Linen storage closets and cabinets may be one of the most abused storage spaces in our homes. It’s completely utilitarian, and never on display (unless you have glass doors), and often the recipient of constant neglect. It’s not a place we generally want to spend our time or money so we semi-organize it and close the door.
This creates a couple of problems.
First of all, it’s likely that in a state of at least general chaos no one can find anything in the linen closet except maybe me and you. That’s a big maybe.
Secondly, we lose track of what we have, what we don’t have, and what needs replacing. We think we have an extra pillow somewhere in the recesses of our linen cabinet, only to dig through its contents and find nothing…except that beach towel we’ve been hunting for the last couple of summers.
Or we have guests stay with us only to realize too late that our guest towels are 15 years old and have seen their better day.
Okay, maybe your linen storage isn’t that bad, but I think we can agree on the note that our linen closets could use some love.
You may recall my post about How to Fold Fitted Sheets Like a Pro where I show you how to make your sheets look amazing every time you fold them. This week I want to help you tackle your linen closet/cabinet. In a four post series I will give you tips and ideas on how to best organize four different storage space options:
- Small linen cabinet
- Medium Linen cabinet
- Full size linen closet
- Wardrobe or “other” linen storage
This series will help you customize your linen storage no matter how big or small it is and know exactly what you need to do it.
As I was planning out this post, the thought occurred to me that some people may not have a full closet or cabinet to store their linens in so I will address three sizes of linen storage spaces between today and tomorrow. For today, I will show you two sizes of cabinets and how to organize linens in each of them. Tomorrow, I will feature a full linen closet.
On Pinterest you can find and infinite number of beautifully organized linen closets, and I love them all! However, many of them are much larger than what most people have available in their homes. I want to show you how you can utilize even a small linen storage space and make it functional and visually appealing (in case you have glass on your cabinet doors).
Small Linen Cabinet
Let’s start with the small linen cabinet. The cabinet I am using for this post is located over the toilet in our hall bathroom. There are three shelves that each measure 3ft x 8in. I will show you how to store the following items:
- two standard size pillows
- 4 sets of sheets, ranging in size from twin to king
- one blanket
- toilet paper
- towels, washcloths, hand towels
- linen and room sprays
Supplies I bought for this project include:
- Vacuum seal bags for pillow and blanket storage. You can get a set of 12 in various sizes for just $20 HERE. This set also includes a pump that makes sealing super easy.
- Metal basket for linen spray, toilet paper, and extra body products
- Twine for tying sheet sets.
Bottom Shelf
Let’s start at the bottom and work our way up. Obviously, we want the items used most on the bottom for an easy grab, so towels, washcloths and hand towels go here:
To ensure that your towels fit with the depth of the shelf, create a trifold which decreases their depth.
Middle Shelf
On the next shelf, I put a basket with linen and room sprays, toilet paper, and other bathroom supplies like lotion and shampoo. I will also put the king size sheets here because they take up quite a bit of space.
I don’t know if it’s necessary to store show so many sheet sets in one place, but I want you to see how we can maximize even this small space and make it look good.
Upper Shelf
The upper shelf has an extra blanket and pillow that I vacuum sealed so they would fit in the cabinet. I was pleasantly surprised with how easily the vacuum sealed items fit in the cabinet.
Here is the finished product:
Simple, right?
Everything is organized based on frequency of use, but you can rearrange it based on your personal needs. Maybe you have fewer sets of sheets, or you put toilet paper on the bottom shelf for easy access. The pieces of the puzzle are completely customizable.
**NOTE** This design would also work with open shelving. I would recommend stacking the sheet sets as opposed to standing them up (as shown on the highest shelf). I would also stack the vacuum sealed items.
Linen storage can be tricky when our homes are “spacial-y challenged,” but there is always a way to get organized with that we have. The good news is we were able to set this linen cabinet up for less than $30!
In the next segment of this series I will tackle a medium sized linen cabinet. It’s actually a full-size cabinet, but it is a built in rather than an actual closet and therefore still limited on space.
Do you have any linen storage tricks up your sleeve? How do you utilize small linen storage to serve your family?
