My linen closet clean-out and organization was a long time coming. And to be quite honest, I hated the dinge and the look of the closet so much that I think subconsciously I’d throw things in just so I didn’t have to look at it much. But all that “throwing it in” caused one massive mess of not being able to find things, everything coming out wrinkled, and a closet that almost couldn’t close any longer.
So when I decided to clean out that space, I went at it with a mentality of making it prettier, making it organized, and making it more functional for our family of five. You can see all my latest Instagram Reels sharing the process of changing this linen closet @growingupkemper. Let’s be friends on there!
And now that I’ve completed the full linen closet refresh, I’m here to share the top 10 changes I made to that space to make it purposeful, organized, and beautiful. Here’s to making even the most daunting and small spaces in our home something that works for YOU this year!
Make It Pretty
Truly, I believe that I was subconsciously shoving pieces into my linen closet and slamming the door closed on this space because it lacked character, color, and prettiness. Dingy, yellowed walls, popcorn ceiling, brown and ragged MDF shelves, and disgusting baseboards. It all added up to an eye sore and for me to treat it well, I needed it to fit better in the home.
These don’t have to be dramatic changes, and I actually wouldn’t recommend blowing through a budget on a linen closet, but subtle changes can do wonders for your care. Add a small batch of wallpaper, paint the walls, and repaint the shelves all add up to make a huge difference!
In my linen closet, I painted the walls a beautiful medium blue called Stardew by Sherwin Williams. It matches the wallpaper in our hallway to make a cohesive blend between the two. I primed and painted the baseboards and shelves Sherwin Williams Alabaster and added my INCREDIBLY EASY hack to making shelves appear larger as I showed in the following Instagram Reel.
Learn the Art of Folding
I am the first to admit that I never really put any effort into learning how to properly fold. It was a fold in half and fold in fourths kind of girl and I didn’t think there would be THAT much of a difference.
There is.
There is that much of a difference.
By learning how to properly fold blankets and oversized towels, you are maximizing that space on your shelves by taking out the bulk. By learning how to properly fold your pillow cases and hand towels, you are able to store them all in a row in a basket for easy accessibility and for knowing how many you have clean. The little steps that you can take to fold a piece well takes the chaos out of your space, limits how much you’re using, and makes it massively easier to find exactly what you’re looking for.
Keep Sheets Stored Together
When you learn to fold your pieces, everything becomes easier. But did you know that you can actually fold your sheets together? You can fold fitted, flat, and pillow cases together instead of separating them among all your storage so it’s as easy as grabbing a single pile and it’s all right there for each bed in your home.
Check out this quick and easy tutorial to fold your sheets together!
Another great method to keep them together is by using these convenient zipper canvas bins that have a little window and label so you can tell what’s inside. I originally purchased these because how wonderful that would be to grab one box to carry into a room when you were changing sheets, but I realized after they came in that they were too big for my shelves to fit.
If you deal with the same size constraints as I am with my shelves, another great way to store your sheets together are with these beautiful sheet bands. An elastic band labeled with the sheet size that keeps it all tightly packed together…genius!
Use Matching Baskets to Keep it Uniform and Simple
We all have baskets loosely hanging out all around our homes. All different shapes, sizes and colors just perched on bookcases, in closets, and littered around our floors. It would be so easy to just grab a random assortment and toss them in your closet to help separate your pieces and be done.
I want to give this warning, however. If your goal is to keep your closet organized and LESS chaotic, go for a matching sets. Keep the tones similar, the sizes similar, and the overall look similar. This will trick your mind to keep it more organized and neat. If your brain senses chaos, it will breed chaos in your actions.
A great inexpensive set of baskets can always be found at a Home Goods or TJ Maxx or snag this 4-pack of seagrass baskets on Amazon that make such wonderful storage for hand towels, wash clothes and pillow cases.
Acrylic Drawers to House Smaller Items
I’m a huge fan of acrylic because it is completely clear to allow for fully seeing what is inside each bin or drawer. Sometimes plastic can be a little clouded, but not acrylic. These 6.5″ x 8″ x 4.5″ stackable acrylic drawers were the exact thing I needed to store large bandages, gauze, and athletic tape and a slew of travel bottles. And for under $10 each (and almost always on sale with a coupon!!), they are such an inexpensive storage solution for any closet.
Since they are stackable, I’m able to take all of these small bottles and rolls and keep them contained and taking up much less room than they originally were in my bathroom drawers. I don’t need these things to be out in the open because we just don’t use them enough, so keeping them tucked away in a handy drawer is the perfect storage solution.
If you’re looking for a slightly larger size, these 10″ x 10″ x 6″ Home Edit stackable drawers are perfect for that!
Photo Bins Make Great Storage for Small Items
With three small kids, Band-Aids are a must. With cold and flu season, cough drops and to-go packages of Kleenex are a must. But storing these have been a nightmare. Band-Aids and cough drops constantly strewn through our bathroom drawers or bathroom sink. I HAD to find a solution for these.
Enter: Photo Bins.
These 4″ x 6″ secure plastic photo and craft bins come in a set of 5 and are amazing for storing all of those loose bathroom and linen closet items like bandages, cough drops, sewing kits, and extra toothbrushes. They do come in a 5″ x 7″ plastic bin which works great, but in my closet, I chose to place them in a matching seagrass basket instead.
Add a Light to Avoid the Nighttime Root Around
Our hallway doesn’t have a lot of light when the bedroom doors are closed at night. We don’t have an outlet to have a night light so many times, we are rooting around in our closet at night with a cell phone light or with just a hope and a dream we can find what we need in the pitch black.
All of that just leads to rooting around and messing up what you have organized in your bins so well. Instead, include a light in your closet to allow for easy viewing and minimal rooting around.
If you don’t have the ability to have an overhead light (like me), you are able to buy a motion sensor light at any local Target, Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, or Amazon. I purchased the Energizer motion sensor light and have loved the ability to always have a light come on when you open the door.
It’s motion activated out to 15 feet and comes on each and every time the door swings open. The light stays on for about 1 minute after motion has stopped to save on batteries. It does come with a screw to attach it to a shelf, ceiling, or door frame, but I chose to just use some leftover Command strips I had lying around.
Add a Stool to Help You Reach
Another major cause of the ol’ root around that messes it all up is when you can’t reach something in the top of your closet. Listen, I’m a shorty. At 5’2,” I’m barely reaching the top two shelves without some tip toes. If I need a pillow from the top shelf or a duvet from the one below, I’m going to do a little jumping and grasping to get them down. And when I knock down things in the process, I’m going to be so frustrated with it all.
So instead, I slid in a small collapsible stool in between the two large baskets on the bottom. When I need something from the top, I’m able to open it up, stand on it, and fold it back up without having to wander around finding something safe (or close to being safe) to stand on to reach. It’s a huge space saver, time saver, and potential fall saver!
PURGE!
All of these tips and organization pieces all are wonderful to help you make your closet more purposeful and beneficial to your home, but it all won’t work out if you don’t purge a little. Pull everything out of your closet and start to make piles of what has matches still, what is still in good shape, what do you not use anymore, and what can you donate to someone else in need. By getting rid of pieces that are not being used any longer, you are clearing the space for all the things that you need. And when I did this, I was able to clear out two full bathroom drawers by moving them to this closet instead. I subtracted the waste and added in massive amounts of space in many other places.
Donation drop-offs are always a wonderful place to take your good condition linens, but there are also women’s and men’s shelters that are in constant need of bedding and towels, homeless outreach programs, and even pet shelters that need them for warmth. Look in your area for organizations that are in need and put those pieces to good use for so many others in need.
Create a Closet Even if You Don’t Have One
And finally, if you don’t have a linen closet and you are reading this as a pipe dream, it’s time to get creative. There are beautiful examples of end of bed benches, open shelving in bathrooms, dressers in a guest room, or utilizing the back of doors to help with storage. So many of these organization items listed here today, as well as ideas for folding and storing, can be implemented in any space that you may have your own linen storage. The point is to make it the most functional for YOU and taking away the annoying stress that linens can cause if improperly stored (like mine was for so very long!).
I hope your found ideas to use within your homes. Ones that can add a sense of calm, add time back in your day, and open up space in your home. Happy Organizing, everyone!
Are we friends on Instagram (@growingupkemper) or Pinterest (@growingupkemper) yet? Follow along for all the attainable DIY projects, tips, tricks, and inspiration!
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