Organizing the Linen Closet
My linen closet was long overdo for some organizing. I had done a thorough organizing job last year, but it seemed to take no time at all to be made into a mess again.
I decided it time to organize the linen closet when my husband was sick and claimed we were out of certain medicines he needed. I knew they were “somewhere” but couldn’t find them, resulting in buying more medicine. We don’t use a lot of medicine and usually throw out a lot that has expired - so buying duplicates was simply wasting money.
The last time I organized the linen closet, I used a few bins, thinking this would solve the problem of closet messes. This time, I decided to use a few more dollar store bins, and also some white sticky labels that I found at the dollar store. My thinking is this - if everything is clearly labelled, I, and those I live with, will be more likely to simply put things where they belong.
Here is how I organized the linen closet:
Top shelf: Since we have young children in the house, I used the top shelf to organize our medicines. I opted for one large bin, and labelled one half of the bin for kids medicine and the other half for adult medicine.
Second shelf: On the second shelf, I used two containers. The first container is for rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, calamine lotions, and some oils. I decided to label each item, as these are often the items that certain someone’s cannot find. In the second container, I put samples and sunscreen.
Third shelf: For the third shelf, I decided to not use any containers. These are items infrequently used and therefore lining them up neatly should suffice (should, being the key word there!). They are labelled beneath with their appropriate titles: soap, bubble bath, lotion. I also dedicated a spot for face cloths (though my cloths are currently in the laundry, so they’re not in the photo)
Fourth shelf: The fourth shelf is for our towels. I opted to roll my towels as my folded towels always end up looking messy. I separated hand towels and bath towels with labels, and decided to put my beach towels on the floor, rolled up.
Floor: The floor now holds our paper products - toilet paper, paper towels, and facial tissues. For the time being, I simply have them lined up, though I may end up using 3 large bins for each of the products. I am not sure which is more appealing, lining them up neatly or putting them in bins. What would you do?
So, that is how I organized our linen closet. Once I began, it wasn’t that bad, and in the end, I found it to be very worthwhile. I discovered things I had misplaced, purged a lot of almost empty and expired items, and realized we were low on a few items (so now I know to watch for sales).
I am eager to see if we are able to maintain the closet this time. I am very hopeful that the labels will make a difference!
Do you use dollar store bins & labels to organize your linen closet?
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I live in an apartment with my daughter, so storage space is at a premium. I have been using the baskets from the dollar store, like you have on the top shelf, for years to organize. I use them in my kitchen to organize packaged foods like pasta and rice; in my bathroom cupboard to organize toiletries, hair supplies, make-up, and first aid supplies and medicines/vitamins; and on the top shelves in our bedroom closets to hold small items that we don’t use all the time like seasonal items, purses, and accessories.
I love those baskets…they make all my cupboards and closets look so neat and organized.
I need to organize all my closets. it’s on my summer to do list. Awesome ideas about rolling towels.
I live in a small apartment and storage space is pretty limited. I’ve tried using bins and different shelving, but it all gets really messy very quickly Maybe using smaller bins to store a specific type of item will work better for me.
I also agree the towel idea is fantastic! I have to start doing that. Thanks for the tips!