I took the sweaters out of the closet and noticed strange, reddish, oval lumps on one of them.  To the touch, they felt unpleasant, and they also smelled bad. 

I decided to look up what it could be, and I almost vomited when I found out.  I advise you to check and air out your closets at least once per season, instead of leaving things stored there for years like I did.  I’ll explain what it was in the first comment — be careful! 

I hadn’t taken out my old winter sweaters for a long time. They had been sitting at the back of the closet for several years because the past winters had been mild, and fashion had changed as well.

But recently I decided to clean out the closet and donate these good, almost new clothes to charity.

I pulled out a stack of sweaters and inspected them — everything looked perfect, no holes or stains. I decided to wash them before donating, and suddenly I noticed those strange reddish oval lumps on one of the sweaters.

At first, I thought they might be berries or seeds that the kids had brought in sometime, or something that had fallen from above. But to the touch, they felt like little stones, and the smell was quite sharp.

Curiosity overcame my disgust, so I went online to see what it could be. When I found the answer, my heart nearly stopped.

Those strange “lumps” turned out to be mouse droppings — colored red by the rodent poison I had placed in the closet years ago and then completely forgotten about!

I felt sick just thinking that these clothes had been lying in the middle of a mouse infestation all that time. I immediately threw away not only the sweaters but also the old scarves lying next to them.

I had to clean the entire closet with soap and disinfectant, washing it several times until the smell disappeared.

I also noticed that one of the sweaters had been gnawed on at the sleeve — a small hole I hadn’t seen at first.

Apparently, the mice had tried to build a nest there. In the farthest corner of the closet, I even found bits of padding and thread — they had dragged in debris to insulate their nest!

Now I understand that you really need to check and air out closets at least once per season, and not leave clothes there for years. Since then, I have set up traps and store everything in airtight containers.