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A Clean Start

Clear out everything so you can see to the back of your closet. Then be picky about deciding what to store. The closet should contain only items for your personal, interior life: the sheets you sleep on, the towels that touch your body. Items such as harsh cleaning chemicals and tennis rackets can have a home elsewhere. Label shelves and containers, giving items dedicated spaces. “You want everyone who opens up that door to know exactly what everything is and where it is,” says Meryl Starr, author of The Personal Organizing Workbook.

Aim High

While everyday items should be at eye level, the hard-to-reach top shelf is perfect for seasonal supplies such as flannel sheets and beach towels. Bulky items (comforters, extra pillows) can be stowed in vacuum compressed bags, says Donna Smallin, author of The One-Minute Organizer. “They compress items to about a quarter of their original size.”

Look Behind

Use the back of the closet door for added storage space to hang freshly pressed hand towels and sheets from rods.

Go Low

Stow heavy items toward the bottom of your closet. “Try to keep just a few big items that you can easily pull in and out here,” says Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, an interior designer and founder of ApartmentTherapy.com Covered and labeled tubs prevent accumulation and protect items in this dust-prone area.

Shelf Dividers

Shelf dividers and stackable sweater shelves let you pile towels and sheets higher when fixed shelves are too far apart. Make labels for deep shelves and baskets of items so you’ll be able to quickly find exactly what you need.

Branch Out

Limited closet space? Consider storing items elsewhere if they’re not used as often. Keep a basket full of necessities for guests in their room. Store seasonal items in another closet, but remind yourself where these items are by affixing a label inside your linen-closet door. As author Meryl Starr explains, “We think we’ll remember where they are, but we don’t.”

Area for Medicine

Most medicines need a cool, dry place. Move meds out of the bathroom and into the linen closet, Smallin suggests. She recommends using a double-decker lazy Susan, the kind often used to hold spices, for hassle-free access. Consider adding a small battery-powered light fixture inside the closet near one of the shelves to “shed a little extra light” on a particular spot to help recognize or find the meds easier.

Article Reference:
Berit Thorkelson, Better Homes and Gardens, February 2007, 60-61.