Declutter One Space at a Time -Linen Closet

The linen closet is many times overlooked because no guests ever see it and it is not something you think of often when it comes to decluttering. But every time you go to get sheets or towels, you see the mess it has become and that is when you think about decluttering and organizing the linen closet.

Some older linen closets are deep and hard to retrieve items out of the back and others are so small they barely fit the items you want to fit in them. If you have a deep linen closet that seems to go on forever, consider using the extra space in the back for the rarely used blankets, or comforters that are maybe switched out for seasons. Eliminate putting anything needed on a regular basis in the back space. If you have a small linen closet, ,then it is time to put only the sheets and towels in that are used regularly.

Does your linen closet look like this?

Start the process by removing everything out of the linen closet and separating it into different piles. Towels, sheets, medical items, extra beauty items and anything else that might have made its way into the space. Toss anything old, stained or expired. When sorting out the sheets, make sure you have only the sizes of beds that exist in the house. If you are not able to keep all the sheets in the linen closet, consider moving the guest linens to the guest bedroom as we discussed in my previous article. Separate seasonal sheets if necessary and maybe put the off-season sheets else where or in the very back if you have a deep linen closet. If you are looking to purge, a good rule of thumb is 2 sets of sheets for each bed. If you use flannel in the winter, then 4 for each bed.

Towels should be the color you want and in good shape. Toss those worn or put them in the rag box for drying the dog or the car. Consider having 3 sets of towels for each person in the household. If you are worried about having enough for many guests that happens once a year or less, take the extras and store those in a container in the way back or elsewhere.

If you have room, make a bin for travel items such as toothpaste, shaving cream, travel size shampoo and conditioner. When you run out, you will know where to find a new one to replace it in your travel bag. Only keep the items you would really use, if it is something you got for free but do not like the smell or brand, toss it or give it to the homeless shelter.

Some choose to put extra items in their linen closets such as toilet paper, medical supplies, and other extras. Make sure they fit and put in a container of some type to make it easier to retrieve them.

If you have other items you store in your linen closet, please leave a comment. I look forward to hearing what you find in your linen closet.