How to organize a linen closet
About 7 minutes to read. Published . By the House & Hedge team.
A linen closet is the easiest storage space to ruin, because everything in it looks alike. Sheets slide off a shelf, a fitted sheet becomes a ball, and the matching pillowcase is never where the sheet is. A method that works is simple. Decide how many of each thing you need, put each sheet set in one bundle so it stays together, and plan the shelves so what you use most is easiest to reach. This guide takes those steps in order, then covers blankets and comforters, and finishes with what damages linens in storage.
Take it all out and count
Empty every shelf onto a bed. Sort into piles by kind: sheet sets by bed size, bath towels, hand towels, washcloths, beach towels, blankets, comforters, pillowcases and pillows. Count each pile. Most people find they have three times as many towels as anyone uses and no pillowcase to go with the sheet they need.
Set a number for each:
- Sheets: two sets per bed. One is on the bed and one is clean in the closet. Add a third only for a bed that needs changing often, such as a young child’s.
- Bath towels: two per person, plus a few for guests. One is in use and one is in the wash or drying.
- Hand towels and washcloths: one hand towel per person for the bathroom, and a stack of washcloths for the week.
- Blankets and comforters: one for each bed in use, a spare for each season, and a throw or two.
If the count you hold is higher than the number you set, the extras are the first to go.
What to let go
Let go of anything that is thin enough to see through, stained in a way that has not washed out, worn at the folds, torn, or that has lost its elastic. Odd sheets go too: a flat sheet without its fitted partner, or a pillowcase from a set whose sheets are long gone. A sheet that does not fit any bed you own goes, whatever it cost.
Not everything has to go to the trash. A worn but clean towel or blanket can become a cleaning rag. Ask local animal shelters and rescue groups whether they take old towels and blankets before you drop any off, because they differ in what they accept. Sheets that are still good go to a donation center.
Fold each sheet set into its own pillowcase
This one habit does more than any other. Fold the flat sheet, the fitted sheet and the other pillowcase from the set, and slide the bundle into one of the set’s pillowcases. The set stays together, a shelf of sets stacks flat and straight, and you take out one thing and put one thing back.
Folding a fitted sheet
A fitted sheet will never fold into a perfect rectangle. A neat bundle is enough.
- Turn the sheet inside out and hold it by two corners along one short edge, with a hand inside each corner pocket.
- Bring your hands together and tuck one corner pocket into the other, so the two corners nest.
- Pick up the next two corners the same way, nest them, and tuck that pair over the first, so all four corners sit together.
- Lay the sheet on a table with the nested corners at one side and smooth it flat. The elastic edge is now one straight side.
- Fold it in thirds one way, then in half or thirds the other way, into a flat bundle about the size of the flat sheet folded.
Fold the flat sheet in the same way, in thirds or in quarters, to the same size. Stack the fitted sheet, the flat sheet and the spare pillowcase together, and slide the bundle into the pillowcase.
Marking the size
Put the bed size where you can see it from the front of the shelf. Sew a small tag onto the pillowcase, or tie a piece of ribbon, and use one color per bed. A guest looking in the closet then knows which bundle belongs to which bed.
Towels
Fold each towel in thirds along its length, then in half. Stack with the fold toward the front, so that the stack shows a clean, even edge. Keep bath towels, hand towels and washcloths in separate stacks. Put the newest at the bottom or the back and take from the top or the front, so that the whole stack wears evenly.
Towels must go in dry. A damp towel in a closed closet is how a closet gets a smell. If your towels smell musty even when they come out of the dryer, the problem is in the wash and not the closet, and the guide on musty towels and laundry covers the fix.
The shelf plan
Plan the shelves from the top down.
- Top shelf: things you reach for a few times a year: the guest bed set, the spare winter blanket, a comforter that is out of season. Store each in a breathable cotton bag, such as a spare pillowcase tied shut, and not in plastic.
- Eye level: the sheet sets you use, in bundles, by bed size.
- Waist level: towels, in stacks by kind. They are the heaviest, and you reach for them often.
- Lower shelf or floor: baskets for beach towels, picnic blankets, cleaning rags and the pillow protectors.
Leave a hand’s width of room on each shelf. A packed shelf is hard to use, and a stack that is squashed sideways comes apart when you remove the bottom set.
Comforters, blankets and pillows
A comforter is the biggest item in the closet, and it needs the most care. Feathered Friends, a maker of down products, says to be sure a comforter or pillow is completely dry before storing it. Sleep Foundation says a comforter used with a duvet cover or top sheet likely only needs washing once or twice a year, and one used without a cover, or by someone with allergies, pets or heavy night sweating, about every three to six months. The two sources are about washing, not storage, but together they tell you the plan: wash it on schedule, dry it completely, and then store it. The guide to washing a down comforter and pillows goes through the steps.
For storage, UGA Cooperative Extension, writing about textiles meant to last, says never to wrap textiles in plastic, because plastic blocks airflow, which can lead to mold, and because clear plastic does not block light. Use a cotton bag, or a box that is acid free or lined with washed muslin, which is what the page advises for boxes. The same page says to store textiles away from light.
What damages linens in storage
UGA Cooperative Extension’s advice for keeping textiles has four points that apply to a linen closet.
- Store them clean. If soiled textiles are stored, the chances of insect, mold or mildew problems increase. That includes a towel that has been used once.
- Keep them out of humid and unheated spaces. The page advises against storing textiles where it is too humid, and against attics and basements, which lack winter heat and summer cooling. A closet that backs onto a bathroom or an outside wall may be damp. If yours is, move the linens to a drier closet or to a bedroom shelf. If the closet itself smells, the guide on finding and fixing bad smells in the house covers where to look.
- Do not keep cotton and linen in a cedar chest. The page says not to store cellulosic fibers, which include cotton, linen and rayon, in cedar chests.
- Do not leave the same folds in place for years. The page says textiles tend to split where consistent creases and pressure are placed, and advises repositioning the folds several times a year. For a linen closet, the easy way is to refold a set differently each time you wash it, and to turn the stack when you rotate.
Keeping it going
The closet stays tidy as long as sets go back as sets. After each wash, put the clean bundle back at the bottom of its stack and take the next one from the top. Once a season, take everything out, check for damp, and let go of anything that has worn out. Keep the numbers you set at the start, and when a new set comes in, an old one goes.
The same approach works on the rest of the house: the dresser and its drawers and the closet.
