The Quick Fix to a Disorganized Linen Closet
There are numerous places in a home I enjoy organizing, kitchens, offices, closets, drawers, basements, storage, I mean, the list goes on and on. One space that seems to challenge me every time is the linen closet. I don't know why, but I just really struggle with "loving" this space, no matter how organized it is.
I thought this was all because our old linen closet in our apartment was such a strange space and doubled/tripled as a space for exercise gear, travel supplies, and other random things we didn't have the storage for. However, in our current home we seriously have one dynamite linen closet. It's huge! The shelves are deep and spacious. It has double doors making it super easy to get into.
So why do I struggle so much with this space? Because sheets, towels and extra toiletries are difficult to make look pretty, to put it as simply as I can. Folded towels look perfect and beautiful when they're folded and stacked nicely in a closet. But once you grab a new one the look is lost, and every time laundry is done you have to make sure you can commit the time and dedication to folding and stacking everything perfectly again.
{lack of commitment}
Don't get me wrong, I used to do this. I used to have this time. This dedication. But somewhere between having a baby and figuring out when I last showered, I lost it. So, I needed to find a new system that worked for me, and it was accomplished by adding just one thing.
Baskets, bins, boxes, and any other cubed shaped object that starts with the letter "B" is my new best friend in the linen closet.
Everything is contained. Everything is organized. And you can't tell how well I've folded a sheet, or if I've even folded it at all!
The other great thing about the baskets is they prevent us from owning more than we need. I have mentioned this before and it still holds true. Even with way more storage space than we need, we still have managed to own only two sets of sheets for our bed and two sets of towels each. And honestly, we've never been in a position to need more.
I used gift tags from the Dollar Spot at Target as labels for all of our baskets. And because my handwriting is typically atrocious, I just used a label maker with clear background to identify each basket.
The bottom shelf is dedicated to our carry-on travel bags for quick and easy access when packing. The middle four baskets contain bath towels, extra sheet sets, guest towels, and extra guest pillows.
The next shelf is dedicated to travel needs, as well as one basket for "healing", which has our hot water bottles, massagers, heating pads, and the like.
The clear drawers are full of travel toiletries that we are slowly running through {seriously, I tossed numerous half empty bottles about a year ago yet somehow we continue to have an insane supply}. Also we keep all of our "apparel first aid" in the large bottom drawer {i.e. small steamer, buttons, needle and thread, etc.}
The two baskets on the top shelf are our laundry baskets, and in all honesty, are rarely both stored there. Since we're constantly doing laundry in our house, at least one of these baskets is rotating in and out at a time. The center basket is just our emergency TP, when we forget to restock in the bathroom and the long trip to the basement supply is just out of the question.
On the tippy, tippy top are extra duvets and blankets for guests. And that's it!
The linen closet still isn't my favorite space to organize, but I'll be honest, I am a pretty big fan of how this space looks now. I love that I can toss clean towels into a basket without worrying how nicely they're folded. I love the clean look the baskets provide, and the little pop of color the labels bring. The large space is filled nicely with the baskets and it doesn't seem as daunting.
What are your tricks to keep your linen closet looking organized? Thanks for visiting!
