Here are closet-cleaning tips to help you save money by avoiding the three things that can damage your clothes—dust, mildew and moths.Cleaning your closets may even add to the value of your home! Closets are now almost as important to homebuyers as spacious bathrooms. Turn yours into a clean and organized showplace.

Get ready.

First, make sure the room that's going to hold the contents of your closet while you’re organizing it, is already uncluttered. This will make things that much less confusing. Use a rolling coat rack for hanging clothes. Don’t have one? A sturdy extendable shower rod in a door frame will do the trick. Place a clean sheet on the bed or a table and lay out folded items, shoes and handbags.

Give yourself enough time.

Next, make sure you’re allotting enough time for the task (switching seasonal wardrobes plus cleaning). A small closet should take three to four hours to clean and switch out; a larger or walk-in closet may take longer. Have a dresser in your closet, too? Allot even more time.

Be a litter collector.

With everything out of your closet, you may be amazed by what you find on the floor—everything from mismatched socks and odd buttons to a fistful of loose change. Toss broken hangers, dry-cleaning bags and, of course, wire hangers. They may rip delicate fabrics or distort the shape of the shoulders in your shirts and jackets, thereby ruining them.

Start at the top and work your way down.

Give the shelves a good dusting. The Pledge® Multi Surface Duster has a 360-degree fluffy all-around duster that’s perfect for hard-to-reach areas like overhead shelves. Its grabbing and trapping fibers pick up dust and the allergens found in dust and can be used on wooden, metal or plastic shelves.

Vacuuming can save your best sweater.

Not only will regular vacuuming remove dust from your closet, it will also help remove insect eggs and larvae. Use the crevice tool on your vacuum cleaner to clean along the edges and baseboards of your closet.If you store your vacuum cleaner in your clothes closet, throw the bag away after vacuuming because larvae can hatch in the bag and get back into your closet. Cedar blocks may also help repel moths and discourage them from laying eggs.If your closet is carpeted, freshen it with Glade® Fabric & Air Odor Eliminator. It helps eliminate odors without masking them and leaves your closet with a freshness that lasts. (You can also use it to refresh woolen coats and sweaters that have been in storage.)

Vacuum inside dresser drawers, too.

If you have a dresser in your closet, empty that out as well and use a small hand-held vacuum or the crevice tool to vacuum out each drawer.

Line your wooden shelves or drawers.

Wood is acidic and acidity will speed up fabric deterioration. If you’re going to store your clothes for longer than six months on wooden shelves, in chests (including cedar chests) or in drawers that haven’t been treated with an inert sealant, be sure to line them. You can use unbleached, undyed and washed muslin or shelf and drawer lining paper designed specifically for storing clothes.

Make your closet gleam.

Wipe down metal rods and your closet mirror with Windex® Original Glass Wipes. Polish cabinet fronts to quickly remove dust, smudges and fingerprints without the need to switch products. Close your closet doors as much as possible to protect your clothes from dust and sunlight.

Beat back humidity and dust.

Mildew, moisture and dust can damage your clothes. If your closet is off your bathroom, get a dehumidifier to extract moisture from the air. This will also discourage mildew growth. Make sure all stored clothes are clean (no stains or soils) and place clothes you don’t wear often in zippered fabric garment bags to protect them from dust.