Welcome to part four of our Storing Clothes at Home: DC⚡DC series. To recap, so far we’ve covered some very basic information that will help you create the best possible storage environment in your home. First and foremost, your vintage, antique, and/or treasured items should be stored somewhere Dark, Cool, Secure, Dry, and Constant. You know, DC⚡DC, like that popular band.
Okay, so not really like “that band”, but I find it helpful to create a mnemonic device to help remember things.
Anyhow, today’s environmental topic, Dry, probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone. After all, I’m sure that you are plenty smart enough to figure out that you want to keep your precious belongings away from, well, water. If your ideal storage spot is in a basement, note where the water pipes are and make sure they’re in good condition.
My daughter left her journal out in the rain. Yikes.
MY DAUGHTER LEFT HER JOURNAL OUT IN THE RAIN. YIKES.
Make sure to keep items off the floor in case water seeps up through the floor cracks or down through a window well (both of which has happened to me.) If your only option is a garage, make sure your items are as far away from the door as possible, just in case a storm blows in. It’s always a good idea to keep your items covered in plastic or tyvek as an easy extra insurance policy. And remember, when water is concerned, it’s best to plan for the worst and hope for the best.
Depressed yet? Don’t be. We’ll figure this out together.
I will continue our discussion on all things wet and water in a future post. After all, we haven’t even talked about humidity yet.
Until then, I hope this post has helped you feel more confident about how to best care for your family possessions and antiques. Sometimes the answers are pretty obvious but it helps to have some things spelled out as a reminder. I hope I was able to accomplish that here.