4 Ideas For Decluttering And Reorganizing Your Linen Closet
Clutter is a nuisance in any area of the home. It makes it challenging to find the things you need without creating even more of a mess. It easily distracts you from the things you want to focus on, as well. Clutter, according to WebMD, causes stress and a list of other health issues. We know this, and yet, even though it's not that difficult to keep a home relatively neat and tidy, we still sometimes let disorganization damage our happiness and health.
What's even worse than clutter dispersed around a room is a mess of it crammed into a closet or cupboard space. It's hidden from the rest of the world, but we know it's still there ... waiting. Every time we dig in there for something, we can't find what we want. Inevitably, items fall out all over the floor, and we end up with more work to do. We won't judge you if your linen closet is one of these cluttered eyesores that could use more than a little attention. In fact, we have some tips to help you get it all under control.
Weed through those towels
When was the last time you sorted through your towels and other linens? Modern Bathroom says you should be replacing bath towels every two years. If that's the case, hand towels and wash rags, which are typically used more than larger towels, should probably be replaced more often than that.
It's also important to let go of worn out bedding by getting rid of sheets, pillowcases, and old blankets that have stains, rips, or are simply falling apart. Rather than tossing old linens in the trash, you can use them as rags for cleaning up around the house. For the DIYers, old fitted sheets are great for covering furniture, and flat sheets work for the floor when painting and sanding.
What about donating those frayed linens to animal shelters? DogTime.com says, as long as you've washed them and they're not completely falling apart, go for it. If you have pets of your own, you can also use old towels for doggy bath time or as liners for your pet's crate.
Get fancy with folding
Once you've weeded out everything you no longer use, you'll have more room for the linens you intend to keep. Before you fold them all willy-nilly and toss them back into the closet, consider your folding techniques. The right fold can make it easier to fit all of your linens snugly in the linen closet and actually have the door shut properly! Home Depot offers step-by-step instructions on how to fold towels that will make Marie Kondo proud. Folding this way will open up extra space in there too.
Towels aren't the most problematic items when it comes to linen folding, though. That title is reserved for fitted sheets. We can't be the only ones with wadded sheets cramped in the back of the cupboard. Frankly, we'd probably all benefit from instructions on how to meticulously fold these beasts of the bedroom so they stay nice and wrinkle-free. Crane & Company suggests doing so with the sheet inside out. Align corners and tuck them into each other. Once you have evenly matched lengths, lay the sheet flat and fold it into halves or thirds.
Give everything its own space
Take a quick look in your linen cabinet as it is right now. Are things well organized, or are there pillow cases next to the bath towels and full-size sheets mixed in with king-size sheets? Once you start organizing your linens by room, you'll never want to mix them up again. It's so much easier to open that closet door and grab the right stack of sheets and pillow cases on laundry day than having to pull everything out and sort which piece goes to which bed.
Not only does organizing things by room make it easier on you, it may help cut down on household arguments. On Task Organizing points out that separating linens by which bathroom they belong to and which bedroom they go in will help keep household members from getting confused as they grab things from the closet. Simple measures like this may cut down on unnecessary bickering.
You also want to consider how you stack things and start by placing larger items on the bottom. When grouping towels for your main bathroom into an orderly pile, stack bigger bath towels first, then hand towels, then wash cloths on top. If you're not the stacking type and you want to try a different method of linen storage altogether, keep reading.
Use labels and containers
While stacking is the standard way many folks store their linens, it's not always the best. If you want to avoid stacks tumbling over when someone reaches for a single item, you may want to come up with a different storage method. That's where containers come in handy.
Smaller linen items will do well in containers, especially if you have, let's say, an abundance of wash clothes. A basket or wire bin will keep them from spilling out onto the floor each time someone grabs one for their daily skincare routine.
Not only does keeping linens in storage containers make it so that piles aren't falling to the floor each time you open the door, it also makes the entire linen closet more pleasing to the eye, according to Organizing Moms. Once you've lined up the perfect baskets and storage bins, grab your label maker and mark each bin so there's no confusion about which container holds the items you need.