Easy Linen Closet Organization
Listen, I love my kids. And my husband. But so help me, if one more of them grabs something from our hall closet and then just shoves it back in, I will lose my ever-loving mind. I love to be organized, but these ankle biters have me at the end of my rope. I currently have sheets that no longer fit beds we own, simply because they make awesome forts. My husband, the overly protective firefighter, has stocked our health supplies to the point where I look like we shoplift daily from CVS.
It had gotten to the point where I dreaded opening the doors. Blankets (prime fort building materials) were always barfing themselves out the doors because they were haphazardly shoved back in. Who actually needs a bar of soap if it means opening the doors that lead to the garbage pit from Star Wars? Not this girl! I’ll just use hand soap or something in the shower. It was time to fix this trash pit, and fix it right. Operation Linen Closet Organization was underway.
Oh my. In what fresh hell am I living?
Here is how every conversation between Troy and me goes when one of the boys get sick. One of us “do we have any (children’s/infant’s) Tylenol/Motrin?”. Other person “I’m not sure. You should probably get some more at the store”.
Oh, look what was hiding behind a box of gloves. Fancy that.
I started by removing everything from the closet and putting it on our dresser. And then looked at it and realizing we’re health and beauty hoarders.
I got these drawers at Target in small and large. I did my best to put similar items together and get the organization in the drawers to make sense. Once everything was set up, I got to use one of my favorite things around – the label maker.
When Troy saw the finished product, he said “this is what I should have gotten you for Mother’s day”. In actuality, doing the task was the rewarding part. If he wanted to give me a gift like that, it would have been best to take the kids away so I could do it in peace. You don’t need to wrap or put a bow on an afternoon of linen closet organization.
I then turned my attention to the total cluster of the sheets and towels. I found these InstaCrates at Costco for $7.98 each. They fold and collapse, and the cool thing is they’re made in the USA. Since the crates are deep, they each fit about three to four sets of sheets. I fold and store the sheets inside a pillowcase from each set. It keeps things together and semi-tidy. Until of course it becomes the back wall of Fort Jack.
The floor of the closet got a nice cleanup thanks to a big drink tub. It is full of blankets and other fort materials, and the boys can shove them back in without too much help.
One of the things that took up a lot of room prior to the org, was the giant box of Costco Band-Aids. We’d take a bandage out, and then never be able to get it back in the main box. Thus Band-Aids were always floating around the shelves and we were forever asking each other “where are the Band-Aids”. A $3 coupon organizer changed my life. How many times can you say that? Band-Aids went from this:
To this:
I now walk by our closet with a pep in my step, instead of dreading the next time I need a clean towel. Just looking at all these photos again, give me a total organizing lady boner! Linen closet organization is totally my jam, and I’m not afraid to admit it.
You might have just inspired me to tackle ours! I have to look into those InstaCrates. I am currently using square rattan crates I got from Ikea 15+ years ago and they are starting to get a little ratty.
Freakin’ gorgy! Storing the sheets inside the pillowcases is genius!
What kind of label maker do you have? I put a label maker on my b-day list a few years ago, and fishy fishy got her wishy; however, I’ve used it maybe once, because, for some reason, it sucks the life out of my rechargeables quicker than I can say “save the planet.” I refuse to buy regular batteries, but the rechargeables don’t sustain. Or the label maker is a defective life sucker? I dunno. So, I basically have a dust collector now. It’s a Brother PT H100, if that means anything to you.
This is the one we have (well, ours is an older version of it) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DY5CAU?ie=UTF8&tag=thisb02-20&camp=1789&linkCode=xm2&creativeASIN=B001DY5CAU
Sarah – I love that you love your label maker as much as I love mine. I use it everywhere! Thank you for sharing your life with us….mess, cleanups and all. It makes me feel like I’m not alone. I know there is someone else out there who is like me. My husband has been out of town for a week and it’s amazing how clean the house has stayed….here all this time I thought it was the kids who created the majority of the mess in our house. hmmmm.
Technically it is Troy’s label maker…that I bought him years ago. But let’s be clear who is using it. 🙂
Blanket forts rule.
I love this! With the upcoming move (really, at this point I’m not sure I’m capable to live in the same dwelling for more than 18 months), we are basically cutting out square footage in half. I am super excited about it, but a little nervous at the same time. We purge SO. MUCH. STUFF. but I feel like we still have way more than we need.
I love the idea for the band-aides!
We’ve tried the folding the sheets and stuffing them in the pillow case trick, but I have a few sets of sheets where the fitted won’t stay put, so I usually only use the top sheet from that set. I think I just figured out where we can purge more…
We’ve been known to roll our towels in the past. Makes it really easy to grab just one and sometimes it can take up less space.
All of our meds are in a pretty basket on top of the fridge. It didn’t make much sense to me to keep them in/near the bathroom because usually we need water to take the meds, and well, it’s easier to get that from the kitchen. Also, I had read that meds in the bathroom are not so great because of the flux in temps and humidity.
Thanks for the tips on the organization!
The top of the fridge can get really warm though, at least, our does. Be careful.
I don’t know enough about it to know if it is a concern or not, but I thought I should mention it. I also don’t know how you would measure the temperature there…….. (maybe I should have just kept my thought to myself?)
Come organize mine! I’ve got bathroom towels, home-canned foods and various items for if we get stuck here in a storm
What a sweet offer. I’ll be there tomorrow!
You may not want to go down this road, cuz it’s hard to turn back …. but if you place all of your towels, face clothes, etc. so the fold is “out”, it looks tidy. I started this about 10 years ago, and now I furtively look over my shoulder and turn them if someone else (miracle!!!) put them away the “wrong” way.
Sometimes I do that, and sometimes I give up even trying. 🙂
Excellent organisation! You could try using your crates more like a sheet filing cabinet. Google “Maria Kondo folding” to see what I mean.
I have tried more compact folding in the past, but these are king-sized sheets and most of them are flannel or fleece. Very fluffy!