Use of mothballs when clothing is stored out-of-season has given rise to the colloquial usage of the terms `` mothballed '' and `` put into mothballs '' to refer to anything which is put into storage or whose operation is suspended .
Their use when clothing is stored out-of-season led to the colloquial usage of the terms mothballed and put into mothballs to refer to anything which is put into storage or whose operation is suspended .