Opening the door to a neatly organized linen closet is truly a pleasure. Being able to easily put away sheets and towels, quickly find first aid or toiletry supplies…aaahh. Here’s how to go about it.

Start with a blank slate

Empty everything out into a laundry basket or nearby area and wipe down the shelves. Lining the shelves with contact paper is an added bonus. Follow the usual steps of SORT, GATHER LIKE ITEMS TOGETHER and PURGE really gets the amount down to what you want to keep. Toss out ratty towels or sheets and expired toiletries.

Towels

Separate hand towels and washcloths from bath towels. A basket or container can be useful to store these next to larger towels or they can just be folded on the shelf. Play with the folding of your towels to maximize how shelves are used. Folding in thirds often takes up less width of the shelf. Storing the towels with the folded edge facing out creates a very neat look.

If you know you or your family would never maintain a particular way of folding, don’t worry about it! Just make sure you limit your towel collection to what will comfortably fit on the shelf – no cramming and shoving to get them in there.

Sheets

There are different organizing options to choose from when it comes to sheets:

• Rolled or folded together
  • Why bother folding at all? Space! Wadded sheets that can’t stack or fit together tightly take up a lot more space.
• OPTION: group each set into one of its pillow cases (fitted, flat, pillow case)
• OPTION: group separate parts & sizes – all twin fitted together, all queen flat together, etc.
• Consider keeping sheet sets in the rooms they go in to create more space in the linen closet
• Low use sheets – such as for the guest bed or off-season, keep lower shelves or in the back.

Have you always wondered how to fold that pesky fitted sheet into a square?? Learn how here! (Thanks YouTube)

Toiletries

• Open baskets or containers for often used or tall items.
• Clear lidded (and labeled, of course) containers to separate by category – first aid, medicines, toiletries, travel size & accessories. The reason to use lids? Stackability! Use all that vertical space between each shelf.

Bath Mats, Beach Towels, Blankets and Pillows, Oh My!

• Where possible use lower and upper shelves for these lower use items.
• Zippered SKUBB containers have a bit more structure than the typical clear storage bags. These work well for pillows and blankets; you could even group together a guest’s favorite pillow and sheet set for their next visit
• If your linen closet is crammed with your high-use items you may need to find homes for these things in other rooms or closets

Labeling

Label the shelf, the container with a tag. Painter’s tape or masking works well if you don’t have a label maker. Even if you aren’t channeling your inner Marth Stewart, labeling is especially useful to guide other people (spouses, kids, housekeepers) to help in putting away laundry and not making a new disaster out of the closet.

Try it for yourself! Treat yourself to the luxury of an orderly and beautiful linen closet.