Make Drawer Liners

Drawer liners are a great way of keeping clothes fresh and clean during storage. They can be quite expensive to purchase and they may not carry a scent that pleases you either. Avoid the cost and personalise your drawer liners by making your own. These drawer liners include two steps that will assist in discouraging insects from making a home in your clothing.

Steps

  1. Cut the paper to the size that is best for each drawer that you intend to line. It is usually best to allow each liner to fold up a little on each side to aid a good fit and provide a little extra side protection from the sides of the drawers, which are usually painted or varnished.
  2. Fill a spray bottle with warm water. Dip a teabag into the water for three minutes and then remove it.
  3. Add three drops of clove oil and 2 - 4 drops of a favourite essential oil. Good choices include lavender, rosemary, mandarin, orange, nectarine, rose, apricot, lemon or try a mixture of favourite essential oil scents. You will need to experiment with the strength of the scent depending on the oil used.
  4. Mix well.
  5. Spray the solution onto each piece of paper. Allow to dry completely. It helps to be able to do this in a sunny, warm room to speed up the drying process.
  6. Place each piece in your drawers and put clothing back into the drawer over the drawer liners.

Tips

  • These drawer liners will last for a year and should be replaced yearly.
  • If preferred, you could add a little of your favourite perfume to the mixture; beware though, as this could be overwhelming given that you also wear it each day and residual perfume will be in your clothing as a result.
  • Both the tannin in the teabag and the clove oil are deterrents against mold and dust mites.[1]

Warnings

  • Be sure the paper is absolutely dry before putting clothing on it - essential oils can stain fabrics.
  • It is important to use acid-free paper because it protects clothes against yellowing; non acid-free paper may cause some clothing to yellow, especially whites. Whites can also benefit from being wrapped in light blue tissue paper; this also helps in preventing yellowing.

Things You'll Need

  • Acid-free paper; this can be purchased from a stationery or office supplies store or your local newsagent; measure the drawer size to get adequate amounts.
  • Spray bottle
  • Teabag (high tannin tea variety)
  • Clove oil
  • Preferred essential oil(s)

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ Rena Sherwood, The Medicinal Properties of Clove Oil
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