Categories: General fashion

Wardrobe clear out and how to deal with clothes moths.

The daffodils are blooming here in London and adding a shot of yellow to our city. Yet most of our wardrobes are full of winter clothes and woolies.

Now is an ideal time to have a good Spring clean and edit our wardrobes before making those new purchases.

As I have very little wardrobe space, every season I have to do a big change around and store all my out of season clothes in suitcases in the garage. This is very energy and time consuming so I decided to have a big audit and clear out unwanted stuff. I unpacked all my summer clothes and meticulously tried each garment on and if any of the criteria below applied out it went.

Rules of engagement:-

If it no longer fits. Out it goes
If it is no longer flattering (either colour or style) Out it goes
If I have not worn it for the previous 2 years. Out it goes

I was left with 3 substantial piles:-

To go to the charity shop
To sell at the local 2nd hand shop
To take to the recycling bins

In the process, horror of horrors, I discovered a couple of sweaters with moth holes in them. I am so careful and always use cedar blocks and moth proof sachets in my draws and wardrobe so this discovery was of great concern. I promptly took the sweaters off to be darned (luckily we have a very good wool shop near us that offers this rare service). However the real emergency is to prevent this from happening again. Apparently modern moths are becoming resistant to all the usual preventatives, like lavender and cedar. I was told that putting your sweaters in the freezer before packing them away would kill the eggs and larvae, but not sure that this works.

It is very important to ensure that all clothes are clean before being packed away and according to my very knowledgeable local dry cleaner, cleaning fluid will kill any potential eggs.

I have ordered some moth proofing products that hopefully will rid my wardrobe from these invisible pesky pests!

Moth Kill Products

If you have any helpful advice on how to deal with destructive clothes eating moths I would love to hear from you.

Chicatanyage

I write a fashion and beauty blog for women over 50 with the aim of inspiring mature women to continue to enjoy and have fun with their fashion choices. I have spent most of my working life in some way connected to fashion. I started my career in Fashion PR and then trained as an Image Consultant when my children were young. I subsequently worked in the corporate world running seminars, doing private coaching and speaking at conferences. I started my blog in 2009 as I wanted to share my years of experience working in the world of fashion. I truly believe we can continue to have confidence in the way we present ourselves. Our style may evolve with time and changing lifestyles, yet with a little knowledge and inspiration, we can all continue to have fun with fashion. As women of a certain age we are a growing demographic let us prove that we can also be a chic one.

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View Comments

Duchesse says:

10th May 2011 at 14:24

I've posted on this, see my "Cashmere" link. Cedar and lavender lose their 'punch'. I've uses camphor mothballs but then have to air things for days. Best is to keep the woolens clean not only at storage time but as you wear them. My godfather, a merchant of fine menswear, said "Mess 'em up", by which he meant, do not stack the sweaters in a drawer without rotation or airing. The sweater may look and smell clean to us but body oil is catnip to moths.

A masterful invisible mender is worth her weight in gold!
Chicatanyage says:

10th May 2011 at 15:20

Thanks. I will check out your "cashmere" link. Some good advice. My professional moth killer sprays have arrived so I will have to empty my wardrobe and spray in all the dark corners.
Anonymous says:

25th February 2013 at 11:50

I recently discovered clothes moths in one of my wardrobes and bought some stuff online from a company called mothkiller.co.uk

I can honestly say the products worked a treat as I have seen no moths since. To be on the safe side I have also got some hanging things which are supposed to keep them at bay!
Jennifer says:

30th March 2015 at 20:05

I've begun my clean out as well.
I'm one of those renegades who does not believe in rule #3...at least for me.
I'm a creative and dramatic dresser so many of my garments and accessories are timeless and statement pieces.
I rotate them, but some may wait several years for just the exact occasion when they are perfect to wear.
Back to my clean out...
Have a great week!
Jennifer
http;//www.awellstyledlife.com