Ah, the linen closet. You knew we were headed there next to organize, right? The good news…it’s a small space to organize. The bad news…well, there is no bad news. You organize it quickly, in 30 minutes or less, then you can find your stuff. So let’s get to it.
I’ll tip you off right now that the secret to a pretty linen closet is folding. If you can figure out how to fold, you’ve pretty much nailed organizing the linen closet.
- Empty off the shelves, perhaps to a nearby bed or the floor.
- Sort like items together. Towels with towels, washcloths with washcloths, and bed linens together.
- Now, fold your towels- and here are the two big tips- so that they fit the size of the shelf, and there is only on curved fold facing you, like this. If you have the loose ends facing out, the space will look messy.
- For bed linens, you could just stack them, or you could do better. Locate entire sheet sets, and either fold them all together and tie with a ribbon (as on the right), or place the sheets and extra pillowcases inside one pillowcase (as on the left).
- Are there other things you need to store in the linen closet, like suitcases, gift wrap, TP, or maybe craft supplies, like I have? A few fabric bins in the same or coordinating fabric give you a tidy place to corral those little things all together.
- For extra blankets and quilts, I just don’t have extra room in my closet. I prefer to store them on the guest bed or on a quilt rack.
I’m going to go out on a limb here (just a bit) and say there is probably at least one category that you can pare down. If you haven’t used something in over a year, and your closet is stuffed, you can probably donate or toss it to make more room for things you use all the time. It shouldn’t be a wrestling match every time you need to get into the linen closet.
My reward for keeping my closet organized is seeing all of my towels. I like to take advantage of seasonal white sales and replace all of my hand towels and replace a set of bath towels every year. It’s a little luxury, but it’s only two bath towels, so it’s no big deal.
This post is part of my 31 days of 30-minute Organizing Projects. Be sure to subscribe for daily emails with projects you can complete in just a few minutes to start your New Year off right.
This is brilliant…..”For bed linens, you could just stack them, or you could do better. Locate entire sheet sets, and either fold them all together and tie with a ribbon (as on the right), or place the sheets and extra pillowcases inside one pillowcase (as on the left).”
It’s not curing MS or anything, but doesn’t it make you smile to see those sweet little laundry packages? No special tools required.
This blog helps me break down into many small projects with specific strategies, all the downsizing and decluttering I need to do in the house. otherwise it’s overwhelming.
I now have four different friends who come periodically to work with me on reorganizing, downsizing, and decluttering in different parts of the house. Like bi weekly. Much gets accomplished in 3 to 4 hours and then we’re done for that session
one of them loves to clean too, so the two person team approach really works.
my husband is somewhat useless. he wants to take a lot of breaks and he argues with me. too draining.
It’s mostly my stuff and my family’s stuff anyway, but he’s very helpful for muscle work–lugging bags etc to: the car or garage or to:
recycling
trash
keep and label,
Sell
and donate,
my five categories.
Yeah. I’m making some progress. Hone your process, ie best practices. What works for YOU.
Doubly pleasing because our young adult daughter is in her fifth year of cancer treatment so at least this feels good to accomplish. Something. and is a distraction from the cancer, living nightmare.
Ellin, thanks for stopping by and sharing your story and progress. I pray for your daughter and for you as you help take care of her. And, silly as it sounds, it is definitely helpful for some of us to organize or beautify a space when all of life seems crazy. I make no bones about the fact that we can’t do it all, but if it helps our frame of mind to control one little corner of the world, then go for it. Keep working on those little steps, and you’ll continue to see progress that makes you smile.