The following is a guest post from regular contributor, Emily R. at My Love For Words. It looks like I’m not the only one working on my linen closet, it’s so fun to see how others organize a similar space.
My linen closet has been a disaster for longer than I care to admit. It’s located in the corner of our master bathroom so it’s a space that only my husband and I see, and in our house, an out of the way place that no one sees seems to be a location begging for major clutter. We more than happily obliged.
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One thing we are not short on in this house is space. We have a lot of space; truth be told, we probably have too much, which is how I ended up realizing that clutter’s like a koi fish, and I’m still trying to get our pond under control.
Our linen closet is a good size. It even looks like a nice closet with the doors closed, but when we opened the doors we were in danger of being buried in a blanket and towel avalanche.
The closet was full of random things that had no business being in there: my daughter’s tea set (no doubt shoved there in a frantic cleaning episode minutes before company arrived), toiletries we never used, and lotions that I bought ten years ago (!!) because they were a great deal, and I was going to give them away as gifts. Everything that actually belonged in the closet like sheets, blankets, towels, and toiletries were thrown in haphazardly so it was hard to find what we needed when we needed it.
My first task in getting this space whipped into shape was to remove everything. All towels, toiletries, and random things that had been shoved in the closet were taken out. I wiped down the shelves, swept the floor, and decided that only items that were in good condition and would actually be used would be returned. Obviously, they had to belong in a linen closet too so my daughter’s tea set had to find a new home.
Next, I sorted through everything. I put things we no longer used or liked in a donation pile and got rid of toiletries that had expired. We were able to fill two garbage bags with things just from this closet. One bag was items to be donated and the other was trash.
Then came the fun part, returning everything to the closet and getting it all organized.
This is what we see when we open the doors now:
Everything is organized and has a specific place to call home. On the top shelf, I have blankets, sheets, and pillow cases. We do have a lot of things that need to be washed so more bedding and towels will be added to these shelves, but it’s nice to see that we have more than enough room to accommodate everything.
I stored toiletries, bottles of nail polish, soaps, and first aid supplies on the second shelf because it’s at eye level for me and high enough to be out of reach for little hands. I used a cookie jar (affiliate link) for the nail polishes and an acrylic spice shelf (affiliate link) that I was no longer using in my kitchen for my shampoos, contact solutions, and various other toiletries. I love this tiered rack because I’m able to see exactly what we have and nothing gets lost anymore.
Next to that I have a row of hand soaps, a three drawer organizer that has some of my essential oils and fragrances for sugar scrubs, and new contact cases, a first aid box full of band aids and other supplies, and then a basket with hair cutting tools and other miscellaneous items. The most surprising thing of all was how much shelf space was left empty when I was done.
And check this out, we actually did have a floor in here after all!
Is it weird that this is now one of my most favorite spots in my house? This closet has been a mess for way too long, but it only took a couple hours to get it cleaned out and into great shape.
For more linen closet inspiration and ideas, be sure to check out Laura’s beautiful linen closet makeover. I love the baskets and blue bins she chose, and the donation box in the bottom of her closet is brilliant! I may have to put one in the bottom of my closet too since I finally have floor space again.
I want to say a big thank you to Laura for letting me share my linen closet with you all, and wish you luck in whatever decluttering or organizing task you’re about to tackle. What’s your favorite tip for keeping your linen closet organized?
Emily is a wife and stay-at-home mom to her four children. She’s currently sharing the good, bad, and ugly in her journey to creating an organized and decluttered home on her blog My Love for Words. She also shares recipes, crafts, home decor ideas, and thoughts on life and motherhood. When she isn’t blogging, she can be found reading, cooking, or homeschooling her kids.
- *Please note that affiliate links are included in this post to make it easier for you to find what is being referenced. A small commission is made should you purchase product using these links, but this is at no extra cost to you. As always, any and all opinions are genuinely my own – or the author, in the case of posts by my guest contributors. Thank you!*
Heather Mills says
My linen closet could use some serious attention! I saw some organizing baskets on clearance today at a local store. This inspired me to get mine organized!
Emily @ My Love for Words says
Yay! I love hearing that, Heather. Go grab those baskets, and good luck! I bet it’ll be beautiful when you’re finished 🙂
Tyna Begley says
How do you get everyone else in the house to keep it tidy?
Laura Wittmann says
That’s always the tricky part. In my house I’m always the one to put the sheets away so it’s not usually a problem for us. Good labeling helps though 🙂
Emily @ My Love for Words says
Thankfully, this is in my master bathroom so no one else really gets in it right now. My husband has put a few towels away, and I may or may not have refolded them, but so far so good!
Karen says
Pretty!! I have recently redone mine as well and enjoyed re-homing unwanted items. Now we are downsizing so I will do a more in depth/serious job of it . . . fun to declutter and downsize!!!
Emily @ My Love for Words says
It is fun! Well, the process isn’t as fun to me as just enjoying the new, organized space. I did this about a month ago now, and the space still looks great and makes me smile. Now to tackle the rest of the house!