I have not done well keeping up with my "Chaotic to Orderly" blog this summer.  I'm blaming it on my chaotic and busy summer schedule.  Our seasonal business takes us to the coast for four days out of seven each week and there's not much room left for blogging about housecleaning.
 
Keeping two homes is a bit of a challenge.  It seems we're always cleaning up one of them in order to go to the other and vice versa.   I must admit though, that it's much easier to clean our tiny place at the beach than it is our rambling old big house with the high ceilings where spiders love weaving their little webs. 
 
I'm thankful that the seasonal business is coming to an end soon - only about five more weeks and we'll be home for good until next May - then it's starting all over again.  But speaking of seasonal - it's time to start packing away the warm weather clothes and get out the cool weather clothes.  Here in the South, we still have some 80 degree plus Fahrenheit days through October, so I always leave out a few transitional clothes to pack away later when it really turns cool.
 

Here's a few tips that I try to follow as I'm packing away each season's clothing:

• Go through your clothing and pull out what you haven't worn all season.  If you haven't worn it this year, odds are that you won't wear it next year.  Give gently used items to a charity re-sell shop - you'll be glad you did when you're not faced next Spring with the decision to keep or toss.
• Take time to launder or dry clean and neatly fold any clothing before packing away.
• Clean and disinfect plastic storage containers before putting your clothes away.  Also line plastic with a sheet to prevent fragile items from picking up any discoloration from a colored plastic
• Store like colors together - darker colors could bleed onto whites
• Store in a cool dry place.  I store my items in flat plastic containers under my bed.  It's a tall bed with lots of place to store shoes and clothes underneath.  I store my husband's in empty suitcases in the closet since we don't do much traveling in the winter months.  Try to avoid attic spaces or basements.  They're damp in winter and hot in summer - which can really damage your clothes.
• Our clothing that's been dry cleaned finds a spot in the back of the closet as do most of my dresses and my husbands sports coats and nice pants. 

I love bringing out my my good comfy Fall and Winter things.  They're much more forgiving of waistlines and varicose veins than my summer things.  Just thinking about it makes me want to get a cup of hot chocolate, a blankie and good book - turn up the gas logs and settle down for a long winter's nap.  See you next summer!!!