House Grooming

How to Store Baby Clothes?

Here is a proper guide to safely storing away baby quilts baby clothes, heirloom textiles and bedding.

• Never forget to clean the garments (and other textiles - hereafter referred to as garment) before storing. In case if the garment needs to be professionally dry-cleaned, be sure to point out to the drycleaner any known stains and their composition - so that he or she can effectively remove them. If the stains are not properly removed, they can 'reappear' after a time and attract damaging insects and cause deterioration and discoloration. Always use any suitable mild soap or detergent and rinse at least 3 times with clear, cool water and dry thoroughly as recommended by garment manufacturer.
• Never forget to purchase a Rubbermaid or Sterilite box (underbed or otherwise) large enough to hold the garment(s). Such storage boxes are made of cast polypropylene - which is an inert material used for archival application. Don't forget to wash and dry your hands before handing garment - no lotion, creams, etc. If you want you may also wear white cotton gloves. Using either of them will help prevent transfer of acid oils from skin to garment. Don't forget to remove any metal buttons or ornaments from the item and store in an archival sleeve (provided in the Preservation Pack) in the bottom of the box and in case if these ornaments are left on the clothing, they may corrode and cause staining. You should be always sure and include a written reminder of where the buttons, etc are.
• Remember to cover a flat area (bed or table or floor) with a clean white sheet or muslin and cover the sheet with a layer of acid and lignin free tissue. Archival tissue - gifts and drycleaner grade tissue should be used as they are sometimes acid free, but they may not be lignin free. In order to be sure - do remember to use tissue produced for archival applications.
• To be more on the safer side, lay the items out face down on the tissue and inspect carefully to be sure that all are clean and slowly stuff any bodices and sleeves with archival tissue - do this for hats and other 3D objects as well. Start from one side and working around the garment, fold to the center while interleaving each fold with a sheet or two of lightly crumpled acid free tissue and the tissue will cushion the folds a bit to help prevent creasing and protect seams. Until you have the garment ready to fit into the storage box, continue around the item - interleaving and folding as you go. But in case if you live in an area where insects are a concern - add a sachet of Pure French Lavender to repel them. Remember to put the sachet in a corner behind some tissue so it will not actually touch the items stored. Although, in very humid areas, you may also wish to add silica gel desiccant to guard against moisture damage. Preservation pack contains both of them.