Organizing My Linen Closet

Last month, I highlighted some of the products I used to make my kitchen more functional.  This month I want to highlight the other area of my home that I tackled when I first started my organizational journey...the linen closet. 

I call it a linen closet, but it has to do so much more than just hold my linens. It is a very large closet, but it is the only storage I have in my home besides a tiny coat closet by my front door. 

Here is the before. (No judging please!)

As you can see, it holds a lot of stuff including board games, books, exercise equipment, first aid, and so much more. 

So, how did I tackle this mess? With the following three steps. 

1. Purge

Before you can organize anything, first you have to purge. No matter how hard you try, you cannot organize an area if there is too much in it.  

• Books & Board Games - I started by going through the children's books and board games in the closet. I put these in boxes to take to my local used book store to sell. 
• First Aid & Medicine - I threw out anything expired. 
• Craft & Art Supplies - I had a lot of leftover craft supplies for kids' school projects and Halloween costumes.  We are not big crafters, and I really did not need this much leftover felt, foam, and other supplies. I went through and threw out any scraps. Then I picked one medium size bucket. Whatever didn't fit in that bucket had to go.  
• Towels & Blankets - I went through and got rid of any old towels and blankets that are just worn out.  I put these aside to donate to my local animal shelter. 
• Linens - I like to have two sets of sheets for each bed in the house. One set that is on the bed and an extra set in case we need to make a quick change in the middle of the night. I went through and pick my favorite sets of sheets and then got rid of any extras. Top sheets also went to the animal shelter, and I repurposed old pillowcases as dusters for my ceiling fans. 

2. Relocate

Next, I went through what was in the closet and determine that some things needed a new home.  Lightbulbs and home fragrance backstock were moved to the laundry room cabinets.  The giant bowling set and some bulkier pieces of exercise equipment were moved to the garage.  My husband's paperwork was moved into the file cabinet (after we purge some unneeded papers). 

3. Organize

Now for the fun part! 

• Contain - The majority of the containers I used I already owned. They were either in the closet beforehand or repurposed from other areas in the house.  I did purchase the gray and white baskets for my towels from Target. They are only $12 for a large basket.  The other containers I purchased were the flat plastic bins, which I used to help create the memory center on the top shelf of the right side of the closet. They are more expensive, but I love how well they stack, they lock close, and are great for kids' artwork, photos, and other small keepsakes. I like containers for a few reasons. One, they help keep things more organized by containing the mess.  Things are less likely to stay in place when they are just on a shelf.  Next, they are easier to label. (More on this later.) But most importantly, it forces me to declutter.  If what I have doesn't fit in the designated container, something has to go. 

• Zone - Next I tried to group things in the closet by function or where the containers fit best.  Books and board games are together because they are both for entertainment. Larger bins that stack well go to the bottom of the closet. Toiletries and toilet paper backstock live together. I even ended up with enough room to move extra school supplies and office supplies from a wire rack in the kitchen to the closet and to create a memory center at the top.  This led to me going through and getting rid of bins of stuff that were stacked in the bedroom. 

• Lable - Lastly, it was time to label.  All of the containers and baskets get a label. Why? So no one in the house has an excuse for not putting things back where they go. It is about accountability. Plus it is nice to look at. My labeling supplies included: 
• Dymo Handheld Label Maker - I picked mine up at Walmart.
• Dymo Label Refills - Prefer clear, especially on clear bins, but I do use white label tape on occasion.  For example, my white office supply bins have white labels. 
• Talented Kitchen Labels & Clips - I bought the white set. I also used their pantry labels.  They have other fonts available. Visit their Amazon Storefront to see their wide selection. 
• Dry Erase Basket Clips - The label set does not come with enough clips, so I use these as well. These are plastic and dry-erase clips. I use these all over my house and always keep extras for when I need them.  I usually make a label and stick it on them when I know that it is a more permanent storage solution, instead of using the dry-erase markers.

Now here is the after. (I just now noticed that Ticket to Ride isn't in its home while editing the picture. Oops!) Overall, it is a huge improvement and has increased the functionality of this closet 10-fold.