How to Organize Your Linen Closet

To help you bring order to your linen closet, we’ll look at the basics that everyone can benefit from, plus a few optional organizing tools that may work for you.

Choose a central location. It may be tempting to store sheets, towels and other linens according to where they will be used, but that’s not usually the best option, and here’s why: When you need to use something, you will go get it, no matter where it’s stored. But if you’re trying to put away a mountain of laundry and it seems inconvenient to trek back and forth across the house to put things away in various closets, the job might not get done.

If possible, choose a central location with enough room to fit all your sheets and towels, and it will be easier to maintain.

Subdivide and conquer. Sheets and towels have a way of toppling over — a problem made worse when you have lots of linens sharing space on an undivided stretch of shelving. If your linen closet has wide open shelves, invest in shelf dividers to keep piles upright. And if the shelving is adjustable, move the shelves closer together so you can fit only a short stack of towels or sheets on each shelf. Toppling piles, begone!

Tip: Unless you can tell at a glance whose sheets are whose, it helps to use shelf labels to designate which bedroom the sheets belong in. We LOVE this idea!

Protect guest and out-of-season bedding from dust. If you have a rarely used guest room or live in a climate that necessitates a full change of bedding (say, from thick duvet to lightweight quilt) twice each year, you’ll need a place to put the items not currently in rotation. Instead of cluttering up your linen closet with items that you know you won’t be touching for three to six months, give them a home that will keep them out of the way and dust-free.

Zippered bags and bins designed for this purpose are ideal — stow them under a guest bed or on a high shelf. And remember to launder bedding before storing it away

More Organizing Options

Pullout baskets. If you’re starting from scratch or considering a new system, sliding baskets can make an excellent choice for household linens. The open design keeps air flowing around your sheets and towels, and makes it easy to spot what you need at a glance. They also make a great addition to very deep linen closets, since you can simply pull out the drawer to reach what’s at the very back.

Pillowcase trick. One good way to keep sets of sheets tidy (especially when you don’t have subdivided shelving) is to simply tuck each folded sheet set inside its own pillowcase. This makes an easy-to-grab bundle that looks neat and won’t topple.

Labeled bins. Big fabric-covered bins with built-in labels look neat on the shelf and make it easy to drop in sets of sheets or towels that go to the same place. Get bins in a range of sizes, and they can handle everything from washcloths to quilts.

Hanging rod. If you have lots of tablecloths and runners to store, hanging them over a closet rod will keep them wrinkle-free.

Tip: If you rarely use your fine linens, store them inside a garment bag instead.

Wrap-up Quiz 

• Are most of your everyday sheets and towels stored together in one spot?
• Is it easy to find what you need right away?
• Do your shelves have some white space (no toppling piles)?

When you can answer “yes” to these three questions, you’ll know your linen closet is on the right track.