DECLUTTERING YOUR LIFE ... LINEN CLOSETS

So, how did the book sorting go? Are you ready to move on?

This one should be a lot easier.

LINEN CLOSETS:

Is this what your linen closet looks like?

Here's how to declutter your linen closet:

1. Make matching sets of sheets and pillowcases. Discard anything that is stained or ripped*. Then decide how many sets of sheets you REALLY need. I keep two sets per bed. One set on the bed and one in the wash. I also have a set of fleece sheets for each bed. It gets really cold here in the winter. Then I fold my sheets and put them in the matching pillow cases. Next time you need to change beds everything is together.

*NOTE: Stained or ripped flat sheets can be saved with your painting supplies and used as drop cloths.

A side note on FITTED SHEETS: I'm not going to give you a lesson on how to fold a fitted sheet because I don't know how and I don't care to learn. I kind of fit the curved edges into each other, as best I can, and then I squash it down into a squarish shape. I know some people don't like wrinkled linens. Maybe when my kids are in college, my house is paid off and there is world peace I'll tackle that one, but for now I'm not concerned.

Moving on....

2. I keep one blanket, one electric blanket and one comforter for each bed. These are stored in large plastic bins in my attic during the summer.

Here is my upstairs bathroom closet where we store the sheets and blankets.

3. My 6 throw blankets, are kept in this storage chest that doubles as our coffee table.

4. Make matching sets of towels too. Again toss any that have stains or rips. I keep only two sets of 4 towels for the 4 people in my family. Once a week I wash them and the opposite set is put out. When someone visits they can use the extras.

5. I keep 10 crappy, old towels to use for other things like drying the dog, washing the car or cleaning up spills. I store these in the mudroom.

6. In the bottom of my linen closet I have extra toilet paper, the toilet wand, and a plastic bin of beach towels for swimming. Here is my downstairs bathroom closet.

Now for all the lotions, potions and other stuff. Is this how your closet looks?

Here are the steps to tackling this area.

1. First, toss anything that has expired, is empty or is a travel size. Do you really use those little toothpastes or are they just taking up space?

2. Next, look for bottles of stuff that are the same that you can combine. When I cleaned my closet I found three bottles of the same sun screen that I combined into one. If you can't combine them, put them on the shelf together so you can see them and not think you need to buy more.

3. If you have some storage bins that fit on the shelves use them, but you don't need to go buy anything new. Just organizing what you've got will make a big difference.

4. Next make some decisions: Do you really need three hair dryers? When was the last time you dyed your hair purple? Do you like the smell of peach blossom and pomegranate on your skin? How many spools of floss can one person use?

A side note about your bathroom in general: Try to keep as little on your bathroom counters as possible. It will be so much easier to keep clean.

5. I store medicines in a separate cabinet in my kitchen. I have one shelf for adult medicines and one for children. If you store yours in the bathroom you can keep them all on one shelf, grouped in categories like: allergy, vitamins, cough and cold and first aide. Keep in mind that medicines are not as effective after their expiration dates. Another useful tidbit: if your son is now 14 do you really need the bottle of infant Tylenol anymore? Here is our medicine cabinet.

Note: If you have any prescriptions that are expired you can either mix them with dirt, cat litter or coffee grounds before throwing them away or take them to your local pharmacy or police department for proper disposal.

Next week we'll be tackling the food pantry!