Hope Chest Housekeeping - The Conservation of Stored Treasures

The most important factor in the deterioration of fabric is always the surroundings or conditions in which they are stored. The physical stress of folding a textile is possibly the greatest contributing factor, but light, humidity and temperature also play a role. Pollutants such as the chemicals which may be present in the manufacture of the fabric and other damaging airborne pollutants such as cigarette smoke are also harmful to fabrics, causing discoloration or weakness in the fibers. Pests, such as moths, silverfish, carpet beetles and rodents, are another obvious threat. If we practice a little hope chest housekeeping, we can reduce the possible deterioration of our stored items.

This week I am sharing a series of posts discussing several conditions that affect the storage of linens and other items we might have in a hope chest. The first of these elements is the container itself.

A Box. In the first place, a large, strong box or container offers physical protection to all the lovely items one might collect for the hope chest. It doesn't need to be the traditional cedar chest to be useful or effective. A trunk or crate, a wooden chest of drawers, even a large opaque plastic tub would serve to physically protect the contents from the outside environment. My own hope chest was a cardboard apple box that my ingenious mother crafted to hold my things. Some further details apply for effective and safe storage of your treasured items.

Light. The fibers in fabric suffer under prolonged exposure to ultraviolet light, especially sunlight. So storing your textiles in darkness will help preserve the integrity of the fibers as well as the pretty colors. The container of your choice should be opaque to prevent fading.

Strength.  Hope chest items are heavy and, when stored together, are massively heavy. One instinctively feels that fabric is light in weight, but a stack of folded fabric is actually quite heavy. Whatever physical container you choose must be strong and able to stand up under the weight of the items you collect. Dishes, books, tools and other heavy items should be stored separately in a smaller, strong container. 

Acid. Wood, cardboard and most paper is acidic and acid is especially damaging to textiles. While a cedar chest could be helpful in deterring some pests, the wood itself is toxic especially to cotton and linen. So for maximum preservation in a long-term storage situation, textiles should not come into direct contact with wood or with regular paper such as cardboard. Our pretty textiles can be wrapped in a clean white cloth, such as an old sheet or pillowcase, or in a common muslin bag to help protect them from the staining that can occur if they lay next to an acidic surface. I have made pretty wrappings for Miss Abigail's textiles to help organize them in sets and to protect them from acid within her wooden hope chest.

Miss Abigail has a traditional hope chest in the form of a wooden box. However, it is nontraditional in that is is not made of cedar wood. When I asked our son to build Abby's chest I specifically asked him not to use cedar. Cedar does work to repel bugs in wool fiber, but it also yellows and actually deteriorates fabric over time and it can be truly lethal to photographs. Pine is a wood with resins that repel bugs also, it is just not as strong as cedar. So Cameron made Abby's box with pine.

Abigail also has an "auxilary" hope chest. This is a sturdy, antique wooden chest of drawers that I purchased at the estate sale of a dear friend. It can serve Abby as a nice piece of practical furniture in her future home. Two other large plastic tubs hold additional items and various cardboard boxes are in closets around the house.

So, a cardboard box is not ideal because it is not as strong and is acidic. A plastic tote is not ideal because it out-gases and traps humidity. Even a cedar chest, or other wooden chest is not ideal because it also is acidic and, over time, stains and damages the very fabric it is designed to protect. But much in our life is not ideal right? We simply recognize that we are not a museum and are limited to what we can do within a household. We can also remember that the items we create will serve an everyday purpose within a limited number of years, in spite of stains and damage. But there are ways that we can lessen the effects of time through good housekeeping and smart storage.

So stay tuned for more in this series discussing smart storage. Cleanliness. Climate. Pests. Physical Stress.