How To Organise Your Linen Cupboard

Linen cupboards tend to get messy by degrees until, suddenly, you are faced with wadded up towels and jammed-in sheets and can't find what you’re looking for.

That’s the point at which you need to set aside an hour or so to get it sorted.

Professional organiser Natalie Jane says the first thing you need to do is make some space to spread out. The floor will do just fine. Remove everything from the linen cupboard and fold neatly into categories - duvet covers, sheets, towels and so on.

“Review each category, keeping only the linen you use and move on items you don’t like, are worn or you no longer use,” says Natalie. “Give away good-quality items to charities.”

Go through your sheets and if they don’t already have them, add labels with a fabric laundry marker: K for king, Q for queen, S for single. This saves time when changing the sheets and makes it easier to keep each type separate.

“Label your shelves so that everyone in the household knows what goes where.”

While the cupboard is empty, give it a good clean.

Use baskets and dividers to keep like items with like. Rectangular baskets are also great on shelves as they have a pull-out effect, like drawers, says Natalie. Try putting all of your sheets in one basket and all of your bath towels in another. Add labels on swing tags. If you have other household organising to do, you might even want to invest in a label maker. If you don’t have shelf dividers, make your own from cardboard; cut-up shoe boxes can work well.

Think about how you use your space and organise your linen so it works for you.
For example, you might want to roll up your beach towels and pop them in a basket near where you keep the beach/pool gear.

Once you have reorganised your linen cupboard, remember that you have to put in the effort to maintain it.

“Review your linen cupboard seasonally or at least once a year,” says Natalie.