by URGE to PURGE
I am so ready to tackle our house and clean every closet, drawer and storage bin. I would be lying if I thought this could be done in a weekend or two. This is a big job, no, it’s a huge job that will take time, energy and thought. Although, I find as I get in the swing of this kind of stuff it gets easier and easier. The things I once wanted to keep are now for someone else’s treasure.
I expect this will probably be a year long event and I’m ok with that. As I sort through each corner of a room I feel a little lighter, a little less stressed and I know if I just keep going it can make a significant difference to my life (and the whole family). Our lives are busy and most of us don’t have the time or let’s face it, stamina, to completely devote all our time to a major clean up. My mind set is to go gently, step by step and be happy with my progress.
I think closets can hold a lot more than just piles of clothes, stacks of papers and junk. Emotionally we can be very tied to the contents of a closet whether we realize it or not. Closets and their contents hold memories from the past, unfinished projects, maybe guilt about the clothes that have never been worn and tags that are still hanging from the sleeves. (eek! Guilty! And also, why do I do that?)
The clutter can almost be debilitating. I’ve wanted to clean some rather large, but out of sight closets in our house, but I haven’t been quite ready to do it.
In our spare room we have a large, inefficient closet that has stored all our photo albums, my entire interior design course material from a lifetime ago, along with artwork and craft materials from myself and the girls and lots of miscellaneous stuff. It’s not organized at all now. In fact, things are precariously stuffed into every crook and cranny.
My clothes closet is also in need of a major overhaul as it’s stuffed full of tired, stretched out old comfy t-shirts, dresses I never wear and jeans of every size – past, present and apparently future. I’m feeling ready to tackle these but I’m going to start with something a little easier, more compact and a lot less involved with my feelings!! The linen closet. I swear I don’t think I have that much emotional baggage tied up in bath towels but who knows, maybe they will be revealed. So here I go. The Linen Closet it is.
Six EASY Steps to an Organized Linen Closet
REMOVE ALL CONTENTS is my tried and true cleaning method for closets and drawers and the same one that I also use for all re-decorating and painting of any room. It really helps to pare down things with the mindset that you don’t put anything back that you don’t need. So for the linen closet literally take out every towel, bedsheet and anything else you have in there until there are only empty shelves. You will seriously be surprised how much you have managed to stuff in that closet. (I know I was!) Give the shelves a quick dusting.
SORT and make piles of items to definitely keep, relocate, items to giveaway and garbage. Paring down and purging is the most important thing you can do when organizing. In our case we were holding onto an amazing amount of old towels. I mean, how many emergency dog baths, water mishaps and unexpected visitors requiring a shower are we expecting? I like to keep one or two old towels for this purpose but that’s all. This is the time to really narrow it down to what you need, I mean what you really need.
If you are having problems sorting some items look at the wear and tear. Put them in the giveaway or garbage pile if they are worn, have holes or stains. We don’t need 8 beach towels, 15 bath towels and a pile of facecloths. For us I narrowed it down to bath towels for the main bath and master bath, and 4 extra for guests. A few current hand towels and facecloths and that’s it.
The key to keeping your linen closet organized is USING BINS. This changed the game for me. These bins are easily purchased at the Dollar Store or I also have great luck with finding organizing containers at HomeSense. Figure out what you need to store and how much space you have on your shelves. You can use a variety of sizes. Whatever works for you. I use the bins to store the sheets, towels, facecloths, extra pillowcases, beach towels and toilet paper.
When you have bins you can go full on into the Marie Kondo FOLDING style. I think it’s brilliant. Although for me, I do it lengthwise instead of width wise as she does. This method works for me as when I pull a towel from the closet it is ready to be hung on our towel racks. The key is doing what works for you!
TIP: Essentially for a bath towel I fold it lengthwise into thirds, and then into thirds again, and then in half to go into bin. It fits right into the bin and makes every item more compact and easier to see. For me, being able to see everything is key.
TIP: Storing Sheet Sets Together. I fold the fitted sheet and top sheet and store inside one of the matching pillowcases. When you want to change your sheets you just grab the bundle and you’re ready to go!
LABELLING the bin is key. I quickly did these on the computer on a sheet of thicker paper and cut them out. You can use your labeller or just handwrite. Attach with a clip or tape on. Label by item or by name. Eg. Queen Sheets or Emily’s Sheets. Do what works for you and your household.
RELOAD THE SHELVES and pat yourself on the back!
Beautiful! Everything is visible, there’s a place for everything and even a little extra space if needed. It’s all labelled so everyone in the house knows where to find things and to put away.
6 EASY Steps to an Organized Linen Closet
- REMOVE all contents
- SORT and PURGE – sort all contents into 4 piles – Keep, Relocate, Donate and Garbage
- PURCHASE BINS for closet.
- LABEL EACH BIN clearly.
- FOLD items into bins.
- PLACE bins on shelves.
I’m confident you will save so much time with this system. I have had this method going for about a year now. It’s quick to find something and self explanatory for anyone to put things away. I re-visit it occasionally to give it a quick tune up and relocating any stray items that shouldn’t be there or a miss-sorted pillowcase. Also, if there is anything in there that you notice you haven’t used for a while it might be time to consider donating it. Take my method as a suggestion but do it how it will work for you.
What do you do to keep your linen closet organized? Do you have any tips for storing your towels, bedsheets, etc.? Please share. I love hearing a good tip.
I really love how you’ve used little clips to label your storage bins. It looks so lovely. We are the middle of a bit clear out, so all these tips are brilliant. Thank you x
Thank you Emily! Those clips are great to use, especially on some surfaces where a label doesn’t adhere well…and they look cute too! xo