Twice a year, and worth doing properly — most clothing damage happens in storage rather than in wear.
Timing
When to swap
- Wait until the forecast has held outside your current range for about two weeks.
- Do not swap on a fixed date. A cold April undoes a March swap.
- Keep a transitional set out through the changeover: one mid-weight layer, one light coat, one pair of closed shoes.
- Allow two sessions a fortnight apart rather than one hard cutover.
Going into storage
Before anything is put away
- Wash or dry clean everything. No exceptions, including things worn once.
- Make sure everything is completely dry — any dampness becomes mildew over months.
- Check pockets, and remove belts and anything metal that can mark fabric.
- Repair now rather than later. A small hole in wool becomes a large one in storage.
- Note anything you did not wear at all this season. That is your removal shortlist.
- Photograph the boxes or label them properly. Unlabelled storage is lost storage.
How to store what
| Garment | Wash | Dry | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knitwear (wool, cashmere) | Clean and fully dry first | Folded, never hung | Hanging stretches the shoulders permanently. Cedar or lavender, not mothballs. |
| Coats and tailoring | Dry clean before storing | Hung on shaped hangers | Breathable cotton garment bag. Never a plastic dry-cleaner bag long term. |
| Cotton and linen | Normal wash | Folded in a breathable box | Do not starch before storing — starch attracts insects. |
| Down and padded | Wash and tumble with dryer balls | Loosely folded, uncompressed | Compression flattens the loft, sometimes permanently. |
| Shoes and boots | Clean and condition leather | Shoe trees or stuffed with acid-free paper | Never store damp. Away from direct heat. |
| Synthetics | Normal wash | Folded or vacuum bagged | The one category where vacuum bags are genuinely fine. |
Storage conditions
- Cool, dark and dry. Not a loft that bakes, not a basement that damps.
- Breathable containers — cotton bags, cardboard, ventilated boxes.
- No plastic tubs sealed airtight for natural fibres.
- No vacuum bags for wool, cashmere or down.
- Cedar blocks or lavender rather than mothballs, which leave a smell that does not wash out.
- Off the floor, in case of leaks.
Coming back out
Before it goes back in the wardrobe
- Air everything for a day. Storage smell disappears on its own.
- Try on anything you have not seen for six months. Bodies change.
- Check for moth damage now, at the fold lines and underarms first.
- Steam or press what has creased. Do not iron creases that have set — steam them out.
- Note anything that needs replacing before the season properly starts.
- Anything unworn for two consecutive seasons goes, now, while the evidence is in front of you.