:: how i store my handbags ::

One thing I love the most is handbag (besides shoes, clothes and accessories lah) and I have been a handbag lover since as long as I can remember. My first official handbag is a black / purple Garfield bowling bag which I personally chose as UPSR gift from my parents. I was 12 years old and that time I was obsessed with Garfield so having a Garfield handbag is top on the list. When I started working my passion towards collecting handbags started growing. If you are familiar with this saying, "a woman can never have too many shoes" well I would say it is similar to handbags too because to me I can never have too many handbags. I need one for a casual outing, one to match a colour, one classic design as a legacy collection, one 'it' bag from a designer... and yeah the list goes on and on and on.

When the collection is growing one thing that has to be considered is the storing space. All these while I have allocated one row or 'one door' of the wardrobe because handbags need proper storage to keep them in good shape and long lasting. My previous wardrobe was small though and the handbags had to be stacked up on each other so when we moved in to the current house I have allocated bigger space for them. First I was inspired by thepinkstilettos who blogged about her DIY bag storage using hooks so I implemented the same idea for my weekend totes using the S shape hooks instead.

Personally this is such an awesome idea because I can easily grab a bag especially when I am in a hurry. However I would say that this method should be implemented to frequently used bags and please be reminded to take out unnecessary things out of the bags before they return to the hooks because heavy weight will give pressure and may damage the handles when they are hang like that.

Meanwhile, the rest of the collection is kept inside individual dust cover or boxes on shelves and most of the handbags are stuffed with tissue paper to retain their shapes.

 

Tier #01: Handbags that come with black dust covers are standardised in one shelf.

Tier #02: Although stored in individual boxes, the bags should still be stuffed with tissue paper and kept inside dust covers.

I have been reminded by sale assistants to let the leather handbags to breathe. It is not advisable to keep leather handbags inside the box all the time so in order to let them breathe is to use them often or keep them inside covers outside their boxes. Well I choose to use them often because I want to keep them in their boxes :-D

Tier #03: Seldom used clutches are kept inside one of the big box to save some space. Keeping them inside the box allow other bags to stack on top.

Tier #04: Fabric handbags do not come with dust covers but they are fine like that and hotel laundry bag is used as substitute for dust cover.

Dust cover may not look important if the bags are kept inside a close wardrobe but another purpose to keep them inside is to avoid any colour transfer from a bag to another. If the bag does not come with one, you can use pillow case or any drawstring bag (or use laundry bag like what I did) as a substitute. Here are some links on storing handbags that can be used as reference:

http://www.containerstore.com/tip/closets/handbagstorage

http://suite101.com/article/caring-for-your-designer-handbag-a43900

http://hautechicboutique.com/2011/03/tips-on-storing-your-handbags/