Do-It-Yourself Linen Closet

Linens remain fresh when stored in a proper linen closet.

A linen closet allows you to easily find linens for household usage. Sheets stay neat and clean for family members and guests. Towels stay fluffy and fresh. Many linen closets become a catch-all for items that have no permanent place. Taking the time to make a linen closet gives you a functional space for storage.

Things You'll Need

• Armoire or empty closet
• Adjustable shelving
• Damp cloth
• Un-buffered acid-free tissue paper
• Baskets or drawers
• Linens
• Labels

Instructions

1. Examine existing linens. Determine exactly what items you want to store in the linen closet. Remove all items that are no longer used or in good condition. Sort linens into piles according to what they are: sheets, towels, comforters, blankets, table linens and so on.

2. Identify where you wish to store the linens. A linen closet can be contained within a traditional closet or in an amoire, dresser or a chest. Linen closets ideally feature a cool, dry environment.

3. Add shelving system of your choice to the traditional closet. Adjustable shelving works well as it can change as the family needs change. Amoires typically come with existing shelving. Purchase additional shelving and installation kits, if necessary.

4. Clean the shelves, walls and drawers with a cloth dampened with tap water. Allow to thoroughly dry.

5. Line the shelves and bottoms of drawers with un-buffered acid-free tissue paper to protect fragile linens. Wrap antique linens with the tissue paper to prevent yellowing.

6. Place each set of sheets into one of the matching pillowcases. Include the other pillowcases that complete the bed set. Group by bedroom and stack on shelves.

7. Group towels according to which bathroom they belong. Stack by size on shelves.

8. Store comforters on roomy shelves in open bags. Martha Stewart recommends that they not be compressed or stored under heavy objects.

9. Organize blankets by bedroom and season. Place the heaviest blankets on the shelves or in the drawer first. Stack the lighter blankets on top.

10. Group linens according to size. For example, all tablecloths in one pile, napkins in another. Further organize by season or frequency of usage.

11. Place extra-toiletries on a separate shelf from the linens, or place them in bins. This prevents stains in the event of leakage.

12. Place identification labels on the edges of shelves and on drawers. This saves time when trying to quickly identify linens. For example, if you have different sizes of bed sheets, labels allow for quick identification.

Tips & Warnings

• When using sheets and towels from the linen closet, remove the ones from the top of the stack first. Refill the closet by placing clean sheets and towels on the bottom of the stack. This rotation provides fresher linens.

• The addition of baking soda, dryer sheets or lavender sachets helps in preventing musty linens.

References

• Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Book; Martha Stewart; 2006
• HGTV: Organizing your Linen Closet