Storing Baby Clothes

I used Rubbermaid totes, never noticed any smells. After storing clothing for two years you'll probably wash it after pulling it out regardless of any odors. You could put in a dryer sheat, or a satchet.

I use the under bed bins that you mentioned. To avoid the plastic smell I use freshners that are made to keep clothes that are in storage fresh. I just found some new closet deoderizers by Tide, They are vanilla and lavender. I normally don't care for lavender but these smell great, They're a bit bigger than a quarter and have a hoop in case you need to hag them too. It really helps.

I believe a cedar chest would be the best solution, although it's probably also the most expensive :o)

Either way, lavender is supposed to be effective at keeping the bugs away - and it smells better than moth balls!

regardless what container you choose to store them in, real Lavendar is a natural moth deterent, it acts just like a mothball would but no nauseating smell. You can hang lavendar in your closet as well. wrap each piece in tissue (like gift tissue) and then wrap all the clothes in a white cotton sheet to provide one more layer of protection from any critters, they will go for the cotton sheet before the precious baby clothes. the other thing is be sure they are sparkling clean before you store them to avoid any yellowing. hope this helps

Dear J.:

Be sure to wash the clothes a couple of times first, then store in a fabric zippered case. I buy the ones at KMart by Martha Stewart. They breathe yet don't permit bugs or dust to contaminate the clothes. Because they're not plastic, the clothes don't get that icky, chemically smell.

I've found that the best place to store clothes longterm is on the top shelf of an indoors closet. Depending on where you live, the garage might give clothes a moldy smell or be too hot and ruin the elastic/color of the clothes.

Best wishes,

M.

I've had really good luck with the Rubbermaid buckets. The clothes haven't smelled nor have I run into bugs (I hate bugs! *smile*) in the baby clothes or my maternity clothes. Fabreeze and shout for all the clothes! Good luck and congratulations on your new baby :-)

I can't advise on what to use, but I can tell you what to stay away from: Space Bags. Don't use them. We used them with our little's one's clothes and it was a big fat waste of money. It might be a great concept if they weren't so poorly made. The "valve" (which isn't really a valve) cover won't stay on so the air always gets back in, it happened with EVERY ONE OF THEM (and we bought a LOT). And the plastic is so flimsy, it doesn't take much to tear them. I had to get rid of half of them because of tearing.
I personally like the lavender idea. I never knew it could be like mothballs. I imagine it must be pure essential oil (you could try auracacia.com) to be effective.
Good luck!!

I'm using those extra huge ziploc bags they make now. They hold 30-40 onesies each. Not sure how it holds up over the long-haul; I've only used them for a few months.

I stored my first's baby clothes in plastic bins in the garage, and they smelled fine after washing. One thing that will surprise you are the spit up spots - you don't see them when you store the stuff, and 2 years later they are on the clothes when you take them out of storage. But soaking in oxiclean took care of that.

We use bed bins with a satchel of baking soda and a couple well conditioned ceder blockes to keep bugs and mold or mildew down. Also we have had great success with the vacum bags we skip the baking soda there and just add the ceder blocks. You can also throw a fresh dryer sheet or two in to help. We store winter clothes and sports gear this way with great success. Cedar naturally repels bugs and mildew plus we love the smell.

Try washing and airing out the plastic bins before using placing outside in the sun for a day or two seems to help the smell alittle or it could just be my crazy smeller.lol

I'm no expert, but stored my boy's things in a cardboard box with a great lid~~it's an Avon box they ship their stuff in to their sales reps which is made really well~~no holes in the corners, etc. You can get a similar box from cases of paper--it's not as good, but has a nice lid like the Avon box. Anyway, I didn't use anything for bug repellant because I had a bad experience with moth balls once before. I stored them for years in our attic without any problems at all (no bugs inside the boxes). Cardboard allows things to breathe, and I've been told it's a good storage medium for clothes. If you're really concerned about bugs, you could always buy some cedar blocks (they're usually in the hangar section of stores or I'm sure you can find them online) and tuck a few into each box. The important thing about long term storage is to make sure the clothes are really, really clean. You can put them in storage with no visible stains and 3 years later there they are!!!

I stored ours in regular storage totes (big blue ones from Target). I put a dryer sheet in each tote and that seemed to help with any smells.

Hi
I used the vaccuum packed storage bags. YOu can fit a lot of clothes in them, then use the vaccuum to suck the excess air out. Of course you would have to iron the clothes when you eventually get them out, but they are great space savers. I found mine at Walmart
Good luck

Hi J.,
Get yourself a "Food Saver"!! Not only will it store food but-
it keeps all sorts of things like new!
Silver jewlrey, clothes, medicine, you name it!
If you want something safe and sealed air tight---
Get a Food Saver!!!
C. S.

We use those giant Ziploc bags. You can fit an entire season's worth of clothes in them, and they are thin enough to store pretty compactly. They keep smells out, but I'd still suggest washing the clothes when you go to use them again. :)

J.,
I used Space Bags and didn't have any issue with the plastic smell. I would recommend that you wash everything a couple of times (in a row) before you store them. Don't be surprised if in a couple years when you take the stuff out some stains have mysteriously appeared.
Congrats on your precious son and best of luck for the future one!!

Hi! I'm sure the space bags are great, but for a quick and cheap fix -- I have always used just the two gallon ziploc (or similar store brand) plastic bags. I have a 4 year gap between my oldest boys, and have never had a problem with smell, discoloration etc. I have also never had a piece I still liked that I haven't been able to use. I have had a few "why did I ever think that was cute" moments though :). Also, we once had the area that the clothes were stored in have a water leak, and the bags kept all the water out and the clothes protected. You can usually find the larger bags at the grocery store for a couple of bucks a box.
E.

Hi J....
I use these bags that suck out air with your regular vacume... they store it great, eliminate all the air for great keeping, and saves space... you can just stack them in you garage... i also put a drying sheet in there, so it smells good when you get it out again....

hi i keeo my stuff in clear containers so far fine hope this helps

I have always stored stuff in plain cardboard boxes marked w/a black marker for size. and then I put the box in the attic. I have never had bug or smell problems.

Wow, I can't wait to see the advice you receive because I have the same dilemna!

Hi there,

I stored my baby and maternity clothes in a large plastic rubbermaid type bin. I also stored this in the garage. I have just had my second child (thankfully the same sex as the first) and everything held up wonderfully. However, since I've been going back and forth into the bin recently for clothes for my youngest, I have encountered a slight smell. So my suggestion is to keep the lid tightly closed whenever the bin is not immediately in use.

I use Space Bags to store clothing, they are amazing for travel too since they come in a variety of sizes.

I usually get them from Bed Bath and Beyond, but I've seen them lots of places. They are one of those products which also has the ad on TV you can order from. I'm not sure how often it still runs, though.

I've used plain old cardbord boxes. They don't stink, and they breath better than plastic. If you live in So. CA. you could have rats in your garage and the cardbord won't do. Inside of a closet is best. They make cedar chips for use in storing clothes and you can find them at most stores. They smell good and keep away the bugs naturally. No chemicals like you find in mothballs. You should deffinetly avoid those.

Hi
I'm a mommy of 4 so I know what you're talking about. I tried several different storage solutions. What worked (and still does) best for me are the SpaceBags. Because you suck out all the air with a vacuum cleaner everything will still smell fresh even after a long time. You can get them at Costco, Bed Bath & Beyond or online at spacebags.com
Bye
M.

Hi J.,
As a mom of 3 boys(4 yrs, 3 yrs,& 9 months),I've stored both baby clothes & maternity clothes in the space bags & then in plastic bins, easy to stack and put away & gives you a lot of room to store all those clothes and not get those funky odors. Good luck and congrats on the baby.

I used under bed bins to storage my baby's clothes for a whole year and just recently i had to pull it out to give it away to a family memeber. They smell like the first day i put them away!
Try a little bag with bakig soda.
Good luck!

They're plastic, but I haven't had any issues of plastic smell with them...the rubermaid tubs from Target work well for me. I put my son's clothes in them as he grows out of them and use a marker to lable the box with what's inside. I store them currently in his closet, but the garage seems like it would work too...

Anything I'm really attached to, I put in my cedar chest.

-M

You can buy those storage bags at Walmart or Bed Bath Beyond that you put the clothes in, then suck out the air with your vac. Makes them compact and much smaller to store.

J.,
Congratulations on making it through the first few months of Motherhood. I have 2 children 23 and 30 years of age. I still have some of their infant clothing. What I have found to be the best thing to do is use vacuumed seal bags. If you go with the typical food storage type (I know of at least one brand that sells extra large) you merely seal part way then squeeze out the air and finish sealing. Be aware that they may still smell of plastic (if the bag smells then the clothes will pick up the odor). Otherwise there are vacuumed seal bags intended for storing such things that you can buy on line or you local. These bags typically don't have an odor. Good luck.
P.S. You can also store those special stuffed toys and such in these bags.

Space Bags--they're vacuum packed, so they stack pretty well, and smells stay out.

I agree with the Spacebags, and when you put the clothes in them then you put 1 dryer sheet in. Then seal it. When we built our house we lived in our travel trailer for 6 months. When I pulled all our clothes, towels and bedding out of the bags they smelled freshly cleaned!

space bags are the best! you can get them at target or costco or online and i'm sure a dozen other places...

I washed and dried everything then placed it into clear plastic totes. My oldest son's things kept beautifully for over 2 years until we needed it again! Good luck with everything!
*M.*

I stored all of my daughters clothes from birth on, in the large plastic Rubbermaid buckets that you can get at WalMart or Target. They stacked esily on top of each other, fit well in the rafters of our garage, were bug & waterproof & didn't cause the clothes to smell. I actually just recently went through them all to sell many of them, & even after 5 years of sitting, they were in perfect shape & didn't need to be rewashed & even still smelled like Dreft. Also, another suggestion, if you are really concerned about a plastic smell, is putting in little pouches of dried lavender to each bucket. Hopefully this will be helpful...:)

'space bags' w/a dryer sheet inside & (for extra protection) put inside a large plastic bin (you can get bins for cheap at big lots)

Put a fabric softener sheet in with whatever you use. The vacuum sealed bags are great. A cedar chest is nice but pricey.