Posted by Kerri Rodley in General | 0 Comments
Decluttering Dilemma – The Linen Cupboard…
Decluttering Dilemma Competition Winner
Dilemma
My dilemma is how to organise my linen closet, which is very small and only has 3 shelves. There are so many sheets and towels and a couple of quilt covers that I rotate through the seasons. In summer, electric blankets and doonas need to be stored until winter comes around. Every time I open the linen closet a doona springs out at me and it’s difficult to actually get to things that are right at the back or up high. Unfortunately my bed goes right to the floor and there is no room underneath to store anything there and my wardrobe is neatly organised but at capacity. Much appreciate your advice.
Solution
Thanks for your decluttering dilemma Susan. The linen cupboard is a thorn in the side of many homes – especially now that we have doonas and bulky items replacing easy to stack blankets and throws.
Purge & Sort: When was the last time you went through what was in there? Theoretically you only need 2 sets of sheets/pillowcases per bed: one on the bed and one in the wash. Same with bath towels, 2 per family member, one being used, one in wash and a couple for guests. Beach towel – one per person. It is amazing how we collect so many sheets and towels and never use them.
Store: A great storage idea is vacuum sealed bags – but not the old style that sucked it into a misshaped block that you couldn’t store easily. These days they have a square or rectangular case around the outside so when you are sucking it into shape, it turns into a cube or flat rectangle for easy storage. They are easy to grab with handles for when they are stored at the back of the cupboard too. Howard Storage World has a huge range of these in all shapes and sizes and I regularly recommend them to my clients for their linen.
Is there anywhere at all besides the linen cupboard that you can store the out of season items? Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. One client ended up storing linen in her kitchen as she had a spare cupboard! My husband put a railing up in the garage and I have all my winter coats hanging out there in sealed covers (Susan has since informed me she found room in boxes on top of her kitchen cupboards).
The same goes with your clothing wardrobe – when was the last time you had a purge? Remember the 80/20 rule: we only wear 20% of our clothing 80% of the time. Grab a trusted friend, put on some fun music and do a fashion show (like the girls did in Sex and the City). Feel good about donating clothes to charity; a great one for business type clothing is www.dressforsuccess.org/brisbane in Fortitude Valley but they have them around Australia.
With these ideas, I hope your linen cupboard no longer gives you any nasty surprises when you open the door Susan!