If you’re a handbag lover (especially a luxury handbag owner), then you know how important it is to take care of these beautiful accessories. We wear handbags everywhere – the beach, restaurants, shopping, outdoors! Like our normal clothes, they get exposed to many different elements and need to be properly taken care of in order to reduce damage and promote longevity.
In this blog, we’ll take a deep-dive into the world of handbags: how to clean them and how to store them – both in your home and in a storage unit!
To learn more about proper storage, check out our other Fairfax City Storage blogs and become an expert at storing your possessions!
How to Prep your Handbags for Storage
While knowing how to correctly store your handbags is essential, it’s even more important to prep your handbags first.
How do you do that? Below, we have the five most important ways to get your handbags ready for storage!
Clean, Clean, Clean
You clean your clothes, you clean your shoes, but what about your handbags? Handbags accumulate a lot of dust and grime throughout the day and need to be properly cleaned before they’re stored, in order to prevent mold or bacteria from growing.
To clean your handbags, simply use a lint brush or gentle cloth with mild soap and water. Leather handbags will require a conditioner to maintain their appearance.
Enclose the Straps
Straps can easily get damaged if left out, so to protect your handbag’s straps, gently roll them up and place them inside the purse.
Add Stuffing
Handbags, especially larger ones, are prone to deflating which can lessen their value and possibly damage the outside. To keep the original state, you can stuff your handbag with newspapers, stuffing, or tissue paper. For non-printed material, sheets of plastic or bubble wrap are great options!
Cover Them
No matter where your handbags are stored, you’ll always want to cover them to ensure to exterior materials like dust don’t get trapped on the bag or in the hardware.
While most luxury handbags will come with a separate dust bag cover, you can always use a pillow case for an expensive option that works just as well!
Best Places to Store Your Handbags in the Home and in a Storage Unit
After you have prepped your handbag, you can now safely store it! But where?
Here’s our top three places to store your handbag both in a home or in a storage unit.
Closet Shelf
For in home storage, a closet shelf is always a great option! Make sure to sit your handbag upright and leave a little room in between each handbag or other item to reduce the risk of excessive friction that can lead to damage.
Coat Rack
If you have an extra coat rack hanging around, you can easily repurpose this item to become an elite option for handbag storage! We don’t necessarily recommend this for long-term, but it’s a great short-term option if you’re short on shelf space.
Plastic Tote/Bin
Our #1 choice for storing your handbags in a home or in a storage unit is a plastic tote or bin. While we don’t recommend stacking handbags on top of each other, this is a great option if you have a long, flat plastic tote. This will prevent dust, moisture, or excess friction, increasing the longevity of your handbags!
Trust Your Handbags with the Experts at Fairfax City Self-Storage
At Fairfax City Storage, we’re passionate about storage! For over 30 years, we’ve been the leading experts in creating temperature-controlled and non-temperature-controlled units for all of your items.
For questions about handbag storage or to find out how you can rent one of our storage units, please contact us today!