The 18 Best Organization Ideas for Your Linen Closet

• Roll towels, store sets of sheets inside a pillowcase, and arrange similar items on the same shelf for simple organizational hacks.
• Organize your items in storage bins, between shelf dividers, or on lazy Susans so they’re easy to access.
• Maximize your space by installing under-shelf storage, hanging door organizers, and storing bulky materials in vacuum bags.

Toss out what you don’t want or need.

Make room for more storage by emptying out old or expired products. Start by taking everything out of your linen closet so you can see everything you’re storing inside it. Sort through any medications or toiletries, and throw away all of the ones past their expiration dates. Then, if you notice any ratty, scratchy, or old towels or linens you don’t use anymore, get rid of them so they aren’t taking up space in your closet. It’s a good idea to keep about 2–3 towels per person and an extra set just in case a guest stays over. Save at least 2 sets of sheets for your bed so you can cycle through them too. Try to replace your towels every 2 years so they stay soft and absorbent.

Clean your shelves.

Remove dust and wipe up any spills to keep your linens from getting dirty. Start by vacuuming your shelves with a hose attachment to pick up any loose debris. Focus on the corners of your closet where dust builds up the most. Then, spray an all-purpose cleaner right onto your shelves and wipe them dry with a soft microfiber cloth to remove stubborn dirt. If you don’t have an all-purpose cleaner at home, just make your own by filling a spray bottle with warm tap water and adding a few drops of dish soap. Want a pop of color on your shelves while protecting your items? Add liner paper to prevent wood or laminate from discoloring your sheets or towels. Attach the paper by peeling off the adhesive backing and pressing the sheet flat on the surface.

Roll up your towels and washcloths.

Rolling towels saves space and looks great in your closet. Lay your towel flat and fold the sides into thirds. Start from the short end and tightly roll the towel up into a burrito shape. Try to make the roll as tight as possible so it doesn’t come undone and to help save the most space. Rolled towels store well laying on their sides or standing up on end. Try out a few different positions to see what fits best in your closet.

Tuck sheets inside your pillowcases.

Keep your matching sets together so they’re easy to grab and go. Fold your sheets as tightly as possible so they don’t take up a lot of space. Take one of the matching pillowcases and stuff your sheets inside of it so they don’t come unfolded. When it’s time to make your bed, just grab the pillowcase with the sheet set inside and you’ll have everything you need. When you fold a fitted sheet, bring the corners together rather than trying to line up the elastic band. Then, smooth out the sheet and keep folding it into a neat rectangle.

Place towels and linens vertically in drawers.

See all of your options at a glance with standing towels and linens. If your linen closet has deep drawers, place your towels, washcloths, and folded sheets vertically rather than stacking them on top of each other. This “file fold” lets you see all of your linens and take one out without making a stack look messy or disorganized. This also works well if you roll your towels. Just stand the towels up on their ends so the circular end is pointing up.

Condense bulky bedding into vacuum bags.

Suck the air out of vacuum bags so they fit in tight places. If you have a comforter, duvet, or bulky blanket you aren’t using very often, place them into a vacuum space-saver bag. Attach your vacuum to the bag and suck out all the air from inside. That way, it’ll take up a fraction of the space when you organize your linen closet. If you don’t have space-saver bags, use the largest resealable bag you can find. Stick the end of your vacuum hose in the opening and seal the bag as much as possible. Turn on your vacuum to suck out as much air as possible before pulling out the hose and sealing the bag completely.

Group your items by room or purpose.

Assigned shelves give all of your items a proper place in your closet. Rather than putting all of your items back on random shelves, plan out what each shelf will hold. You may put all your bed linens on one shelf, your bathroom towels and washcloths on another, and paper products on the last. Try to keep the items that you’ll use the most frequently where they’re easy to reach, and items you don’t use as much on a higher shelf.

Sort similar items into bins or baskets.

Keep your shelves looking clean with storage bins and baskets. Look for decorative baskets or plastic storage bins that are large enough to hold all of your items. Separate your items into individual containers so you have one for towels, bed linens, cleaning supplies, medications, and whatever else you’re storing inside your closet. Try to get bins or baskets that match or have complementary colors since clashing designs may make your closet look messier than it actually is. Choose a variety of sizes for your containers. Save larger baskets for bulky towels or bedding and smaller bins for pill bottles or toiletries.

Contain loose items between shelf dividers.

Adding a few shelf dividers creates zones for each item. Look for clear plastic or wire dividers and slide them onto your shelf to install them. Set a stack of folded or rolled linens in between the dividers. Try to group similar items into the same stack so they’re all in the same place.

Pour small toiletries into clear jars.

Easily track what toiletries you're low on with glass jars. Take all your cotton swabs, cotton balls, clothes pins, and any other small toiletries out of their original packages and transfer them to the jars. Keep the jars in an easy-to-reach spot in your linen closet. Once you use the items and see that your jars are almost empty, add them to your list for the next time you’re at the store.

Make items accessible on a lazy Susan.

Spin a lazy Susan for a quick way to move items in your closet. If you have a lot of items you use each day, like lotions, medications, or toiletries, put them all on a lazy Susan. Whenever you need an item, just spin the lazy Susan around until the thing you need is in front and easy to reach. Lazy Susans are perfect if you don’t want to pull out bins or baskets to access items that you use every day.

Maximize space with under-shelf organizers.

Skip the tough install and add shelf space with a under-shelf organizer. Slide the organizer onto your shelf so the storage basket hangs underneath. Put small bins of medicine, washcloths, or any other item that fits into the organizer so you have more shelf space for bulkier items. Under-shelf organizers work best when you have large gaps between your shelves. Make sure the items you want to store on your shelf can still fit after installing the organizer.

Hang a door organizer.

Take advantage of the empty door space with a hanging organizers. Open your linen closet and hang the organizer on the inside of the door. Use the individual compartments in the organizer for bottles of cleaners, sponges, rags, small toiletries, and anything else that doesn’t fit onto your shelves. Try closing your closet door after putting the organizer up to make sure it shuts tightly. If the organizer bumps against your shelves and keeps the door open, then an organizer may not work. Look for a door organizer specifically made to hold an iron and ironing board if you want to hide your laundry supplies inside.

Hide items you don’t use in the back.

Store your seasonal items out-of-reach so they don’t get in the way. If you have items that you only bring out at certain times of the year, like holiday decorations, flannel sheets, or spare comforters, place them on a high shelf so they’re out of sight. If you have deep shelves in your linen closet, put those items back first so you’re able to stack items you use more often in the front. If you have multiples of the same item, place the newest ones in the back of your closet so you use the older ones before they expire or go bad.

Store what you use the most in front.

Give yourself easy access to the things you need daily. You’ll usually need items like medications, lotions, hand towels, and toilet paper more often, so keep them near the front edges of your shelves at a height that’s easy to reach. That way, you won’t have to dig through your linen closet to find them. If you find yourself using an item frequently but it’s stored at the back of the shelf, reposition it to the front. Then, move an item you haven’t used as much to the back to fill in the gap.

Set hampers on the floor.

Store your dirty linens out of sight in a few hampers. If you have space between your bottom shelf and the floor, slide in a hamper to store dirty towels and sheets until the next laundry day. If there’s more room, use one hamper for white linens or towels and another for colored fabrics. Wait until towels are dry before putting them in your hamper so your closet doesn’t develop a musty odor.

Label your items.

Make it easy to find what you’re looking for with short and simple labels. Pull out a label maker and type out all of the items that are in a bin or specific storage area in your closet. Print out the label and attach it directly to the storage bin or on the edge of the shelf. That way, you’ll be able to see where everything is stored at a glance. Example: If you have a bin with medicine and bandages, your label may read “First Aid” or “Pain Relief/Allergy Meds/Bandages.” When you make labels for sets of bed sheets, make sure to include their sizes like “Queen” or “Twin.”

Keep air fresheners in your closet.

Make your linens smell fresh with dryer sheets and lavender sachets. Tuck a dryer sheet between your sheets and towels so they have a fresh scent when you pull them out and use them. Alternatively, place lavender sachets in any bins, baskets, or drawers with your linens if you want a fresh, floral scent. Keep an open box of baking soda to help get rid of musty odors inside your closet.