closet after laundry day, find clothing in a rush, and you can put the most-worn categories right in front of the door and the lesser-worn categories in that dark corner.

– Consider closet organizers.  I have a canvas closet organizer that straps over the closet bar and has several shelves and a few canvas boxes that tuck in to make the shelves drawers.  I use this to store purses, winter accessories, scarves, and hats.  IKEA has similar organizers for reasonable prices.  Amazon and The Container Store offer bars that can be hung from your current closet rail to have double rails – hang skirts below and blouses above.  I have found great tools at both Target and IKEA to make a single shelf above the rail useful – free standing shelves, shelf dividers, and storage bins.  Canvas over the door organizers are wonderful for small spaces – we had these on both our closet and bedroom doors to leave space on the closet shelves for sweaters and knits.

Recently I visited a friend in DC who has a small studio apartment and was impressed by her accessory storage solutions.  She had a hanging organizer from IKEA that had several clear pouches to store jewelry that hung right in her closet; another IKEA organizer of wicker rings slid right in her closet amongst her clothes and held all her scarves.  She had an over the door shoe organizer on closet door, but instead used it to store underpinnings.  She also had a purse organizer that hung from the closet rail that she found at The Container Store.

– Install a light.  When we remodeled our GHI we had lights put in the closets, but a simple battery-operated LED light can also work to make those dark hidden corners not so dark.  If you can see everything in your closet you’re less likely to lose items and more likely to utilize all the space available.

Out-of-Season Storage

The way to maintain your wardrobe investment is to care for and store it properly.   With proper care, most garments can last many many years and provide you miles of style.

– Wash Before Packing. Even if an item looks clean, be sure it is properly laundered or professionally dry-cleaned before packing it away. Small spots undetectable to you now can set into clothing over the summer, making permanent stains. Sweat can eat away some fibers and leave yellow stains. Clean clothes are also less desirable to critters, meaning less chance for damage from moths and carpet beetles.   When laundering these items, forgo starch as that it can attract insects and also stain fabrics that are left neglected for long spans of time.

– Let Them Breathe. Storing items in breathable containers will prevent the growth of mold and mildew. Plastic storage bins (or those giant-sized Ziploc bags) are fine for a season, but for longer storage consider canvas storage. Never use cardboard boxes for clothing storage–the adhesives in them attract moths and other insects.

I personally have clear plastic tubs from Target in my attic that are properly labeled – my seasonal clothes, my husband’s, etc.  I also love canvas storage bags – they make some perfectly shaped to slide under your bed.  I also had a large canvas storage bag in our old guest room, which I would use for out of season storage.

– Know When to Fold Them. Some items like structured jackets should be left hanging when they are stored.  I purchased a collapsible rolling rack from Target that I now have up in my attic for out of season coats, jackets, and dresses.  Choose molded wooden hangers to ensure your garments maintain their proper shape over the next few months of storage, and canvas bags will keep everything protected.

Knits and sweaters should never be stored hanging because gravity can cause them to become misshapen. Knits should be folded in storage containers, heavy pieces like denim sweatshirts at the bottom of the box; lighter weight knits at the top–this will prevent creasing.

– Keep Critters at Bay. Even with the above preventative measures, carpet beetles and moths can still find your clothes. Keep them away with repellents like cedar and sachets of real lavender. These options do a great job at repelling insects while being safe around pets and children.

Where to Keep the Coats?

One major missing item in GHIs are coat closets.  Over my years in this community, I have seen several creative ways to store not only your coats, but also all your weather-related accessories.

We have a coat rack at the entryway right over the breaker box.  Here, we keep the coats currently in rotation.  The rest of our coats, the ski jackets and dress coats and rain slickers are stored in our guest room/office closet.  If you don’t have such a room, consider a rolling rack in your attic, or a decorative free standing coat rack in the corner of your dining room or bedroom.

As for accessories, we have an over-the-door rack on our main floor that I found at Kmart – it has a bin at the top which holds things like packable blankets for picnics and sun hats, and hooks that hold umbrellas, ponchos, and even a child’s sand pail for all our gloves and knit caps.  Before our remodel, we had galvanized buckets that I found at Ross that my husband screwed in the laundry closet above the washer and dryer.  He also installed some shelves and hooks in the pantry, which stored athletic and very specific outerwear and accessories.

Keeping it Under Control

Over time, it’s easy to amass a large collection of clothing and accessories.  I recommend doing a wardrobe reassessment/purge twice a year – once around back-to-school time and once right around now as the seasons are changing.  This way you can switch out your clothes for the changing temperature, but also purge that which you honestly don’t need or wear, mend that which needs repair, and make a list to fill the holes in your closet.

When it comes to purging your closet, there are many ways where your sartorial trash can be another’s treasure.  While you can always donate to a local charity, Freecycle is a fabulous way to quickly rid your home of unwanted things and help a neighbor in the process.  For items in your closet that are still in excellent shape but just not right for you, consider selling on eBay or consigning at a shop like Eye of the Beholder in Gambrills or Circa 34 in Mount Rainier.

Alison Gary is the Editor in Chief of Wardrobe Oxygen, a personal style and fashion advice blog. Wardrobe Oxygen offers fashion and style tips for all women, regardless of age, figure, lifestyle, or budget along with sharing Alison’s personal style via outfit photographs. Alison lives in a renovated two-bedroom frame in GHI with her husband Karl, daughter Emerson, and dog Cindy.