The Linen Closet That Could (but didn't)

Linen closets in older homes tend to be somewhat limited in space, and can fill up with items really quickly.

This closet, in a bungalow, is perfectly located between the kitchen and the bathroom to be become a catch-all for household items that have yet to find a home, or for overflow items, such as decor that is either seasonal or that has yet to be put on display, and for overstock kitchen items that mayn't fit into the kitchen.

Do you see what's missing from this linen closet? The linens!

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you will know that I struggle with holding myself back from having ALL THE LINEN, so this linen closet has the opposite problem from the one in my home.

Here we have a little bit of everything - paper products, brand new kitchen paraphernalia, candles, family photos, bathroom and household supplies.. The linens in this case have been making their cozy home on the spare room bed, which my client identified as a not-so-ideal situation.

The Method

The first step in any organizing project is to determine how a space should function in your home. Due to the central positioning of this closet, we decided that in addition to the linens, bathroom items, household paper products and household items like batteries and cleaning supplies, plus family photos should make their homes here. Items belonging to the main function of the space should take up the prime real estate. This means that the shelf at or near eye level, considered "prime" should be where the linens are stored.

Working with the client, we pulled everything out of this closet and identified what to donate, what should live elsewhere, and what was broken or damaged. All of these things were relocated and we put the closet back together.

The Result

The linen closet now houses the linens, household products are within easy reach, and the space is functional. The spare room bed can be used without needing to clear it off for company.

It's so easy to let our belongings pile up and overwhelm our storage - especially when new items are not assigned a home. We often try to make our storage fit our consumption, resulting in a loss of function (and sometimes in forgetting that we own an item). Imagine how much better our homes would work for us if we allowed our spaces to dictate our consumption!