Organic by John Patrick 3/4 sleeve tee (medium)
*use my referral link at Garmentory for $20 credit when you sign up for an account*
Elizabeth Suzann Clyde work pants (gift from ES to review last year) | size 6
Melissa plastic sandals (ten years old) | Melissa sandals at Shopbop
James Perse mini canvas tote (with nylon organizer inside – GAME CHANGER!!)
What I wore yesterday…
I don’t wear the Clyde pants much in the summer because they’re quite warm, but yesterday was in the low 80’s so I pulled them out. I was going to be home most of the day anyway, and they’re a good lounging/working at home pant; POCKETS!! But I’m always pleasantly surprised when I wear these pants. I shouldn’t be “surprised” anymore, but I still am. I love the way they fit (mostly – they do pull a bit across the top of my thighs/crotch area), and how comfortable/versatile they are. And did I mention the pockets?? The cotton twill does stretch a lot with wear though FYI.
On to the subject at hand: Moths. I spent the afternoon going through my sweaters and fall/winter items. No, I’m not switching over yet, but we’re moving at the end of September and so I’d like to get rid of whatever I’m going to before then, so I don’t have to move it.
My sweaters are okay, because after I discovered a hole in an Everlane cashmere sweater last year I started using these sachets in my sweater drawers. But my scarves are in a different location of the house altogether, not protected by sachets, and one in particular is riddled with holes.
I’d actually love to have a cedar chest (my mother has one she’s had since she was young) to store my wool/cashmere items in eventually, but in the meantime I’ve thought about lining a couple of drawers in cedar panels or something. Has anyone done that? What do you do to protect your sweaters from moths? Is it best to store them in plastic boxes?
This is relatively new to me since I’ve not had much cashmere and wool until the last several years, but I am desperate to protect my beloved sweaters and scarves from any more moth holes.
Happy Monday!!
I recently discovered moths in our closet and I freaked out. I think my clothes are mostly okay (though I went and bought more cedar to put in the closet and drawers), except for a pair of vintage wool sailor paints. I bought them in the summer and haven’t even worn them yet! I was so sad. Thankfully it’s only one small hole, and I plan to get a wool filler kit (http://www.woolfiller.com/index.php?lg=en) to repair it. Maybe it would work for you too?
Grechen – the pants and shirt look great on you! I hate moths – I don’t have a foolproof method and will look forward to hearing from everyone else. A cedar chest might be a worthwhile investment when you consider how expensive clothing/scarves are??
LOVE THAT SO MUCH!!! it won’t work for my cashmere scarf, there are WAY too many holes, but i could use it on my blanket, and keep around for other holes. it’s like felting – my sister and niece did that for a while, you just take wool and prick it into different shapes, it’s a brilliant solution.
i’m assuming it will work on cashmere?
I’ve bought cedar blocks and sachets from the Container Store, and also just bulk lavender and dried orange peel, etc. and made sachets of my own and placed around/between various items in my closet and the drawers that hold my wool sweaters. Plastic is not good, I believe, because then the fibers can’t breathe. You can also sand cedar blocks to bring that lovely scent back.
(I feel your pain though, I have a lovely J. Crew suiting dress and an old BR blazer that both got hit and have holes.)
I store my stuff in a cedar chest I bought off Craigslist when I lived in Dallas. I also buy those cedar squares as extra insurance and the ones with the attached hanger to use with coats. I apply cedar essential oil and sometimes lavender to the inside of chest when the cedar scent begins to fade. Do you wash your scarves at the end of the season? That’s probably the most important step because the moths are really after skin, etc that is left on worn items.
Love the Clydes on you! I want some–but am fearful of my hips appearing to be the size. China!
I have a cedar wardrobe I bought at an estate sale for $65 (SEE – this is why you shop estate sales!) when I moved to NC and needed closet space. I still use it (had to do some repairs) for off-season linens and my sweaters. I add cedar pet bedding (inside old socks, pillowcases) for extra cedar scent. We also built a cedar lined closet in our storage room for other off-season items. I don’t like lavender and ugh mothballs, so cedar it is! We have a cedar chest at the foot of our bed, too – our flannel sheets live there in the summer and then we swap out. Hmm, guess we have a lot of cedar….
I wash everything at the end of the cold season and then wrap each piece in tissue and store in an individual ziploc bag. I haven’t had any issues with the fibers not “breathing” but you can buy paper or cloth bags as well. I just moved to a house with a cedar closet so I guess I’ll see how that works as well. But the real key is that moths loves stains and organic debris, and they also spread so isolation is key.
You can also freeze wool/cashmere pieces to kill the eggs (if you have room in your freezer, which I never do). I am not convinced that sachets work.
You’re a veritable SAINT!!! Washing all of your winter clothes before putting them in storage…I know I should, but I sometimes look the other way. 😉
I’ve had holes in good cashmere and wool coats, but I hate the toxicity of mothballs and I’m not a fan of a strong cedar scent. I might try the sachets…they don’t cost much. I pack my sweaters away in plastic bins and they’re fine. They’re dead, right? So how can they breathe?!? 🙂 (Just teasing, Jen!)
haha!
ugh. i do usually wash everything before i put it away, but definitely didn’t do that this year. i will make sure to do that going forward…
and i’ve heard the freezing thing too, but like you, i have NO ROOM in my freezer for clothes LOL
haha! point taken, although estate sales really freak me out…
you do have a lot of cedar! i love it though, a cedar chest sounds like a wonderful investment.
when i first tried the clydes i sent them back because i wasn’t down with the exaggerated hip look, but then i kept thinking about them, and when i got them again, loved them so much. i can’t imagine being without them. i think the key is to get the right size though, they do stretch out, and can then look much bigger than they need to…
and no, as i mentioned above, i did not wash everything before putting it away this year 🙁 so bad…i know…
thanks jen! i love the idea of making my own sachets. orange and lavender sounds lovely!
yes, you’re right about the cedar chest. it is something i will definitely look into – and anyway, it seems like it doesn’t have to be such a big investment, if i try hard enough to find one secondhand…
Just the wool/cashmere sweaters!
I saw a video where a woman repaired a cashmere sweater with the woolfiller kit, so yes!
Oh man! Now I need to go dig out my sweaters, I haven’t encountered this before, but scary!!
I LOVE my clydes btw, worth every penny! Even though I did have to size down to get the fit I wanted. I recently got the clyde shorts in black linen, and like those quite a bit!
I’m a knitter with a lot of expensive yarn in storage so moths are my sworn enemy…but we nearly always have them (humid climate, old house). I store nearly everything wool in ziploc bags or in cloth bags in plastic storage bins in summer. (I think the problem with plastic might be humidity rather than “breathing”? so I throw a few desiccants in if I remember. In theory rice works for this purpose. But I don’t think a few months in plastic make much difference.) My secret weapon is keeping a few bars of Irish Spring in the storage furniture/bins. The scent is strong enough to keep moths out, but it airs out pretty quickly once I move the clothes out of storage. I also keep moth traps around the house to keep a handle on things in the summer, since we’re usually traveling and those suckers proliferate when we’re not around.
Thanks for the Irish Spring tip, Mary! Much better than moth balls!!! 😉
There really isn’t a foolproof method for getting rid of/stopping moth damage. Cedar, lavender, etc deter but they can still munch. The best way is a airtight container and some silica packets. The old cedar chests mainly worked well as they were tightly closed – the moths had no access. It wasn’t really the cedar.
I have my sweaters and wool/cashmere things in plastic tupperware storage (as well as vintage clothing) and have never had any issues. I rotate and air things if they are going to be in there year round, but a few months in plastic hasn’t hurt them at all. Every other method = holes. Oh, and I live someplace where I don’t need sweaters so they are in storage quite a bit .
You can also get things rewoven – my mom used to darn things that were munched on, but I do not have her talent.
And I love those pants on you. They look comfy and cool
I have the exact same pair of Clydes coming my way at the end of the week! It has been such a long wait. I had a used pair in natural in my usual size, but you are right, they stretch out quite a bit and they were way too big on my at the end of the day. Definitely need to size down. I’m really excited for the olive twill color and POCKETS!
the pockets are THE BEST!!!
let us know what you think of them when they arrive!