How To : Pack Away Your Winter Linens
Spring is in the air. The days are heating up and the cold chill of the night is slowly ebbing away. Let’s say goodbye to winter and hello to Spring by changing over our quilt cover sets and properly packing away our winter warmer bed linens.
We’ve put together a comprehensive guide to help you organise and store your winter warmers. Don’t hassle with smelly, hard-to-find and mismatched sets of sheets 6-months from now, follow our simple guide below.
The 3 D's - Define, Determine, Decide.
Before you even start to pack away your winter warmers, define your needs. Now is the time to take stock of what you have and be clear about what you need. Here are some questions to ask yourself to help define your needs:
How often do I change my linen sets according to the temperature and seasonal change? Ie. Do I have a different set of linen for every season? Do I have a different set for hot and cold only?
How often do I wash/change my linen? Do I need a second “backup” set for washing days, accidents, dry cleaning etc?
Determine how many sheets and quilt cover sets you will need per bedroom.
Ie. If I use two sets of bed linen during summer months and a different two sets during the winter months, then I will need four sets of bed linen yearly.
Now is also the time to take an inventory of your stock. See which sets are complete, which have items missing, if there are any signs of wear and tear if you are ready to upgrade to a higher thread count for next winter and so on.
Once you have determined these things, it is time to decide what you have and don’t need and what you need but don’t have. Write a note on your phone or send yourself an email so you know what you’re working with.
Wash Wash Wash!
Washing your winter linens before storing them away for the season will help make sure they last longer.
Lingering oils, bacterias and dirt buildup can fester and grow whilst in storage if not cleaned properly. This can produce mildew and moth larvae which can eat through your linens and cause them to smell terrible when you pull them out for use next season. Adding a cup of baking soda to your regular cycle can help blast any lingering bacteria build ups in your linens. Alternatively, dry cleaning is a great option as a pre-storage cleaning solution.
Storage Solution
The way you household storage works will help determine the best storage solutions for your winter linens. Do you have a centralised location for storing your linens? or do you store your linens in the rooms they belong to? These questions will help you decide which option will be best for you and your household.
Vacuum Packs: They eliminate moisture from the storage environment of your linens. This is important as bacterias and mildew can develop when moisture creeps into the storage environment, damaging your linen. We like them because they can become very compact and are suited to households with limited storage space
Tubs with lids: They are airtight and can be stacked. Using colour-coded tubs or labels can help you easily identify which tub belongs to which room. We like them because: They are great for households with floor space for stacking on top of each other.
Pillow Cases: Using one pillowcase as a storage sack, you can store your top and bottom sheet as well as the remaining pillowcase inside. We like this because this is a neat, tidy, cost-effective and practical option for homes with minimal storage space.
NOTE: The number one rule for storing linens is to create or utilise a storage environment which is free of moisture!
Mothballs are commonly used to prevent decay to your linens during storage however it has been shown that the active ingredient in mothballs can be harmful to breathe. We recommend including natural products such as lavender sachets or cedar blocks to keep your linens fresh during storage.
So when you're ready to spring into spring and to pack away your winter warmers, follow this handy guide to achieve the best results for you, your linen and to maximise your storage and sanity at home.
