storage - or the lack thereof!!!..tips anyone??

Hattysattic

VFG Member
so i have just cracked and bought 6 trade, heavy duty garment racks as i am so sick of my cheap domestic clothes rails collapsing at inappropriate moments..

i'm sure everyone here regardless of how much they actually sell has had to consider storage arrangements at one point or another, and as i'm about to attempt a huge rearranging of my entire inventory in an attempt to be more organised i thought i'd ask if anyone had any fantastic tips to share?

it's probably been discussed before but if so i missed it. i'm about to deal with the whole lot - dresses, coats, hats, shoes, lingerie...well, you don't need me to list it all! do i just give in and allow it to take over every room, or are there clever ways of doing this that i haven't thought of yet?

i'd love to hear anything you've found successful!:wub:
 
We have discussed organizing before...as far as getting rid of clutter. Hollis' workshop on care and cleaning talked about proper storage as far as avoiding elements that would ruin items, but I don't think we have actually discussed physical storage containers and where we store per se.

So serendipitious..I am going through my inventory again today so this is very timely for me.

Handbags I keep in a few (okay, lets be honest here - more than a few big rubbermaid style bins stacked on top of eachother in the office closet). These are the leather ones, etc. metal mesh and beaded ones i wrap very carefully and put in smaller boxes so they don't get damaged. Of course, the most important thing is to take care of any issues (faint hint of old perfume, cigarettes, etc, if there is any) before letting them "crosspollinate" with other merchandse otherwise you will have a problem later. I tend to not pick up things that are heavily odored at all,. but on rare occassion when i think something can be saved and the item outweighs it, I will keep it "quarantined". You can easily stack 2 or 3 in a closet below the rail and one above.

I pretty much up until recently had the closet in my office stacked to the brim, but very very organized with different containers where everything had a specific place and was easy to find.

However, my big hurdle right now is that when the closet is filled with containers, there is no room for all the coats, men's suits and ladies blazers i have. I can't be attached to the "light" items like lingerie, right?
It is all bulky items, and there is a limit to what you can put in any one closet. I promote that i keep a tight inventory so its easy to shop, but the more you have, the more you can sell, right? so its a catch 22.

The other consideration is that my office is right when you walk in the house with french doors and a half bay window that is right at the front porch, so i have to balance whatever i do in my office with the fact that the room is on view.

I have contemplated outside storage. I would like to hear what other people do as well.
 
Right now, I only have one room, and it's taken over that. :BAGUSE:

I'm torn between buying more good inventory within certain specialisms for my Mall shop, and facing The Horror which is my negative storage space situation right now. Combine that with No Time to List and you have an utter nightmare...

Well done for taking steps... I guess one thing I'd suggest is canvas/muslin throws over the top of the racks, and those paper luggage tags on strings attached to each garment as it comes in, with cost/measurements/source/date noted?

yours
Drowned in Clothing
 
My only storage solution and organized storage area is my shoes. I was lucky enough that when my aunt moved, she gave my tons of those clear shoe bins. I placed all the bins in a bookcase my hubby made in my laundry room.

As for the racks, my dad is a plumber and metal worker. He made me racks out of steel piping. And I found them to be best in holding alot of weight.

I like the tag ideal on the clothing, right now I was just keeping a little log sheet with the info in it, but I like the "tag" way much better. Thanks for that info!!!

Jamie
 
good tips guys! i WISH i had someone give me a load of clear shoe boxes, they are such a great idea :)

i have considered outside storage, renting a room or even a flat - currently i feel that i couldn't justify the expenditure as my profit would be absorbed immediately, but this is really (like lin!) because i have too much stuff and too little time. i am the epitomy of asset rich cash poor at the moment.. in the future it is an option i would definitely think seriously about.

thinking of canvas/muslin things (very good point!), one of my other tips is to pick up white cotton or linen pillowcases at rummage/jumble sales, and use them to protect anything that may catch (eg sequinned prom dresses etc) on other clothes. kind of like a breathable dry cleaning bag! bolster length are great a they wil go the full length of a formal dress.

i have failed, btw, in my mission to keep stuff out of other rooms. i have had to put three full size racks in my (our) bedroom, and screen them off after deciding that i could no longer manage with just the attic room as i had nowhere to measure up/ sit down and look over flaws etc. in comfort. husband none too pleased to start with but seems to have accepted it in the end a lot more gracefully than i had anticipated!

so far the 2 reception rooms and my sons bedroom are the only 'vintage free zones'. i have handwashing waiting in the laundry bit of the kitchen, the spare room has bags of stuff awaiting dry cleaning and about 6 huge boxes of lower grade stuff to sell as crafting/repair/fancy dress lots so the bed is not in the slightest bit accessible.

good job we have no visitors for a while:D
 
That's my problem...visitors and a newer house with a great room/open concept. No nooks and crannies like the old houses.

Time is certainly one thing.

I have been thinking about outside storage as well but only if it would pay for itself...a small house we would buy, fix up and later sell, etc. If i had extra space for my stuff, i really don't think i would be as particular for waiting for just the right moment to offer certain things for sale. Am i waiting for them to ripen like fruit? Of course there are trends, but i find the more inventory i have the more apt i am to price it fairly for both me and the customer and just moveit.

On the other hand, if you truly had an outside space which to work, when you went, even if it was for a limited time, it would be uninterrputed time. No phone calls aside from business related, no "honey, come look at this commercial, quick!" etc, etc. That is the biggest challenge with a home office.
 
I only have one small closet in my Ebay room and most of the items
I have in large rubbermaid bins that are labelled (Summer, Spring, Fall, Winter, Just Listed, To List, Belts, Purses, Designer - have a couple of those, including one just for Suzy Perette, and then I have about
8 various linen ones). I also have a couple of dressers that I keep
stuff in, and smaller bins for scarves, hankies, gloves, etc.

The pillowcase idea is good, and one that I use for furs, after I give the
furs the freezer treatment. Never store furs in plastic.

My prob is that my room is small and can be organized one day and the next (particularly when I'm looking for something in particular), it becomes totally trashed.

Sue
 
I like the pillow case idea, will try that.

<i> i am the epitomy of asset rich cash poor at the moment..</i>
Oh, so much the better way to put it... And yet we're hitting the summer 'downtime' already, and I haven't managed to get up Ebay listings I need to do...

I'm applying for new jobs at the mo, and desperate to find one with 'moving expenses' included, so that I don't have to pay to move this unsold stock!!
 
Go to your local charity shops and buy up their cheap bedding sheets - use these for (1) throwing over the top of your dress racks as dust protectors and (2) using them to wrap individual items on their hangers. (same as with your pillow case idea, but the sheet gives bigger coverage and protection - ideal for long evening dresses)

I also use the large plastic stackable storage boxes with lids - only thing is, you need plenty of tissue paper to avoid too many creases AND you need to open and air the boxes on a regular basis (something to do with releasing the chemicals in the plastic).

Net crinolines - store in a stocking or tights - it does work!



And info on where you got your heavy duty dress rails would be much appreciated!!! ;)
 
sue i have the same problem - if i have to even look for one thing it creates such havoc (and not being ultra organised this is pretty frequent) that i spend the only free time i have when i should be listing tidying up as i feel i can't possibly list anything with the room in a mess...but i still continue to BUY constantly!!:BAGUSE:

i bought the trade rail things from ebay (obviously) but luckily for me they were listed in completely the wrong category and were collection only which i think kept the price down - i got 6 of them for fifty quid which i think is very good. but having got them up i would have been prepared to pay a fair bit more - they are the basic model from 'morplan' i think - no castors but you could easily fit some i think, and they are easy enough to slide about on a smooth floor.

http://www.morplan.com/ProductDisplay/Knock-Flat Rails/333537/16251/389583

my absolute favourite ebay uk category is business office and industrial/retail and shop fitting, as they often have these secondhand there. come to think of it maragaret, i'm currently watching this with no intention of bidding as i can't collect but while we're on the topic of storage i believe this is in more your neck of the woods:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7517372103&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

i would love that for all my linens or sweaters :wub:

oh - good luck with those applications lin!
 
I use a one of those hanging closet things that are intended for sweaters for shoes. I like it so much better than a hanging plastic shoe bag..but be warned...if weighed down too heavily it will bow at the top. I find that different types of shoes just fall out the top of those shoe bags.
 
p.s. Harriet, you can get those plastic shoe boxes in big job lots from Lakeland Plastics... And you can order online! They do acid-free paper too, helpfully enough. Although they never seem to sell anything for under a fiver.

(and, thanks!!)
 
Thanks Harriet - I'll have to keep a look out - I've had about 4 rails so far, each buckled or collapsed (I wonder why???) so I could do with getting a *really* sturdy one!
 
So...do you replace the regular rails in a closet with these sturdier models or do you have an entire room rigged up? (for the folks that have these)
 
i blush to admit that i have freestanding rails in the attic (which is a conversion, about 17' x 30') and have also had to use an edwardian screen to divide up my bedroom temporarily (which is about the same size but without the slanty eaves thank goodness) to house another 3 six foot long rails.
boxed items - mainly vintage wedding dresses - are in archival tissue are under the bed, on top of the wardrobes, and in many many old steamer trunks and suitcases (which i collect) and seem to fill at an alarming rate!
my closets are useless inbuilt victorian things that sit flush to the chimney breast in the bedrooms, and are too shallow to hang anything in. and besides they are already full of my own winter coats...:BAGUSE:
i have managed to rearrange though (like putting up those extra rails in my room for example) and at least although spread out i have a better idea of where everything is now!
 
To solve my storage problem, I went so far as to buy a second house! I had had my eye on this cute late Victorian house for years, and when it unexpectedly became available, I bought it to house my inventory and my personal collection. It was one of the smartest things I've done in ages, as it freed up space in our home, and at the same time gave me a great place in which to work, uninterrupted by the distractions of home.

I store much of my own collection flat, in acid-free boxes. The rest I hang and cover with white sheets. I display my hats, shoes, accessories, on a rotating basis. They are my decor!
 
I have several long flat plastic bins that roll under the beds! The flip open on either side and have rollers on the bottom. You can have them in every bedroom and still be able to hide them. I can fit quite a bit into one!

Wow Lizzie, that's the ultimate storage solution!! Right on!!!

By the way, are you offically retired now???? :bouncy:

~Maureen
 
ooh yes, i keep meaning to buy those under the bed roller bin things too for fabric!

i think having as second property is an excellent idea. my parents are looking to move for the ir retirement and i have been promised some kind of large scale storage office in their next place (for a peppercorn rent i hope!), and i can't wait! much as i love my stuff it would be nice to have a distinction between work and play (and it would stop me being tepted to wear my inventory too, lol!)
 
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