How To Store Belts to Last

Men and women today wear belts all the time with a wide variety of different clothing styles. But did you know that before 1920, only people in the military wore belts? In fact, before the early 1920s, men’s pants didn’t even have belt loops. Instead of belts, men wore suspenders. We would never guess the history of belts because today, belts are as common as socks and shoes. Belts are so popular now that we need to rethink how to store belts so they last.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Here’s the thing about belts, we usually overlook and ignore them. For example, when was the last time you worried about how you stored your belt when you weren’t wearing it? Many folks have a belt drawer or small container in their closet where they toss their belts at the end of the day. But you would never haphazardly toss a fancy shirt or a leather handbag into a drawer. So we shouldn’t do that with our belts either.

We think your belts deserve better treatment. That’s why we put together today’s information on the best ways to store belts. If you’re a person with many belts who wants them to stay in excellent condition, read on.

How Do You Know If You’re Storing a Belt Incorrectly?

Do your belts seem only to last a few months before they get ruined or unusable? Maybe they don’t hold their shape or tend to get worn around the edges. If that’s happening to your quality belts, chances are you’re storing them incorrectly.

Most high-quality belts are made from cowhide leather, which is a natural product. This is important because natural leather degrades when stored improperly. The best leather for belts is full-grain leather, which has high longevity and is very durable. Another high-quality leather that’s very popular is calfskin, which is softer and more supple than full-grain leather.

When it comes to how to store your belts, remember that leather deteriorates and eventually rots. Read here if you want to learn more about leather rot! If you store leather belts well, they can last for years. But, if you store them the wrong way, you can easily ruin high-quality belts (which would be a shame). If your belts aren’t lasting long and losing their shape, likely, you’re not storing them the right way.

How to Store Your Belt to Last

If you have one or two belts, chances are you don’t really need to worry about storage space. On the other hand, if you’re big into belts and have a collection of them, storage might be hard to come by. (A tiny, 700-square-foot New York City apartment might not have a lot of closet space.) The two choices below will depend on how much storage space you have in your home or apartment:

how to store belts

Hanging Belts is Best

The best way to store a belt at home is to hang it loosely in a dry, dark closet. It would be great if the closet were never exposed to the sun because the sun’s UV rays are damaging to leather. We know that’s not realistic, but you get the idea. Don’t leave your belt right by the window!

Most importantly, don’t hang your belt doubled over a hanger or hanger bar. Hanging your belts this way can negatively affect their shape and cause problems when you wear them again. The best way to hang your belts is from their buckle, which will allow them to keep their shape nicely.

You can hang a belt from its buckle in several ways. For example, you can place hooks on the wall in your closet and hang your belts from those. You can also do what many people do and put your belt’s buckle over the top of a regular hanger. Then, hang the hanger in your closet just like you would with a standard piece of clothing.

The hook idea is still viable if you don’t have a closet because your apartment is tiny. You can find wall hooks at any big-box home improvement store. Usually, you can get several basic hooks for under $10. There are also special hangers with hooks on them to hang several belts on one hanger. This can be a great solution as all your belts will be in one convenient place.

how to store belts

Rolling Belts in a Drawer

Rolling them works well if closet space is at a premium and you don’t want to hang your belts on the wall. You’ll need space in a dresser, night table, or another piece of furniture, of course. Some folks, however, use an over-the-door shoe rack instead.

Whatever you use, the key to storing your belts rolled is to roll them loosely. If you roll a leather belt too tightly, it will crease the leather and might stretch it. Don’t mess with the way your favorite belt fits by rolling it too tightly. If you have canvas belts, you don’t have to worry as much. Unlike leather, canvas is more flexible and is okay tightly rolled. But if you plan to leave a canvas belt rolled for a long time, it’s still better to roll it loosely.

Storing Your Belts in a Storage Unit

Ultimately, there aren’t many differences between storing your belts at home and storing them in a storage unit. One difference is that if you want to hang them, you’ll need a wardrobe box. A wardrobe box is a large box with a metal bar across the top. You can put both clothes and belts in your wardrobe box in storage.

If you roll your belts, you’ll need a box to store them. We suggest storing belts in smaller, 1.5 cubic ft boxes. If you fill a larger box with belts, the sheer weight of them can damage the belts inside. That’s especially true for the belts on the bottom of the box.

How to Store Belts Brought to You by Southern Self Storage

At Southern Self Storage, folks store belts in storage units all the time. They also store clothing, household goods, collections, antiques, RVs, and much more. If you need to rent a storage unit to store your belts, there’s bound to be one close by.

If you have questions about renting a storage unit, you can chat with us online. Better still, visit the Southern Self Storage location nearest to you. They all have on-site managers who can answer all of your storage questions.

Our recommendation is to rent a climate-controlled storage unit to protect your clothes from heat and cold spikes. Also, if you want to learn how to store all your clothing, click here to read our blog about it. Until then, take good care of your belts because they take care of you! (Where would your pants be without them?)

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