How to Organize a Linen Closet

• If not organized appropriately, the linen closet can become like a “black box” – anything put in there just disappear without a trace.
• Messy linen closet can be transformed into a functional and convenient storage place painlessly just by following a few simple steps. 
• In short – get rid of useless things and categorize everything else into the groups by size, type, color or any other system of your choice.

Have you ever been into a situation when you were about to change the bedding set and you couldn’t find that one matching pillowcase in the overcrowded closet? It’s just crazy! Only a few days ago you put it there and now it’s simply gone…

What do you do? Muttering under your breath, you probably just close the doors and go away…until the next time you open the doors of that “dark place” again. Do not go away this time! Put yourself together, sacrifice those few hours and organize your linen closet once and for all.

Challenge – tidy, functional and fresh linen closet – accepted! Roll up your sleeves and get to work:

STEP # 1. PULL EVERYTHING OUT

Believe it or not, it is a pretty fun thing to do! Turn on some kind of rock-style inspiring music and throw everything out of your messy closet away: towels, sheets, blankets, pillowcases, washcloths, pillows, extra toiletries, and toilet paper rolls – everything you store there for a bathroom, kitchen or bedroom purposes. 

When all the mess has been moved on the ground – volume down the music and investigate each of the items by splitting them into two groups: 

1) What do I really need? 

2) What do I keep only because I didn’t get a chance to throw it away 2-3 years ago? 

Group No. 2 has to be packed and thrown away or donated (if still in a pretty good condition). And Group No. 1 will be sorted out further.

STEP # 2. SORT EVERYTHING AWAY

Now that you are left with the items that are necessary- it’s time to categorize them so that you’d know where to find them with both eyes closed.

There are many different ways to organize items. For example, if your closet has shelves, each shelf can be dedicated to an individual room supplies. Such as kitchen things go to one shelf, bathroom goods – to another, and etc…

However, the most popular way to categorize the items is by size, type, and color. This way your closet will look like in apple-pie order! So, let’s dive in into the sorting process:

1) First of all, fold up the towels, sheets, pillowcases, washcloths and all other things that need to be folded.

TIP: Up to a more advanced level? Iron your bedding, pillowcases and towels before folding them.

2) Sort everything away into the nice piles of related items. For instance, large towels, bathmats, washcloths should be stacked one next to another, as well as pillowcases, sheets, and bedding. By doing this, you’d never have to rush through the closet top to the bottom looking for the pillowcase that matches the bedding set.

3) Box the items up into the nice storage bins. This is a real lifetime hack! Not only it helps to organize your closet, but it also maintains the order for a much longer time.

Let’ say you stack the piles of towels, sheets, extra pillows and duvets directly on the shelf. How about those different types, size and color linens that simply do not go together with any other items? Use baskets, fabric boxes or cloth bins to separate different items each from another as well as to store the small items – like hand towels, washcloths, dish towels,  pillowcases because when they are scattered your closet looks chaotic.

TIP: Label the boxes and storage bins with the marker if they are not see-through so you’ll know what’s inside of each of them. If you decide not to use the boxes – simply label the shelves.

STEP # 3. PUT EVERYTHING BACK

Place the items back on the shelves! Keep in mind – items that you use the most frequently should be put at the very center of the closet and at eye level. On the contrary, rarely used stuff (like extra pillows, duvets) should sit on the top shelves or somewhere at the back of the closet. 

1) Start from the middle shelves and put the most important stuff over there: regularly used towels, bedding sets, boxes of washcloths and hand towels, other linens. After that, you’ll see how much free space is left for the rarely used items.

2) Fill the top and the bottom shelves up with what’s left – the guest duvets, extra pillows, beach towels, off-season bedding sets…you decide!

TIP: use the fabric bags or vacuum bags to hold the bulky and heavy items – it’ll save the space of your closet. Also, put all the infrequently used items into zippered plastic pouches to store them neatly at the back of the closet or on the top shelves.

3) Take advantage of the inside of your closet door! Screw-in some hooks and hang some small baskets. This is a miraculous idea to store the extra toiletries, soap bars, sprays, and other small supplies you tend to buy in bulk – this way they are always on hand! Also, an over-the-door rack can be attached to the inside of the doors to hang the table runners or other cloths precisely. Genius, right? Everything is easy – just unleash your creativeness.

STEP #4. KEEP YOUR LINEN CLOSET FRESH

Now that your linen closet looks as neatly as from the Pinterest picture, it’s time to learn how to maintain the fresh and clean smell of it. Again – the choices are endless. Here are some of the most reliable ones:

• Baking soda. Pour some of it in a little box and place it at the back of the closet. This powder will invisibly absorb the bad smell.
• Scented sachet bags. Hide some scented sachet bags deep into the closet or in the boxes – you decide. Enjoy the soft and fresh smell of your items!
• Hand soap bars. Works similarly to the sachet bags but are available in more different scents. Got some bars of the hand soap from a relative as a gift? Now you know where to use it!
• Cedarwood blocks. Put them in different spots of your closet and rest assured that bugs and moths will not destroy your linens.

Here you are! A master of the perfectly organized linen closet. No more stressful situations looking for a particular towel or a pillowcase. No more loose laundry scattered all over the closet. No more useless stuff… Every item has its own space and is easily reachable. Not to mention that fresh smell!

After all, there is no perfect system to organize your linen closet. The ideal way is the one that works for you and your family best.