Did you find it near a plant? If so, what sort of damage if any?

Frankly, looks like a case-making moth.

If so, it damages fabrics.

So you will need to find what it's damaging, then either launder or dry clean those fabrics. Also be certain to thoroughly clean the storage area.

it looks like it! I have been trying to google descriptions for it with no luck. You know we thought it might be a caterpillar of some kind at first, but we have only been seeing them as they are in the photo. No solitary caterpillar, no cocoon that doesn't have a worm protruding and carrying it along. And they show up in random places, like on a wall where a few minutes ago was nothing, now is a wiggling worm-cocoon thing. So we assumed that they are one unit and can move fast together. But we do have moths like those. we have mothballs in all out drawers and closets against those and the Hawaiian state bird, the cockroach.