A Quick And Easy Linen Closet Refresh

I don’t know what it is about January, but I usually get the urge to refresh and organize once the Christmas décor is put away.  So, this past week I took everything out of our Master bedroom linen closet and gave it a refresh in less than a day.  When I shared this quick and easy linen closet refresh in my Instagram Stories, I received more comments than I ever have for any décor project.  And my subsequent post turned out to be one of my most popular posts of all time. I have to say I was pretty surprised by this- I guess there’s just something about an organized closet!  Any project that can be completed in a day and for under $100 is a good one in my books. And it’s super satisfying to see the after photo side by side the original unorganized mess.

Our linen closet is a good size with double doors and 5 shelves.  Everything was in good repair, so it was just a matter of paring down and organizing.  If your closet needs additional shelving or painting, now is a good time to do it.  Here’s the before of our closet:

A quick and easy linen closet refresh – Planning

The first step is deciding how you would like your closet to look and then creating a plan.  I started out on Pinterest and ended up at some excellent blogging sites that had great closet organization ideas.  I found inspiration for the refresh from the Blesser House blog. Once I had a plan in place, I made a quick drawing of our closet and decided the layout of baskets vs. loose items I wanted to have.  It’s pleasing to the eye to have at least 50% of your items in baskets, bins, or attractive storage boxes. I used a ratio of about 70/30 for baskets to loose items (that’s my science background talking!).

Assess what you have

I made a quick assessment of what I wanted to have in the closet- lets call this a linen supply list.  For example, I wanted 6 bath towels, 4 hand towels, 10 face towels, 4 sets of sheets, 2 bath mats, 2 spare shower curtains, 12 blankets, my pillow cover collection, toilet paper, cleaning products and a couple bath products. It didn’t matter if I already had these things or not as I planned to buy whatever was missing. 

Once I knew exactly what I wanted to store in the closet, I decided how many baskets would be needed.  I looked around my own house for any baskets similar in appearance, and I found several water hyacinth and wicker baskets in the same tone.  Then I made a shopping list of baskets (including approximate dimensions) I wanted to buy.  I still needed some contrasting baskets, so I looked online and found affordable ones at Canadian Tire.  I chose this store because I’m a bit impatient and wanted a local store where I could pick up items the same day.

Paring Down

Most of the time, we just have too much in our closets and no matter how we organize it, it will not look neat and tidy. That’s why it’s usually necessary to pare down. I actually do this quite regularly because I don’t like clutter and I don’t like having too much “stuff”. This is an essential step for this quick and easy linen closet refresh.

Some people advocate removing everything and then sorting everything into piles to keep, items to move to another location, items to give away, and things to throw out.  I find it easier to have a donation bag, garbage bag, and a box or two right in front of the closet.  That way, as I remove things, I can place them directly where they need to go, rather than moving them twice. 

Find a new home for out of place items

Decide if there’s anything in the closet that doesn’t fit within your defined parameters for the closet.  For me, anything that wasn’t used to supply the Master Bedroom or Master Bathroom was moved to its proper location. I had photo albums, scrap books, and craft supplies in this closet, and clearly, they didn’t belong there. Having to remove things can create additional organization projects, but in the meantime these items can be placed together in a box and set aside. If your closet is small, think about where you could move some items- perhaps toilet paper and soaps could be store in the bathroom cabinets, or children’s linens could all be consolidated in a main hall closet (if you have one).  Extra blankets could go on a blanket ladder or in an under-the-bed storage box.

Deciding what to donate

Blankets, sheets and towels that are not overly worn and not stained can be donated.  I decided to simplify the colour scheme in our closet so I ended up giving away some towels to a family member.  If you have too many of something, or you find there are things you almost never use, consider donating them.

Deciding what to throw away

Linens that are worn out or stained beyond repair or that never smell fresh no matter how many times you wash them should be discarded, or they could be stored in the basement or garage for plumbing projects or other messy jobs.

Deciding what to keep

Keep items that are on your linen supply list (from the planning stage above), but only if these items are in good condition and you want to continue using them.  Things that don’t fit with your colour scheme can simply be stored in enclosed baskets- you don’t need to get rid of them.

Shopping!

Shopping is one of the most enjoyable steps of this quick and easy linen closet refresh. Decide what items you’ll need to buy by comparing the items you are keeping with your linen supply and basket storage list.  I needed new bath towels, face towels, and some baskets. I was able to purchase the towels at Homesense and the baskets at Canadian Tire and it only took me about an hour and a half.  It definitely helps to make a detailed list to save time. I decided that I wanted all white towels- I love that look and white is great because it can be bleached.

The Fun Part

Once I had everything home (and washed), I simply followed my plan that I had created. I realized that I had an empty basket at the top of the closet so I was able to use it to store my knitting supplies, which I don’t use that often.  Sheets are notoriously difficult to fold perfectly, so I stuck these in baskets, while fluffy white towels are easy to fold and look pretty out in the open.

A few design principles for closet organization

Repetition and Contrast

I think that design is all about repetition versus contrast. This is a principle that works for music compositions too- imagine a song that has no repeating elements and meanders all over the place from start to end. When we repeat elements, like the same size storage bin or baskets of the same material and colour, it satisfies our inner craving for order and it is pleasing to the eye.  But if we used all the same size and colour baskets, the design might look boring or contrived.

Choose a Colour Scheme

I think the ideal number of colours is 3-4.   My dominant colours are white (towels, sheets, basket liners) and a golden beige (water hyacinth and wicker baskets).  I also used lesser accents of black (metal baskets) and galvanized metal (cleaning supply caddy, candle/jar lids). I used a very neutral colour scheme, but it definitely doesn’t have to be that way- just choose 2-3 main colours and perhaps a couple additional neutrals like black and silver.

Group Like Things Together

This always looks better than having random stacks of things.  I stacked all my white towels together, and like-coloured blankets together. My candles and soap were grouped to one side of a shelf, and my cleaning supplies were placed in a metal caddy.

Hide the Less Attractive Things

We do have some colourful blankets, so I chose to put those in the lined metal baskets so they wouldn’t compete with the colour scheme I created.

Practical Considerations

Make sure you have enough sheets, blankets and towels so that you don’t have to do laundry too often. No one likes to have to run a load of laundry in order to have a shower!

Keep the most commonly used items between waist level and eye level, and preferably in storage containers that don’t have lids.

Add labels to baskets if there are multiple users of the closet or if you think you might forget what’s stored in some of the baskets.  Chalkboard labels are super cute and seem to go with all colour schemes.

I hope you have enjoyed this quick and easy linen closet refresh post. Have fun organizing!

Do you want to see more shelving and organization? Check out my post Installing Open Shelves – An Easy DIY Tutorial.