Organizing Made Fun: Organizing your linen closet (part 3)

Feel free to go back over this series.

OK, so now that we've gone through all our old sheets and gotten those out and learned how to fold all our sheets, what else is in your linen closet? Well, I'll tell you what's in mine:

- 2 sleeping bags

- Lots of beach towels

- Several (white) guest towels

- Blankets (since we live in So. Cal. we don't use them too much)

- Aprons

- Table cloths

- A basket full of guest amenities

- A drawer full of old towels and sheets

(for drop cloths and such)
- A couple of pieces of luggage

- Misc. things

Now, let me tell you that in our old house I had a teeny, tiny linen closet compared to the one I have now! The one I have now has six bottom drawers, two top doors, and two doors in the middle. This house is old and the charm of it is that there are a lot of neat built ins - and my linen closet is one of them! Honestly, I have about three of those drawers completely empty! Just because I have the space doesn't mean I need to use it!

Let's talk about your towels. There are a couple of ways I fold towels in my linen closet. I keep my pile of white guest towels and towels that will be hung up folded so that you just pull them out and hang them right up like this:

But they take a little more work to fold that way - and take up a little more room. I have another quicker and easier way I fold beach towels or other towels you use around the house but don't need to hang up. This way can easily be done "in the air" so you won't need much for a table or bed to fold on either. I'm able to fit the towels in better folding them this way and get more in a smaller area. For the sake of taking photos, though....I put it on the bed.

1. Long ways
2. Fold in half
3. Fold in half (sideways)
4. Fold 1/3 up
5. Fold over last 1/3

Make sure you find ways of keeping like with like - twin sheets separate from full size. Towels with towels. It's a good idea, if you are able, to have a small basket of hotel-sized goodies for your guests to pull out when you have them over. I usually set out the basket on the counter when I have a guest over and just use hotel shampoos or soaps and make it look pretty! I have used a left-over few baskets that I used in my daughter's nursery in her changing table and re-purposed them in the linen closet and have them labeled for each different size of sheets.

I suggest that if you have WAY too many towels and not enough room for them (you know, just like the sheets that are old and yucky), if you have too many different kinds of table clothes - pitch them. Even if you have really old, antique linens that seem to be precious, but you don't have the room for them - give them to someone who will cherish them. Sometimes we hang on to things we really don't need or have room for them.

Week 1 - Finding a place for your linen closet

Week 2 - Folding sheets to fit inside

Parties:
Ask Anna Challenge