Small Linen Closet Organization
I have been slowly working my way through my house, trying to declutter and organize and get my problem spaces whipped back into shape. This small linen closet has been a real problem area for me for way too long. In fact, it got so bad that I have just been closing the door on it and ignoring it because it felt too big to tackle.
See what I mean? Ugh! But when I finally got determined to take care of this linen closet, I looked at it and realized, not only did it need to be organized, it also was just holding too much stuff. Some of the stuff needed to go, and some of it needed to be relocated to other areas in the house.
The first thing I did, was pull everything out of the closet. Then I started to determine what needed to go back, what needed to be relocated to other areas in the house, and what could be donated or just needed to be thrown out.
After only about an hour of work (seriously, why did I put this off for so long?) I got that closet whipped into shape.
First of all, please excuse the quality of these photos. I will be the first to admit that I am not a photographer, so trying to take pictures of a dark closet in a hall with no natural light is way beyond my skill set.
The top shelf of the closet holds small bins that contain miscellaneous things like extra light bulbs, power strips, etc.
The next shelf down holds some larger quilts and extra pillows.
The bottom two shelves hold sheet sets, pillowcases, bathmats, extra towels and a couple of bins for soccer cleats, socks, and shin guards. Yes - We need two bins for soccer gear. We are a soccer family and I need a place to store these things in the off-season and since this hall is by my boys' rooms it made the most sense. (Don't worry - stinky, sweaty, soccer gear does not go in here. It is only used in the off-season for storage and everything is thoroughly cleaned before making its way into the bins.)
Finally, the floor of the closet that used to be crammed full of stuff is nice and clear except for our foot massager and the vacuum also resides in here when I am not using it (or taking pictures).
I also used my favorite label maker to put labels on the little bins on top and on the soccer bins, but what I love most is the labels I put right on the shelves so I could easily tell what bedding to grab when needed and where to put it back after it had been laundered and folded.
This is the label maker and labels that I have and love.
*Affiliate Links
Brother P-Touch Advanced Label Maker
While I donated a lot of things that were in this closet, there were several that I couldn't part with. My husband's mother is a quilter. His grandmothers also made quilts. I could not part with any of the handmade quilts that had been gifted to us by his mother or grandmothers, even if we are not currently using them. I also had some special baby quilts and blankets that I had made that my boys had loved that I wanted to keep as well. Quilts are bulky and there simply was not room for them in this closet or in any other closet that made sense in this house, so I had to do a little thinking to come up with a solution.
I purchased a set of two of these extra-large zippered storage bags. They hold a lot of quilts. Originally, I thought I could store these on the floor of the closet, but they are way too big for that. I still wanted to use them, so I filled them with those keepsake quilts and slid them under one my my boy's beds that sits a little higher than a standard bed. If anyone happens to look under there, they look neat and tidy, and they are easy to get to if I ever want to pull out one of these special quilts.
This is a side view of the storage bag. I like that it has a clear window so you can see what is stored inside while having a little bit sturdier fabric for most of the bag. I would say the fabric and zippers are good quality for large storage bags, but if you are looking for something that is going to get a lot of use, you may want to find something a bit more durable. For my purposes, these are perfect!
Here is a look inside the bag. Nice and roomy.
These are the storage bags I purchased.
*Affiliate Link
2-Pack Extra Large Storage Bags
If you have a linen closet that needs some decluttering and organization, I hope that this post gives you a few ideas.
