Linen Closet Organization

Linen Closet Organization

Closet organization may be one of my love languages ;), but you couldn’t necessarily tell it by peeking in any of my closets right now. Ugh.

It’s been a little while since I gave my closets the love they deserve. As time has marched on, orginally organized closets became … not as organized as they once were. Things were slowly placed where they didn’t belong, forgotten and eventually they became nothing but dust collectors. It happens to all of us. Even to those of us who like to organize their closets FOR FUN. Wink, wink.

Last year, I decided I’d start tackling all of our closets one at a time. And then another full year went by. I blame all. the. things. Good intentions didn’t get me all that far. But, hey, it’s never to late to start! Or to start again.

I decided to start with an “easy” closet – one that I could tackle in an afternoon so that I’d feel all accomplished and empowered to tackle a bigger, messier closet next. So, first up – the linen closet in our master bathroom. Honestly, it was already decently organized. {And, as I tend to do, I jumped into this project without taking a “before” photo, so I apologize, but you don’t get to see it in the original state.} But, it was in need of an honest clean out and a lot of purging. This particular linen closet houses the bed linens for our primary bedroom, extra sheets for guests, towels and off season blankets, as well as a back-stock of toiletries, sunscreens, first aid items, makeup, skincare, toilet paper, tissues, etc.

The process:

• I took everything out, wiped the shelves off and vacuumed. Then I purged a lot of items. A LOT. Let’s be real. I was holding on to sheet sets that I never used and more towels than two people actually need. There was a back-stock of sunscreen that I didn’t like, old nail polish that was no longer any good, perfume that I never wore and expired medication. Things needed to go. Then, it was really just about putting it all back in a way that made more sense to me and would be easier to maintain and keep tidy. Annndd… then I prettied it up. But, only a little. I do like a dose of pretty, even in the closet, but in a realistic way. I don’t need a faux plant in my linen closet. 😉 BUT, if feels good and looks good, it will help you WANT to keep it tidy, cleaned out and looking good.

Tips:

• Toss it out. Be ruthless. Seriously. There are probably a lot of unused items taking up valuable real estate in your linen closet. Think not? Look deeper. Your old favorite sheet set? Oh, you haven’t put them on your bed in the past two years? Bye. An unopened bottle of foundation from a brand you no longer wear. Bye. Also, consider how many of each particular item you truly need. Do you need that many bath towels? Maybe. But, you probably only need 2-3 per person. Do you need to store your old comforter in case someone someday might need to use it on a blow up mattress? You see where I’m going with this … just look deeper and don’t be afraid to pass things along, donate them or toss them out.
• Can’t fold a fitted sheet? Try keeping your sheet sets in a bin or basket. Then you’ll never notice your messy fold job.
• Bins aren’t necessary. They aren’t at all. And, if they aren’t your thing, that’s cool and it’ll save you a little money. But, the linen closet is an area that bins and baskets truly can help you corral all of those random items together in a way that’s easier to use and keep tidy. And … they just might spark a little joy at the same time.
• It doesn’t have to be magazine worthy to be clean, organized and pretty enough. My goal wasn’t to compete with The Home Edit gals (well, hmm, that might be lie), but rather to make me feel a sense of peace and order each time I opened the door to grab a new shampoo or a fresh towel. Good enough can be good enough.

Now, let’s see if I ever get around to the NEXT closet. Eeek!