HG Openhouse Blog

Victorian women took great pride in their linen closets. Piles of sheets, pillowcases and towels as well as table linens would be neatly arranged for display topped off with a sachet bag filled with lavender. I’m not a big fan of housework, but I figure if I’m gonna do it, I may as well take a little pride in it.

If you joined me last week in decluttering your linen closet then you are now ready to take a little pride in re-organizing your remaining linens.

This won’t take more than an hour and I guarantee you’ll be thrilled with the results. Here’s a few tips to get you started:

-Store like with like. Place your towels on one shelf, your bedding on another, your table linens on another etc.

-Store your bulkiest items like comforters and blankets on upper shelves which are usually roomier and use shelf-dividers to keep them from falling over onto one another. Or if shelf-space is minimal, store these items in a blanket box or vintage steamer trunk.

-Store hand towels or linen napkins in drawers or on a shelf in small stackable wicker or plastic baskets.

-Placemats should be stacked flat and each set can be separated with a piece of tissue or cardboard.

- Store folded sheet sets inside the matching pillowcase to your sheet keep matched sets together.

- I love the Victorian tradition of adding a little fragrance to your linen cupboard. I keep a bar of fresia soap in my towel cupboard and I’ve used scented candles as well. Another option is to line the shelves with scented drawer liners or place scented sachets on top of each pile of linens. You can alternate your scents to match the seasons or have your signature scent year ’round.

- some cedar chips will keep your linens moth free

-Linen spray is a great way to lightly scent your cotton or flannel sheets — just give them a spritz before ironing or folding.

Now that your linen cupboard is organized, take a few extra minutes to keep it that way. Put typed or decorative labels on the front of each shelf/basket so you and your family members will remember where things are to be found/returned.

I love that feeling of knowing a small corner of my home is freshly organized, don’t you? Best of all it doesn’t have to cost a thing. But then again, after all that hard work of decluttering and organizing you might want to buy some pretty new thing for your linen closet. I just couldn’t resist some new bedding for the spare bed. We really needed it. Honest. But I’ll save that story for another time.

What tips do you have for creating a linen collection you can take pride in?