Winters are almost over in my part of the World and it’s time to store the woolens away. This is an important exercise for me as I have to make space for summer clothes in my closet. I do not keep clothes for all seasons in the closet
throughout the year as it has limited space.
Decluttering Goal:
● Empty the closet
I plan to remove all woolens and keep them on the bed ,( this works for me as it is easily accessible and provides ample space to display all my woolens clearly. The point is to have a bird’s eye view of all the woolens.
● Checking all woolens for wear and tear before storing.
Some woolens have been used regularly whereas some were used only occasionally. As you are aware from my other blog posts, I have been on a Minimalist journey since 2017. Over the years I have decluttered quite a few woolens and I can proudly claim to possess only that I love. Still, I like to go through all of them at the end of the season to check if they are in good condition to be used for the next winters.
● Mending, reusing and repurposing woolens.
This is my favorite part as it is challenging and requires a lot of creativity. As I have a limited woolen wardrobe already due to years of decluttering , I make sure to mend small holes and also take professional help of the drycleaner to fix any major tears. Making my woolens lasts gives me a lot of satisfaction as a sustainable consumer and helps me save a ton of money.
● Before storing them away, I make sure all are thoroughly clean and sundried.
As I live in sunny climate, sun drying is quite common. If you live in an area that does not get enough sunny days, just making sure the woolens are thoroughly dried before storing will keep them safe from bugs and smelling fresh.
● Clean the woolens before storing
I gently wash some at home and get the more expensive ones that have multiple colors drycleaned as they may bleed color and spoil the outfit. As I have made it a habit to only purchase single color woolens recently, sending them to the drycleaner is very rare. In future, I plan to only purchase single color woolens and wash them at home to save money.
MY NATURAL HOME MADE RECIPE TO PRESERVE WOOLENS ( PASSED ON BY MY GRANDMOTHER, NANI ( MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER)
For decades, Indians have used Neem 🍃 ( scientific name; Azadirachta indica)to preserve woolens. The properties of Neem repel bugs and insects.
This was passed on by my Grandmother and I am happy that I have passed it on to my daughter.
Neem tree is a native of India and it is a medicinal tree. All parts of the Neem tree are used for various purposes.
HOW TO PREPARE NEEM PRESERVATIVE
● Wash the Neem leaves thoroughly.
● Sun dry the Neem leaves( this can take upto one week)
● Make sure all moisture is removed completely.
● Now it is ready to be used.
HOW TO USE DRIED NEEM LEAVES TO PRESERVE WOOLENS
● I put dried Neem leaves liberally on the surface areas of the boxes in which the woolens are kept till the next winters. Now I spread any clean cotton cloth ( I use old fabrics, old stoles etc) to prevent the Neem leaves from getting stuck to the woolens.
● Another way is to tie a handful of dried Neem leaves in a piece of cloth and place it in between the woolens.
● Using dried Neem leaves has been a game changer for me.
● This is absolutely chemical free and very cost effective.
DRIED NEEM LEAVES THAT I AM PUTTING ALONG WITH MY WOOLENS THIS SEASON