Oh, wow about the mice. I would suggest getting a Maine Coon or adopt a pregnant kitty from a shelter. Make sure she has claws. She'll teach the babies how to hunt. If you keep a female kitten, all the better- I've seen the Mother/Daughter Killing Team dynamic play out with three different sets of cats. I suppose if they were Maine Coons, they'd be the ultimate mouse patrol. (My MC is old, fat, male, neutered and declawed and still leaves mice next to our shoes on a regular basis.) Traps work, but cats have a reputation- I know there were more than six mice in this house when we moved in, but after my cats went on their initial massacre, the other mice packed up and moved out.
Okay, back on topic: I keep bed linens in my damp, old Michigan basement. I have a regular wooden dresser and one of those plastic/fabric/tubular metal zippered closets. The furniture is up on pallets and about 6" away from the wall. I dust/sweep behind and under them on a pretty regular basis to check for any super gross build up. (I'd like to say I do this once a week, but once a month is probably more accurate.)
I make sure that everything is absolutely bone dry before I put it away. I got a bunch of cedar pet bedding and made huge cedar sachets. I also use cedar wood oil in my homemade fabric softener (just white vinegar and essential oils "to taste"). I have a box fan down there that's pointed at the dresser and closet and is on all the time, and I open the windows and exterior door whenever I can. The nice thing is that, in the winter, when it's wetter and there is less air flow, most of the bedding is on the beds, so the danger of mold is lessened.
Our most expensive/difficult to replace bedding is our sheets. I have dozens of pillowcases and almost all of our blankets are handmedowns or from a thrift store. So I am more willing to play it fast and loose with our blankets and pillowcases than I am our sheets, since they are easily/cheaply replaced. We have several beds- three TXL, a toddler bed, and a king. I have six TXL sheet sets, two king sheet sets, two fitted crib sheets (for the toddler bed) and two twin sheet sets. Each of the beds that is used regularly has one set of sheets on it, and the other is kept in the bottom drawer of my armoire. Two TXL sets is about the size of one king set, so in effect we are talking about space for two king sheet sets, which isn't much, and fits fine in a large drawer.
We also have tons of bedding, but it's basically what's on a winter bed times two. So the bedding that is stored in the basement is 9 twin blankets, 3 baby blankets, and 3 king blankets in the winter, and 15 twin blankets, 5 baby blankets, and 5 king blankets in the summer. (Soon DS will move out of his toddler bed and into the bunk bed, so we'll be able to downsize the baby blankets.) This is A LOT of blankets. It takes up a large 4 drawer dresser and a 2'Dx4'Wx6'H closet. It's enough so that I can completely strip a winter bed, replace the bedding, wash the dirty stuff and air dry it. I have seriously considered downsizing to one full set per bed and just only washing on days that I have time to dry everything in the dryer. If you have more than two complete sets of bedding per bed, I would strongly encourage you to pare down even more.
I've kept the bedding in the basement for two years, and so far, so good. Best of luck to you.
Okay, back on topic: I keep bed linens in my damp, old Michigan basement. I have a regular wooden dresser and one of those plastic/fabric/tubular metal zippered closets. The furniture is up on pallets and about 6" away from the wall. I dust/sweep behind and under them on a pretty regular basis to check for any super gross build up. (I'd like to say I do this once a week, but once a month is probably more accurate.)
I make sure that everything is absolutely bone dry before I put it away. I got a bunch of cedar pet bedding and made huge cedar sachets. I also use cedar wood oil in my homemade fabric softener (just white vinegar and essential oils "to taste"). I have a box fan down there that's pointed at the dresser and closet and is on all the time, and I open the windows and exterior door whenever I can. The nice thing is that, in the winter, when it's wetter and there is less air flow, most of the bedding is on the beds, so the danger of mold is lessened.
Our most expensive/difficult to replace bedding is our sheets. I have dozens of pillowcases and almost all of our blankets are handmedowns or from a thrift store. So I am more willing to play it fast and loose with our blankets and pillowcases than I am our sheets, since they are easily/cheaply replaced. We have several beds- three TXL, a toddler bed, and a king. I have six TXL sheet sets, two king sheet sets, two fitted crib sheets (for the toddler bed) and two twin sheet sets. Each of the beds that is used regularly has one set of sheets on it, and the other is kept in the bottom drawer of my armoire. Two TXL sets is about the size of one king set, so in effect we are talking about space for two king sheet sets, which isn't much, and fits fine in a large drawer.
We also have tons of bedding, but it's basically what's on a winter bed times two. So the bedding that is stored in the basement is 9 twin blankets, 3 baby blankets, and 3 king blankets in the winter, and 15 twin blankets, 5 baby blankets, and 5 king blankets in the summer. (Soon DS will move out of his toddler bed and into the bunk bed, so we'll be able to downsize the baby blankets.) This is A LOT of blankets. It takes up a large 4 drawer dresser and a 2'Dx4'Wx6'H closet. It's enough so that I can completely strip a winter bed, replace the bedding, wash the dirty stuff and air dry it. I have seriously considered downsizing to one full set per bed and just only washing on days that I have time to dry everything in the dryer. If you have more than two complete sets of bedding per bed, I would strongly encourage you to pare down even more.
I've kept the bedding in the basement for two years, and so far, so good. Best of luck to you.
