Organizing Closets

When it comes to organizing, planning or even just plain cleaning, there are few places in the home more awkward than the Linen Closet.

Think about all the stuff that’s considered “Linen Closet Worth.” Most people include bed sheets, comforters, throw blankets, pillow, pillow cases, towels, wash clothes and maybe even slighty-related things like sleeping bags and shower curtains. And that’s assuming that you don’t “cross store” other unrelated items in there, too. You may laugh, but I’ve seen linen closets with tools, pet food, electronics, toys, guns even cooking supplies!

Chances are, those kind of closets aren’t going to be featured in any of those upscale design magazines any time soon. Nor are they going to be a featured stop in the “tour of the home” for friends and family.

If you’re facing a linen closet of this magnitude, don’t worry, there is help – let me show you a few really great tips to get your linen closet on par with the big boys (and girls):

Determine What Your Linen Closet Is For?

All people have different perspectives, and therefore want different things out of life in general – not to mention closet organization! So your first step in putting together the perfect linen closet is to figure out what you want to store in there.

If you want a “model home” look, chances are you’re only going to be storing a handful of towels and linens – and not very many of them, either. The current trend is kind of a minimalist approach. My point is that it wouldn’t make much sense to have “model home” expectations, but want to store everything but the kitchen sink in there, would it?

Here’s a great exercise: Sit down with two pieces of paper. On one, write down how you want the linen closet to look. On the other, list everything you need to store in there. Then compare those two lists. Unless the stars aligned perfectly, you’ll undoubtedly notice that list number two is significantly bigger than list number one. What in the world are you to do? Well, you’ve got two options:

1. Throw away anything that doesn’t have a place on list number 1. It’s pretty extreme, but if you’re determined to have this look, it might be your only option.
2. Make the lists “meet in the middle.” This is the best way, in my opinion. Basically you accept that fact that you’ll have to get a few things “out of the closet,” but you also will have to live with more things in your linen closet than you would choose in your perfect world.

Now you’ve actually determined what your linen closet will be used for, now what?

Organize Your Linen Closet

There are as many techniques to designing and/or organizing a linen closet as there are atoms in the solar system. Just ask the people who earn a living organizing closets. But here are some of the most popular techniques amongst the fancy designers today:

1. Less is more. How many model homes do you see jammed full of stuff? Hardly any? Probably none. If you can get away with less stuff, it’ll give you a less cluttered, more professional look.
2. Space is your friend. One of the biggest trends in linen closet organization is space between piles. If you check out an interior designer magazine, you’ll notice that piles don’t touch each other, instead there is an “isle” of space between them.
3. Proper placement. Don’t stack sheets on top of towels, or vica versa. Make sure each “stack” or shelf, or whatever, is only one type of linen.

By following these simple steps, you’ll be well on your very own show-room quality linen closet.