How to Organize a Linen Closet

Do you have a closet in your home that is just plain scary to go into?
I had one. The very thought of even having to open the door to it, would have me stressed out.
This is the closet in our home that was referred to as "The Monica Closet".
It was overloaded with samples, towels, cleaning products…small woodland animals.
You name it, I had it.

Organizing a Linen Closet
Here I will show you a very simple and inexpensive way to get yourself organized…and stay organized!

This is the BEFORE pic of our terrifying linen closet.

Linen Closet Before Organizing
Let me tell you, this pic does the closet justice! lol.
Our closet goes pretty deep back, so you can only imagine how much insanity was lurking.

Now…Let's get started!

Step 1) EMPTY the entire closet. Yep. Just take every single thing out. Towels and blankets too. You will be refolding those (nice and neat and SMALL to save space!!)

Step 2) PURGE. Seriously, you will need to learn to let go. Half used Shampoo's, old medications, empty bottles of hairspray etc. Get rid of anything that you really do not use.

I know sometimes it's hard to "let go" of items, especially if you think you may use them again.

But really – If you haven't used the product in the last 6 months, toss it! It's taking up valuable space!

REMEMBER: Recycle, Reduce, Re-Use

Medication: Please remember to dispose of these properly. Never flush or throw away your expired medication.

Other: Lots of shelters would be grateful for your generosity. Keep this in mind before tossing items that are still perfectly good, but just may have no use to you.Okay – So now I have de-cluttered and eliminated items I know my family will no longer need.

I digress…Here is what I was left with after the purge of unneeded and "bigger items"

Pile of Sample Items

Yes, I realize I look like a sample hound, but we really do utilize these items!
Not only do I love trying new products, but I love sharing as well…
If you're ever over for a visit, guaranteed you are leaving with a "Goodie Bag" 🙂

What a mess!! See those boxes?

They were also filled with all sorts of little samples. So I really had some work to do here.

Again – I had to PURGE. Making sure to toss anything expired etc.

Remember: Things like vapo rub, suntan lotions and whitestrips all have expiration dates!

The next thing I did was Categorize

My categories go like this:

Travel

Medical

Laundry

Hair Care

Face & Lotion
Feminine Products

Organizing Sample Products

I had 2 containers already on hand, which you can see above.

I used a small fishing lure tackle box to sort Hair Ties/Clips/Bobby Pins and the other container I have used for Nail Polish.

Once I could physically see how much of each category I actually had, I could then pretty much figure out how big of containers each category was going to need. I went to Target and purchased a bunch of little buckets and containers.

Empty Buckets for Organizing

After that – Things were easy. Time to store all our fun stuff!!

After putting all the items into their containers… I grabbed my label maker and labeled the buckets:

Organizing a Linen Closet Labeled Containers

As you can see, I have a purple make-up bag.

This holds all the things that go along with my nail polishes. Cotton Balls, Files.

It will be put into the nail polish bucket, before I close it up! Remember! You're eliminating CLUTTER!

Ahhh.. a HUGE sigh of relief. Everything is right there for us to see and grab…NO MORE SEARCHING!
No more things falling on our heads, no more stuff flying out the door :))

For the bottom shelf, I bought larger buckets.
One that holds cleaning supplies and one that holds full size products, that have not been used (Body wash, Bubble Bath etc).
I also bought some stacking containers, in which the lids snap together {pointed out in after photo}.
These are perfect for every day essentials (Q-Tips, Tweezers etc).
In the wicker basket {as shown} is where I keep my hair straightener and hair straightener holder.
I also have a sewing kit in that basket 🙂

Adding in additional closet space now (for more towels etc) is no trouble at all, as our closet is also deep on the side.
Essentially I can move the containers over – But left them out in the open, for effect 🙂

I hope this will help inspire you to organize. There is nothing more lovely then a neat and tidy home!

Take Care,