Linen Closet Organizers

The linen closet can be one of the easiest spaces in the home to organize if you use linen closet organizers to contain and organize. Just remember the key to good organization is to remember the purpose of the space you are organizing, declutter, categorize items, and create a place for everything.

You will want to remove all the linens from the closet and place on the dining room table. You'll want to put them on the dining room table or another flat surface because you will need a flat surface to re-fold these items before you put them back in the linen closet.

You will need to declutter too, tossing items that are worn and mismatched, donating items you no longer use, and placing things that don't belong in the linen closet elsewhere in your home.

Categorize the items the following way

• Sheets
• Towels
• Table linens

Then categorize further

• Twin sheets, double sheets, queen sheets, and so on
• Towels, washcloths, hand towels, floor/foot towels, body towels, and beach towels
• Table cloths, runners, dinner, and cocktail napkins

Categorize even further. Separate summer from winter linens and your towels into daily and special occasion use.

Store the rarely used and out of season items out of the way or if possible in another room. If you have an extra drawer in the china cabinet, then store table linens in there. If you're really short on space, store out of season towels and sheets in empty luggage.

Assess what's left over to store and create a space around it. Use linen closet organizers if need be. For instance, if you have a lot of body towels, then design a space around that.

To keep everything organized for daily use, create a space for each category and label the shelves. For instance twin sheets will have their own space as will body towels.

Keep daily use items at eye level and do not over pack a shelf. You want air to circulate around your linens and towels to avoid musty smells.

When you change the bedding pull new sheets from the bottom and place freshly wash bedding on top of the stack to keep a good rotation going.

An easy way to do this without toppling the stack of sheets is to first make sure you've folded sheets in sets together (fitted sheet, flat sheet, and pillowcases). When you go to change the sheets, slid one hand under the very bottom sheet set against the shelf, slid your other hand on top of that sheet set and pull out being careful not to topple the sheet sets on top.

Fold everything nice and neat so they fit better inside the closet. My linen closet consists of three shelves behind two doors with three drawers underneath. Needless to say, I don't have that much storage space for linens.

It is critical that I fold everything nice and neat to fit it all in this small closet! I keep all body towels folded into neat squares that I then roll in half and store in the drawers.

I keep sheets folded neatly and stored in the three shelves above the drawers. Fitted sheets are tough to fold nicely. For a quick and neat way to fold fitted sheets, see below.

• Put your hands inside the top two corners of a fitted sheet.
• Fold the sheet in half placing the bottom two corners inside the top two (right side together). The sheet will now be folded in half.
• Lay the sheet on a table and smooth out as much as possible.
• Fold the sheet lengthwise and place all four corners inside each other. Smooth out again.
• Fold the long strip in half, then in half again depending on the size of your sheet to make a square.

Sheets should be folded and stored together in sets (fitted, flat, and cases).

If you're tight on space and need to store other items in your linen closet like bandages and extra toiletries, then be sure to use some good linen closet organizers like baskets and plastic containers.

Baskets and plastic containers like plastic shoe boxes make excellent linen closet organizers because they keep everything contained and organized.

Don't stress or spend a lot of money on these linen closet organizers. Just look around your house for an empty basket or two and you'll be amazed at how much that helps to contain the stuff in your linen closet.

Some other fabulous linen closet organizers are shelf dividers like the ones to the right that keep your stacks of sheets and towels nice and neat.

So, remember the purpose of the linen closet and do not put anything back that does not belong! In not much time, you will have an organized closet and you will feel great every time you open the linen closet door!

back to top of page

Return from Linen Closet Organizers to Organized Home

Return to Life Organize It