How to keep your Closet smelling good and fresh as ever : 5 simple tips

Tips and techniques to prevent odors, mustiness, and stale smells in your closet area and maintain a pleasant and refreshing fragrance among the clothing and belongings in the wardrobe.

Keeping your clothes fresh in storage – here are some simple but effective ways to store clothes in your closet and take them out smelling good and looking fresh.

keep closet fresh

Tips to make your clothes smell good

Tip No 1 : Make your own closet freshener

Using fragrance to make your closet smell good – the age old trick is still as effective as in the days when scented oils and incense sticks were used to keep closets smelling divine. Ancient Egyptians burned fragrant incense in special incense burners to keep their clothes fragrant.

You do not have to do all that or inhale all that bad smoke – here are the easy ways.

Make a potpourri bag

make a potpourri bag to make closet smell good

You can make a divine smelling bag with some net and dried flowers infused with fragrance/store bought potpourri. Just keep it inside your closet and your closet will smell good for a long long time.

sew a potpourri bag with net to get wardrobe smell good

To make my bag I folded a 16 inch by 8 inch net by half and stitched the bottom edge and joined the short edges together. Made a small bag this way.

how to make wardrobe smell goodl with potpourri

Use pretty ribbons to tie after you have filled it with your potpourri mix and then hang or keep it in your closet

Related post: Make a rose petal filled sachet.

Use fragrance soaked fabric piece.

Take a cotton cloth – pour 3-4 drops of essential oil which you love to smell – I love orange, rose and lavender. Keep it under your wardrobe liner.

You can add some eucalyptus oil as well – it smells fresh and detracts moths inside the closet. I used to use the paper wrapping on fragrant soap inside clothes – they never lasted but as  long as they did, they made the clothes smell wonderful.

Make a Pomander ball

pomander made of citrus fruit with spices

A Pomander is a ball or perforated container of aromatic materials, placed in a cupboard or room to perfume the air Or a piece of fruit, typically an orange, studded with cloves and hung in a wardrobe to perfume it. (Dictionary)  So many tutorials to make it – you can check out a good one here.

Tip No 2 : Store smart

Do not store sweaty clothes inside the closet – hang them out.

Make sure that your clothes do not have residue of food, perspiration, pet hair, urine etc before you store them. Wash or Spot clean and dry thoroughly before you store in the closet.

Do not store clothes in a plastic bag. The clothes will suffocate inside a plastic bag and create a horrible moldy smell. Use cloth bags instead. This is especially for leather clothes and accessories.

Tip No 3 : Get rid of mildew from closets early

Mildew is horrible and is the opposite of fresh. It makes your closet smell stale.  If you notice any humidity /water inside the closet, deal with it immediately. Mildew will start forming there and it can make a lot of trouble – allergies, destroyer of fabrics, and the horrible musty smell.

Keep the closet doors open on sunny days on regular intervals to prevent mildew. Put on the fan at full speed as you do this. Store tissue paper inside to soak up extra moisture.

You can use methylated spirit to wipe away mildew from painted metal closet doors. Use a mixture of vinegar, soap and water to remove mold from wood closet inside panels.

Use an electric dehumidifier in the room if the problem persists.

Tip No 4 : Wash clothes smartly.

If you hate dealing with persistent bad smell on the clothes (Who doesn’t?) get rid of them as you wash them – pet odors, body odors etc may remain on clothes even after simple washing. 

Most of the hardened odors on clothes can be rid of with a simple soak in Oxygenated bleach. A home remedy expert will prescribe Vinegar. 

You can  use a commercial deodorizer/odor eliminator on clothes which you are not washing or  fabric freshener in the final rinse on clothes that you are washing.

Tip No 5 : Get rid of unwanted items from your closet

discard unused clothes to keep wardrobe fresh

Do not store any clothing you haven’t used in the last one year along with your main clothes which you love and wear frequently. Old clothes have a musty smell and they spread. 

Get rid of them if you can. If you have a feeling that the clothing is not suitable for you, however expensive it was, discard – give away to some one who will value it.

Start – it is difficult to de-clutter your wardrobe. Accept this and be ruthless. You will probably not miss any of the things you get rid of today.

Less things in your closet, the more happy, organised and fulfilled you feel. The overwhelming feeling will be gone forever.Try it.

What are your tips to make your closet smell good ?

Related posts :15 tips to get SWEAT SMELL out of clothes; How to wash clothes properly in your washing machine ; Home made Stain removers.

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Hi, I love sewing, fabric, fashion, embroidery, doing easy DIY projects and then writing about them. Hope you have fun learning from sewguide as much as I do. If you find any mistakes here, please point it out in the comments.

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