fabric storage

I'm moving to a smaller place and I'm trying to get a bit more organised ahead of the move. I know the apartment I'm going to pretty well and I need to rethink my fabric storage.

I'd like to get plastic tubs for the fabric, clear with lids. However, I seem to remember dire warnings about fabric getting mildew (or whatever nasty stuff) from being stored in plastic tubs/boxes. The climate I'm going to is not totally dry, but not with high humidity either. Nothing else I've had in plastic tubs ever got musty.

So: from your experience, is storing fabric in lidded plastic boxes a no-go?

And if I was to do this, what size box would you recommend (obviously, there will be several to many boxes). Most of my fabric is .5 to 1.5 yards, or FQs.

Thanks!

Hanne in London PS. Downsizing by giving away all fabric is not an option :-)

Reply to
Hanne Gottliebsen
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Good morning, Hanne. LOL. I just saw your signature but can't promise you that anyone else will notice. My stash is stored in plastic bins and this is the humidity center of the world. I do frequently rootle them and that might be why they don't get musty. I keep a wrapper from a bar of soap in the one that's hardly ever opened - where scraps of silk and velvet are tossed for a one day crazy quilt. As to size, think about where you're going to put them and if you'll need to lift them. My bin for yellow is about knee high and I'm not sure a wrecker truck could lift it. It lives beneath the cutting table and that works just fine. Clear is good unless they're going to be exposed to sunlight. Just now the 'crazy' bin is stored out on our sunporch. Not a good place but it's only for a few days. Something else to think about - consider the latches or seals on the bins. We had a few here that were mean to open. We had enough of that and melted the latches to prevent broken nails, fingers and screwdrivers. Problem solved. Unless you're going to toss the bins out in the river. Good luck with the move. Proceed with caution. Polly

"Hanne Gottliebsen" I'm moving to a smaller place and I'm trying to get a bit more organised

Reply to
Polly Esther

Polly,

This is good to hear. I know exactly the series of boxes I want: "The Really Useful Box

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no affiliation.

I'm thinking 35 liters (roughly 19 x 15 x 12 inches) - those I can carry a short distance even if filled with paper, so should be ok weight-wise. And the latches are easy.

I'm _so_ fed up with about 8 different kinds of tubs, boxes, crates that don't play well together.

Thanks!

Hanne > Good morning, Hanne. LOL. I just saw your signature but can't promise you

Reply to
Hanne Gottliebsen

Oh they do indeed play well together. Late at night when everyone is fast asleep or when we're gone for the day, these bins get together and swap lids. We thought while we were re-flooring that we'd solve the problem but still came out with lots more lids than bins. It is sort of like socks - don't know where some of them came from or where their mates went. Will the bin size you have in mind slide under your bed and would you want to if you could? Polly

"Hanne Gottliebsen"

Reply to
Polly Esther

They won't slide under the bed, but I'm getting a new bed, and I'm planning for it to be one that flips open (but not with me in it!) to reveal storage - this would be for things more seldom used.

The boxes I'm looking at do fit in an alcove like spot that I'm designating for storage.

Hanne

Polly Esther wrote:

Reply to
Hanne Gottliebsen

Reply to
Roberta

I am a fan of those mesh "pop open" laundry and storage baskets with handles and keep them hidden in a closet. I don't have a sewing room and really don't want fabrics too easy to see -- I get too many projects going at one time anyway, and don't want the temptation!

Reply to
Mary

Plastic is not my favorite for both mildew, and off-gassing. I store most of my fabric on open shelves. But I have come to like the stacking plastic Sterlite boxes for my fat quarters. I tried canvas boxes, but found that I really missed seeing my "stuff" at a glance. So... plastic is not ideal, but convenient. But every problem is just an excuse to find a solution.

I ventilate the boxes by adding lots of little breathing holes around the sides. I use a hot fork, heated on my stove. When you touch the hot fork to the plastic, it melts nice neat holes without much effort.

Ventilated plastic boxes. Problem solved!

Works for me. anth> I wouldn't trust it for long-term storage, but if it's visible in your

Reply to
anthony in Clearwater

If you were worried, perhaps you could punch holes around the top inch or so of the sides (rather than the lid, in case you stack them)? . In message , Hanne Gottliebsen writes

Reply to
Patti

Here in the desert we don't worry too much about mildew. One of the good things about living in this climate. I have used plastic bins for some years with no problems found so far. I do tend to rootle and sort and fuss with it all occasionally so it does get aired. The breathing holes are a great idea! Taria

anth> Plastic is not my favorite for both mildew, and off-gassing. I store

Reply to
Taria

Howdy!

I've been using the Rubbermaid brand tubs for 15+ yrs; so far, no problems. Clear boxes, stacked 3 & 4 deep, about 18 of them in the big closet; they get moved regularly for rootling and treasure hunting, once a year they get re-organized and added to. No dust, no cat hair, just a nice, dry place to put the goodies (we have medium-range humidity). So easy to drag out a box and take it w/ me. similar to this, tight-top:

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Good luck w/ your move. Let us know if you need help w/ those fabric leftovers you just can't shift into the new place. ;-)

R/Sandy

Reply to
Sandy Ellison

Seattle and London have an almost identical climate according to many of my gardening books and a few friends who have lived in London. I've stored fabric and clothing for years in plastic tubs and have never had any problem at all.

I'll give you a little hint about labeling: I used 3x5 index cards to label the tubs. I write on the card with a Sharpie what's in the tub and then just slide it face out on the inside of the bin. You can read it just fine and labeling changes are quick and easy.

Val

Reply to
Val

I've had my fabric in plastic totes for 2-3 years and no mildew problem.

Reply to
maryd

I label the same way. Quick, easy to change... and the tubs don't end up with a thick block of stickers on it.

Reply to
Kate in MI

I've heard both ways about plastic boxes, but they'd drive me nuts anyway. (Well, they do already, because my clothes fabric is stored that way. It's a hassle to *really see* what you've got without dragging the box, which is likely to be under another box, out and pulling it apart.) Much prefer the coated wire mesh squares arrangement I've got for quilting fabric. The materials are cheap, everything's visible and accessible and I've gotten to where I can pretty well tell how much of anything is there. You can see a picture in my webshots sewing room album from a few years ago. The stash has grown quite a bit--and the system right along with it.

--Heidi

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Reply to
heidi

I store fabric in those crates, and so far, so good. I put a fabric softener sheet in the bottom just to keep it smelling fresh. Just because I never thought of using a soap wrapper -- good idea.

Sherry

Reply to
Sherry

Thanks to all who replied - I have now ordered boxes.

My main reason for not using the wire-system is that my storage spot is not well-lit, and I like to haul everything out to look through anyway :-)

I'll keep in mind the hints about ventilation holes, soap wrappers/dryer sheets and labeling too!

Hanne in London (but not much longer)

Hanne Gottliebsen wrote:

Reply to
Hanne Gottliebsen

Hanne - where are you moving to?

Lizzy

Reply to
Lizzy Taylor

I'm moving to Copenhagen in Denmark, my home country. Haven't lived there in 11 years - about time, really :-)

Hanne

Reply to
Hanne Gottliebsen

Reply to
Roberta

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