Has Anyone Ever Put Clothes/shoes into a STORAGE Facility ?

Hi L.,
I would first pack them in plastic before I put them in cardboard boxes. You can't go wrong with that and they will be protected.
good luck and blessings

Best thing that I know of would be to use as many of those vacuum seal bags for the cloths. Shoes can go into those big plastic storage box's, sheets, blankets etc. again the seal bags. The bags are not cheep, but either are the clothes.

Check and see what type of storage the items will be put in. When my Dad was in the Military we had things stored twice while we were overseas...they came back okay.. little more wear and tear on furniture...

However my eldest daughter had things put in storage while their condo was being worked on.. thought they would be there for a short while... they ended up there for 5 years.. and many of her clothes shoes etc.. had molded and she had to pitch a lot of things...

They had boxes sitting directly on the concrete floor of the storage unit.. which they realized after the fact that was a mistake... Their units were supposedly temperature controlled.......but.....

My other daughter who had things stored by GOV for two years while in Israel, got most everything back okay...but some of the things that were in her closets in Israel molded...

Good luck.

Stor-A-Way. Is a storage unit I use to work for when I lived in Houston. i recomend getting a climet (sp?) controlled unit. Call them and ask them what the best way to store clothes would be. I would go ahead and wash everything after anyway. There are boxes with a hanging bar to hang your clothes in.

We lived overseas for nearly 5 years and all of our things were put into storage. The storage is called climate controlled, but that does not mean that it is equal to the environment of your home. Everything will be wrapped up and packed as if it will be sent in a water shipment overseas. The huge storage facility has big fans that they use to move the air around, but it's not air conditioned or humidity controlled (where the many problems occur). The good news is that it is all insured, but only if you completely inventory every single item that you have (you need to have this completed before the packers show up). If you have someone that you can get to store some things for you at their home, please give them all of your photo albums (mine were all ruined from the humidity). Also, check to make sure that all the drawers of all the furniture are completely empty. If there is anything that can not be replaced, let a friend keep it safe for you, as the storage is risky, hence the insurance. I am not trying to scare you about the storage of your things, but things do get damaged and can be replaced, so make sure that your inventory is complete. Double check it and then have your husband go over it too. We left off one of our kitchen tables and the leaves warped, but we didn't have a leg to stand on, as we left the table off the inventory. (Called a ViL valued inventory list) For the most part, our clothes and shoes that were in storage were just fine, but they were terribly out of style and we got rid of them after all. Our furniture didn't fair as well, as some had mold on it and other things warped, and we had really nice solid maple furniture that is no longer made, as they can't get the hard rock maple any more. The next time we take an overseas assignment, there will be very little that I will put into storage. You will find out that you are a different person upon returning and your likes/dislikes have changed as you experienced other cultures.
I hope that you will have a wonderful experience overseas and enjoy every moment!

The most important advice I was given before we went overseas was to make sure the clothes were perfectly clean and DRY. I'd forgo the boxes with the hanging options; our clothes always fell off and scrunched up in the bottom of the box. I found a better option was the flat wardrobe box where the clothes are packed flat.
Good luck, have a great time.

What about that storage system that sucks all the air out?

It sounds like plasic tubs are the way to go. I'd like to make the suggestion that maybe you want to pare down your clothes before you pay to store all of them. What you wear right now may not be the same thing you want to wear a year from now. Plus you will probably have bought new clothes to make up for the ones you have in storage. Just a thought. Good luck with your move!

I've off and on always put clothes into storage. I currently have half my closet there since we have our house on the market and having an over stuffed closet is just not a good thing for some reason *rolling my eyes* :-). What I do, and this is only to keep dust and critters out of everything, is I will fold up everything and put them into white kitchen trash bags leaving enough room to tie the tops of the bags into a big knot. Then I do my best to squeeze all the air out. (It's really quite amusing to see me rolling all over the bags to squeeze them out. :-)) Then I tie off the bags and slap some packing tape over the tie. (Note-This may not keep all the air out but it will keep the bug and such out which is the important thing) And then I pack the "pods" of clothes I've made into boxes. Be sure to label your packages and try to keep similar types of clothing articles together. Makes it easier to unpack later when you can find things. For shoes just do the same thing but I wouldn't worry as much about squeezing them out. In a way, what I'm doing is creating my own vacuum seal bags. I do this with all my clothing, even my hanging stuff. I'd rather have to iron out wrinkles then deal with silver fish and other yucks.

Over all, I wouldn't stress over it too much. Having your clothes and shoes in storage, especially climate controlled (which I've never stored in and have good success with my methods even in a non-climate controlled unit in the extreme Texas heat) for a year will be fine. And movers will only pack things in boxes without the "bug" protection. In some cases they may drape some plastic but I've always felt my way was better.

Good luck with your move!
J.
http://www.mommysjoy.com

Plastic tubs, plastic tubs, plastic tubs!!! I cannot stress that enough! I used the REALLY large roller type plastic tubs b/c they hold more & can stack pretty easily; they usually have a hinged top that opens & closes easily. We've had to store stuff for yrs due to small living qtrs & boxes are NOT good to store clothes in, believe me! Boxes ruin over time, even a short time. They fall apart, bugs LOVE boxes, etc. I put cedar balls & cedar planks in my clothes rather than the traditional moth balls, they do just as well & they smell good. You won't regret spending the money on them. Also, rolling up your clothes if possible helps to create space so if you can at all roll most or all of your clothes up in 'logs' as I call them rather than 'lay' flat or fold, then you may not hafta buy as many tubs. Good luck!!

We've got clothes in storage right now in plastic bins. We pay extra to get a room that's climate controlled. Well worth it. Because of another glitch, we didn't get to move, so now we are taking winter clothes back out of storage after 6 months, and they seem to be just fine.

I had my first sons clothes packed away in storage for btwn 2 and 3 yrs before I got them out for his little brother. We had put them in plastic storage containers from Walmart or target with locking lids and after making sure they were clean and dry. We didn't put them in a climate controlled unit and they were fine. I knwo some people but dryer sheets in with them to keep them smelling fresh and keep the bugs away too. One thing we did learn was to make sure you remove the batteries from everything or they will corrode and whatever they are in will be useless. We had to buy a new baby swing and a crib mobile b/c we forgot to remove the batteries
hope that helps

I've had my belongings in storage several times over the past couple of years. The best advice I can give you is to put them in those Rubbermaid plastic tubs! Your main concern should be spiders, not smells!! These plastic tubs are spider/smell/water proof!!

Good Luck,
M.

I am retired military and have been through a lot of different moves (also overseas, UK and Germany). The movers will put everything into cardboard boxes. There is no special consideration about clothes. Are you moving through the military? Because if you are, the movers usually don't like you to pack things yourself. They have to see and inventory everything for insurance purposes.
How long and why are your things going into storage? Are you not taking all of your things with you?
C.

Hello L.,

Since you are leaving for 6-12 mos, have you thought about having a garage sale. Getting rid of the items that you know may change in 6-12 mos. If you are concern about the storage why not get rid of some of the items. there are many type of storages and their are some indoor storages, that are more expensive yet your items will be ok. You may also want to use the zip lock storage bags and seal them tight with the air vacuum. That may help with keeping the clothes secure and safe from any type of mildew if that is your concern.
I believe you should look into which storage you chose. The storage bags are great, they hold up to so many items of clothing and you can seal the air out.

Stay calm, and have a safe trip.

I would do it yourself. Go ahead and put them in containers that you would be more comfortable with but ensure that they get inventoried as well.