After all these years, I've made over a hundred cosplays. At first, I had put as many as I could in garment bags. I would even double up cosplays from the same series to "save space." After a few years, I realized that this was definitely not the best way. So now I only keep my more complicated and/or fragile cosplays in garment bags. In addition, since I have an unfinished basement, I hang all these cosplays in one of those fabric closets. I suggest getting one with a metal frame. It'll hold up much better to the all the weight. Alternatively, you could make something out of PVC. This is the one I bought from target. So far it's holding up pretty well!
In addition to hanging cosplays, I also place their accessories and other items needed for it (like wigs) inside the bag. You can see a few examples below. Snow White has her head band which sits on the hanger easily. Adam Taurus has his wig, horns, and gloves. Both pretty simple outfits. My last example is General Cross. He's got Tincanpy, his hat, wig, belt, gloves, mask, and glasses. To keep it neat, I have a box that holds the smaller pieces (the gray box you see in the lower right of the bag).
For all my smaller cosplays that are just a simple outfit (with or without minimal accessories), I now keep them in totes. To make it easier to find things, I keep a piece of paper with a list of everything inside that tote at the very top. I eventually have plans to make a "My Cosplay" binder that will have a list of all my cosplays I've made and where they are stored. But that's for another blog later on. Clear totes are nice because you can see through them, but I still make a list just for convenience.
My Taokaka cosplay is too big and has to many accessories though. So I have the outfit in a bag and all the accessories in a photo box that's stacked with other boxes. I've collected all sorts of different pattern and colored boxes for each cosplay. They all stack nice and neat on top of each other too. These boxes are great for keeping wigs and accessories together for those simpler cosplays. (Fun bonus: the black container in the middle holds all my personal pattern pieces from previous cosplays! Though it's getting pretty full too, haha).
I don't have to many armor and prop pieces. But I keep all armor and larger props inside of totes as well. My Elspeth Sun's Champion cosplay is all kept in one tote for convenience. Somehow I managed to get 90% of my other pieces into one really large black tote. You have to get creative to fit it all in there! But it keeps them safe from accidental damage which is definitely a plus (especially when I moved).
I don't have any pictures of my swords, staffs, and other weapons (I just couldn't get a good shot, sorry!). Some people mount their props on the wall to display them (and keep them off the floor!). I don't have that kind of wall space so mine are leaning against the wall in a corner. I have even seen some people put them in a barrel! Some of the props that break down into pieces are laying across the top of the fabric closet that the cosplays are hanging in.
And that is how I store all of my cosplays, their accessories, armors, and props. Hopefully this helps you keep things more organized! What do you do to keep things organized? I would love to see! Got any other suggestions or questions? Leave a comment below!
~Serenity