s/o Housekeeping - Clothes storage

[lauraw4321]

My mom is an amazing seamstress. She makes lots of dresses for my three girls, and she also made lots of dresses for me when I was little, and most of them she's given to me. So we have a lot of her dresses and other outfits. The ones that currently or might in the future fit someone are hanging in closets. But my youngest is 7, so there's a lot of clothes that have been outgrown entirely. I'm unsure how to store all of them. I've been putting them in big rubbermaid containers, but I'm afraid to put them in the attic. Will that damage them? Do I need to buy a few cedar chests to store them? Do I need to have them professionally cleaned and wrapped? TIA!

[TheReader]

We left a few rubbermaid containers of clothes/blankets in my MIL's attic while we were in Brazil (6 yrs), here in TX (the attic, not us) and everything was fine when we got it down once we were back. Everything needed to be washed, just from being musty and what-not, but otherwise they were fine. 

I think you could safely do that with your dresses. 

[Laura Corin]

7 minutes ago, lauraw4321 said:

My mom is an amazing seamstress. She makes lots of dresses for my three girls, and she also made lots of dresses for me when I was little, and most of them she's given to me. So we have a lot of her dresses and other outfits. The ones that currently or might in the future fit someone are hanging in closets. But my youngest is 7, so there's a lot of clothes that have been outgrown entirely. I'm unsure how to store all of them. I've been putting them in big rubbermaid containers, but I'm afraid to put them in the attic. Will that damage them? Do I need to buy a few cedar chests to store them? Do I need to have them professionally cleaned and wrapped? TIA!

What is your purpose in keeping them?

When my children grew out of the beautiful hand knit sweaters made by my brother's MIL for her granddaughters, and then passed on to us, I sent them to Afghanistan right after 9/11. I like to think of all that love being passed on.

Maybe just keep a few as keepsakes?

[Katy]

If your goal is to keep them until your children are grown, don’t put them in the attic.  Temperature fluctuations like that will wear down the fabric. I don’t think it would be worth paying potentially hundreds of dollars each to preserve each dress professionally. I’d put the Rubbermaid totes in a cool dark, low humid place.  I have a basement storage room with a dehumidifier in it.  On the other hand, my mom (who loves making little girl clothes but hates clutter), wants us to donate all the clothes she makes for my kids except the most special pieces (like the baptism outfits she made from my wedding gown). 

If you want to do a professional job that probably involves dry cleaning then wrapping in acid-free white tissue and archival cardboard boxes and stored in a cool dry dark place.  But I’m not an expert. I’d check YouTube. My kids baptism outfits are still hanging in the closet in the nursery. 

[HeartString]

I’d do professional cleaning and store in closets or under the bed if you want to keep them for future grandchildren.  That will increase the chance that they make it through 20 years and has the added benefit of making you only keep favorites.  
I would give away or sell the ones that aren’t favored enough to professionally clean and store.  

[Beth S]

Rabbit Trail:
Two weeks ago, I indeed played "dress up" with my grandkids.
One of them wore a cotton jumper her Great-Grandma had sewed for her mom (starting homeschool Kindergarten), 25 years ago.
My dd calls it the "Ms. Frizzle" jumper, with all kinds of school supplies scattered on it.

We squeezed my grandson into a cotton romper that my brother wore 50 years ago.

It was truly a fun photo moment . . . but it really takes effort to actually "dress up" with them 25 years later!

Both of their great-grandmas were blessed to see the kids wearing these old clothes (very briefly).

I would consider passing some of your heirloom hand-me-downs to nieces and nephews.

[lauraw4321]

2 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

What is your purpose in keeping them?

When my children grew out of the beautiful hand knit sweaters made by my brother's MIL for her granddaughters, and then passed on to us, I sent them to Afghanistan right after 9/11. I like to think of all that love being passed on.

Maybe just keep a few as keepsakes?

My mother constantly asks me to make sure I'm saving them to pass down to my grandchildren. There have been a very few I've given away, but she would be horrified to know of even those. 

[lauraw4321]

2 hours ago, Katy said:

If your goal is to keep them until your children are grown, don’t put them in the attic.  Temperature fluctuations like that will wear down the fabric. I don’t think it would be worth paying potentially hundreds of dollars each to preserve each dress professionally. I’d put the Rubbermaid totes in a cool dark, low humid place.  I have a basement storage room with a dehumidifier in it.  On the other hand, my mom (who loves making little girl clothes but hates clutter), wants us to donate all the clothes she makes for my kids except the most special pieces (like the baptism outfits she made from my wedding gown). 

If you want to do a professional job that probably involves dry cleaning then wrapping in acid-free white tissue and archival cardboard boxes and stored in a cool dry dark place.  But I’m not an expert. I’d check YouTube. My kids baptism outfits are still hanging in the closet in the nursery. 

My mom won't give me the baptismal gowns because I think she doesn't trust me. We don't have a basement. We do have an encapsulated crawl space, but despite all of the thousands of dollars we've poured into it and our yard, it still floods from time to time.  UGH. 

[lauraw4321]

1 hour ago, Beth S said:

Rabbit Trail:
Two weeks ago, I indeed played "dress up" with my grandkids.
One of them wore a cotton jumper her Great-Grandma had sewed for her mom (starting homeschool Kindergarten), 25 years ago.
My dd calls it the "Ms. Frizzle" jumper, with all kinds of school supplies scattered on it.

We squeezed my grandson into a cotton romper that my brother wore 50 years ago.

It was truly a fun photo moment . . . but it really takes effort to actually "dress up" with them 25 years later!

Both of their great-grandmas were blessed to see the kids wearing these old clothes (very briefly).

I would consider passing some of your heirloom hand-me-downs to nieces and nephews.

I have no nieces or nephews, and likely won't. I'm an only child and none of my inlaws plan on having kids. 

[J-rap]

Wow, that sounds like a lot of dresses!  Is your mother still making your girls dresses?  She's probably a great grandma, but it seems a little unreasonable of her to put pressure on you to keep all of them.   There's a good chance your grandchildren won't even want them.  (Styles change, etc.)

That said, if you feel you need to keep them, I'd keep a select few -- maybe the girls' favorites or a couple of your mother's favorites, and store them in a safe area where temps are fairly controlled.  The rest I'd throw into big rubbermaid containers and store them where they are most out of the way.  We kept almost all of our off-season and outgrown clothes in our attic in boxes.  Our attic was not insulated and had no temperature control.  So those clothes experienced our sometimes -20 degree winters and sometimes 100 degree summers.  For 25 years.  Surprisingly, they were all fine, except for the occasional mouse that would get in there -- which is why I'd recommend sealable rubbermaid-type containers instead!  

Edited June 29, 2021 by J-rap

[lauraw4321]

1 minute ago, J-rap said:

Wow, that sounds like a lot of dresses!  Is your mother still making your girls dresses?  She's probably a great grandma, but it seems a little unreasonable for her to put pressure on you to keep all of them.   There's a good chance your grandchildren won't even want them.  (Styles change, etc.)

That said, if you feel you need to keep them, I'd keep a select few -- maybe the girls' favorites or a couple of your mother's favorites, and store them in a safe area where temps are fairly controlled.  The rest I'd throw into big rubbermaid containers and store them where they are most out of the way.  We kept almost all of our off-season and outgrown clothes in our attic in boxes.  Our attic was not insulated and had no temperature control.  So those clothes experienced our sometimes -20 degree winters and sometimes 100 degree summers.  For 25 years.  Surprisingly, they were all fine, except for the occasional mouse that would get in there -- which is why I'd recommend sealable rubbermaid-type containers instead!  

It is a lot of dresses, and yes, she's still making them. I like the bifurcated approach - a few to be cleaned and stored under the bed, and the rest in rubbermaid with lids in the attic and hope for the best.

I have one smocked dress with my name on it. None of my kids bear my name, and so I can't imagine anyone wearing it. Maybe one of my grandkids or great-grands will have my name, but it seems unlikely. 

My FOO has very weird/strong attachments to things and so it's really hard for me, as a lot of stuff has been passed to me over the years with the expectation that I will keep it. 

[prairiewindmomma]

Fabric tends to not age well.  Silk and cotton and wool and other natural fibers do better than synthetics. Anything with elastic in it will not age well as the elastic decays with time.  If I wanted to do a budget storage of dresses, I would wash and dry everything well, and then get some acid free tissue paper. I would line the bottom of a rubbermaid with it, and then put layers in-between each dress. https://www.amazon.com/Grade-Kraft-Tissue-Paper-12x12/dp/B0137CZNBS/ref=pd_sbs_2/138-1556645-4322062?pd_rd_w=JszJU&pf_rd_p=a5925d26-9630-40f3-a011-d858608ac88b&pf_rd_r=RDMHS52G03F5B9WDW1VZ&pd_rd_r=a6795e9b-bc06-46b3-892e-928d719c81b1&pd_rd_wg=baeZy&pd_rd_i=B0137CZNBS&psc=1  You don't want the fabric touching anything but the acid-free paper.  You then need to find a temperature and humidity controlled place to store the bins, such as in the back of a closet. They will not tolerate an attic well.

[prairiewindmomma]

We posted at the same time. Yes, I would do an archival storage of a few dresses.....and I would pick from those likely to age well to do that process with.  

[lauraw4321]

Just now, prairiewindmomma said:

Fabric tends to not age well.  Silk and cotton and wool and other natural fibers do better than synthetics. Anything with elastic in it will not age well as the elastic decays with time.  If I wanted to do a budget storage of dresses, I would wash and dry everything well, and then get some acid free tissue paper. I would line the bottom of a rubbermaid with it, and then put layers in-between each dress. https://www.amazon.com/Grade-Kraft-Tissue-Paper-12x12/dp/B0137CZNBS/ref=pd_sbs_2/138-1556645-4322062?pd_rd_w=JszJU&pf_rd_p=a5925d26-9630-40f3-a011-d858608ac88b&pf_rd_r=RDMHS52G03F5B9WDW1VZ&pd_rd_r=a6795e9b-bc06-46b3-892e-928d719c81b1&pd_rd_wg=baeZy&pd_rd_i=B0137CZNBS&psc=1  You don't want the fabric touching anything but the acid-free paper.  You then need to find a temperature and humidity controlled place to store the bins, such as in the back of a closet. They will not tolerate an attic well.

This makes sense. My mother has been storing dresses in her cedar chest forever and has drilled it into me not to put things in the attic.  Our closets are already pretty full with seasonal clothes / storage for handmedowns (with 3 girls it makes sense to keep most things), etc. But there is room under my bed. 

[Laura Corin]

28 minutes ago, lauraw4321 said:

My mom won't give me the baptismal gowns because I think she doesn't trust me. We don't have a basement. We do have an encapsulated crawl space, but despite all of the thousands of dollars we've poured into it and our yard, it still floods from time to time.  UGH. 

It sounds like looking after clothing is very important to your mother. Would it work to express concern that you might not have a suitable house for looking after the dresses and ask her to please store them for you?

[Katy]

Is your mother in hoarder territory or just passing all the stuff to you?  If you only care about a few select things, storing the rest in the attic is fine.

[fraidycat]

43 minutes ago, lauraw4321 said:

My mother constantly asks me to make sure I'm saving them to pass down to my grandchildren. There have been a very few I've given away, but she would be horrified to know of even those. 

The best way to store them is at your mother's house, then. The person who wants to keep the items gets to store the items.

[lauraw4321]

1 hour ago, Laura Corin said:

It sounds like looking after clothing is very important to your mother. Would it work to express concern that you might not have a suitable house for looking after the dresses and ask her to please store them for you?

No. She's a hoarder and her house isn't suitable either. I already anticipate having tons of things to deal with when she passes. I'd rather not re-contribute to my own burden. 

[Tina]

2 hours ago, lauraw4321 said:

My mother constantly asks me to make sure I'm saving them to pass down to my grandchildren. There have been a very few I've given away, but she would be horrified to know of even those. 

I think that's a lot of unfair pressure on you, expecting you to hold on to things.  Maybe she could store the ones your girls have grown out of, if she wants them saved.  Just say you don't have the room and they'll have to go (except for a few of your favorites) unless she has the storage room.  How many dresses are we talking over time?  And girls just don't seem to wear them that much anymore...

Edited June 29, 2021 by Tina

[lauraw4321]

1 hour ago, Tina said:

I think that's a lot of unfair pressure on you, expecting you to hold on to things.  Maybe she could store the ones your girls have grown out of, if she wants them saved.  Just say you don't have the room and they'll have to go (except for a few of your favorites) unless she has the storage room.  How many dresses are we talking over time?  And girls just don't seem to wear them that much anymore...

Well, as they say, life ain't fair. I'm an only child, so they will all end up back at my house eventually anyway. We're talking probably 100 or so items of clothing, although I haven't counted.  I think I will now...

[regentrude]

1 hour ago, lauraw4321 said:

No. She's a hoarder and her house isn't suitable either. I already anticipate having tons of things to deal with when she passes. I'd rather not re-contribute to my own burden. 

In that case, quietly give the dresses away to a friend with daughters and not mention it to mom.
It helped me to see my DD's dresses from Grandma go to a family I was close to, as opposed to some random donation box. Just because your mother wants you to keep them for your grandchildren does not mean you have to burden yourself, and later your daughters, with those items. 

[73349]

If you do not want something any more, you don't have to keep it just because she wants you to. It's okay to keep a few favorites and re-home the rest.

Keeping everything is why her house is in its condition, and you don't need yours to follow suit. I would never announce that I wasn't keeping this or that, but neither am I going to give my house over to storing things I have no further use for.

[Laura Corin]

3 hours ago, lauraw4321 said:

No. She's a hoarder and her house isn't suitable either. I already anticipate having tons of things to deal with when she passes. I'd rather not re-contribute to my own burden. 

I'm sorry. My mum hoarded. It's hard.