When it comes to keeping your space organized, it is easy to say “out of sight, out of mind”. This is why our spaces that should be the most organized tend to explode into disarray: think closets, pantries, etc. However, keeping these areas clean with each item in its designated spot can alleviate stress and make day-to-day life feel so much easier and smoother.
Today, I’m going to tackle one area in your home that may have fallen to the wayside when it comes to organizing: the linen closet.
Maximize Your Storage Space
Many people do not even realize the potential of their small spaces until they need to make space. So, let’s talk about maximizing that space to make it work for you instead of against you. Most linen closets are not huge, but I can make sure you are utilizing yours in the best possible way.
Step 1: Empty it out Completely.
If you do not start with a clean slate, it becomes chaotic trying to play Tetris – shifting items from this shelf to that. Instead, start fresh by removing everything in your linen closet. Get down to the bare bones and take stock of the items you pulled out. Sometimes, things have to get worse before they can get better J
Step 2: Sort
Now, it’s time to go through what you pulled out of your linen closet. Remember how I commented how tiny that space is? How did you fit ALL that stuff in there? Over time people tend to shove and shove their products, towels, and sheets into their linen closet until it is an overflowing mess. Take this time to really sort through what you have, what you need, and what you do not need or is too old to keep. Toss any expired or old items, donate what you can, and condense the items that will be going back into the linen closet. Be picky!
Step 3: Clean + Refresh
Before you even begin to put items back into your linen closet, take time to give it a good, solid clean. If you are still battling wire shelving and are constantly losing products that are falling through the cracks, consider having wood shelves made or investing in shelf liners to avoid this from happening.
In addition to cleaning and refreshing the space, consider what type of containers you may need to invest in to keep your linen closet items clean and clutter free. Organizing into bins and baskets with labels will ensure your systems stay in place and will keep your linen closet from becoming a disheveled mess again. Putting in the work now will pay off later.
Step 4: Create Zones
Zoning helps keep items together that make sense to be together. By zoning out your items, you can decide shelf by shelf on where to relocate all the things. It is important to place the most used items somewhere easy and convenient to reach, and to place the less frequently used items higher up where they will be readily available when needed, yet not in your way at other times. Some of the categories to use to zone out your linen closet can be:
- Towels
- Beach Towels
- Washcloths and Hand Towels
- Sheet sets
- Blankets
- Pillows
- Comforters
- Products, such as shampoo, soap, first aid, medicine, etc.
- Paper products
- Cleaning products
Well not everyone’s linen closet will contain all of these items in one place, they do help to categorize out your items while you are making a new plan for your linen closet organization.
Step 5: Replace items in a more organized and functional way.
This may take a bit of rolling, tucking, folding, and storing to get everything back into the closet, but in the end, you will have a well-organized space that will make it easy to find anything you need for your bedrooms and bathrooms.
Keep your items corralled nicely in bins and baskets and work top to bottom with least used to most used. The floor of your linen closet is the perfect place for a larger bin containing spare comforters or blankets. At the top of the closet, keep less used spare sheet sets, beach towels, and product overflow. You won’t need these items daily.
Working your way down, keep first aid, medicine, and similar products in their respective bins towards the upper-middle shelves. This keeps them out of reach of little hands but still in plain sight. Under this, place your most used items—your towels, washcloths, hand towels, etc. With an easy spot to place them laundry also gets put away faster.
Step 6: Label your bins.
Labeling really is the final touch to a well-organized space. Keeping easy-to-read labels on your bins and baskets eliminates confusion and makes it easy for everyone to find what they are looking for. Once your items have all found their home in your linen closet, label them, and then step back to admire a job well done.
Get Organized + Stay Organized!
Let me know how your linen closet turns out! It may seem like such a small, insignificant space in your home, but every disorganized space brings a little more chaos to our lives. By taking time to create systems and order, you can live a life that is less stressful and have beautiful spaces everywhere—even behind closed doors!
Give up? Call Saint Louis Closet Company for a free consultation on redesigning your linen closet – we’re experts!
