The longer the garlic dries, the easier the bulbs are to take apart. Having lots of wrapper leaves is great, but finding your way in can be a challenge. I look for the bulge of an outside clove, and peel wrappers until I get to it, or sometimes peel down the whole bulb. It makes a mess, good to do outdoors. Once a bulb has been broken into, it sits on the kitchen counter until used up, usually a few days.