by Madison Briggs

Created on: December 05, 2008

Most of the clothes in my closet do not hang idly long enough to gather dust but I will admit there are a few items lurking in the back like suit jackets or my wife's dresses that only see the daylight on rare occasions. When these rare occasions pop up, nothing is more annoying than finding a layer of white dust on the shoulders of your best jacket besides being annoyed you have to dress up in the first place.

The dust in my closet originates mostly from the popcorn ceiling inside the closet. Of course, dust is always present and while we do vacuum the dust bunnies in the upper corners periodically and vacuum the flooring inside the closet more religiously, there is not much to be done about the popcorn ceiling shedding short of big time remodeling. My daughter and son in law do not have popcorn ceilings in their closets yet still complain about fine dust on their clothes. My theory on their problem is just too many clothes.

To render a solution to the dust in our closets, we have invested in several items to reduce the amount of dust that seemed to collect on the seldom used items we all lurking in the back corners of our closets. Here are some tips that are working for us.

* Hanging garment bags that hold one item or several items keep your clothes neat and dust free. They are available in canvas or vinyl. You can find them that just drape over your clothes like dry cleaning bags or ones that zip around and totally enclose your garments. If you add a dryer sheet, a sachet or a small bag of cedar shavings in the bottom as you zip it up, your stored clothes will have a fresh smell.

*If space is an issue and garment bags are not an option, you can craft some hanger covers using thin foam, fabric, or dryer sheets. Simply cut a hole in the middle to insert your hanger through. This keeps dust off the shoulders and depending on the garment does not hamper removal of the item.

*Seasonally, when you switch the summer clothes to the front, pick a nice airy day to hang your clothes outside for a little while to let them get some fresh air. This not only freshens your clothes, it also hopefully reminds you that you have not worn that item for three years and maybe it is time to donate or trash it.

*Along with the clothes that may be gathering dust, don't forget about all the other dust collectors in your closet. Shoes, suitcases, pocketbooks, extra blankets, ties and anything else stuck on the shelves or the floor all collect dust. Plastic bins in all shapes and sizes are useful to store seasonal or seldom used items. Just remember to occasionally dust the lids of the bins.

*The number one tip is to not overload your closets. If you are utilizing the clothes, they do not have a chance to gather dust. Stuffed closets with clothes you do not wear, are out of style and quit fitting you a decade ago simply need to be discarded. Face it; even if you could fit back into those 29 waist straight leg blue jeans, are you really going to wear them again? If you hated that shirt in 1985, you still hate it today. If your wife bought it for you, she obviously realizes you are not going to ever wear it. Clean out your closets so you can clean more efficiently, your clothes can breathe and you can maintain a handle on any dust that may have a chance of accumulating.

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