I am always looking for new organizational tools so let me know what makes your linen closet (or wherever you keep your bathroom stuff) an organized place.

This isn't a "tool", it's more of a method for creating space and eliminating waste. When I took the challenge, like you I found many duplications of products. I am now a huge fan of CONSOLIDATION. For example-I found at least 10 moisturizers/creams/lotions. None were the magic bullet so I consolidated the contents of the bottles/jars/tubes into the largest of the containers, mixed it up, and now have more room and a better end product as the one "special" ingredient is now one of many. i.e. the end product has aloe, vitamin E, jojoba, lanolin, etc.

I used this same process for the pantry, cleaning closet, and refrigerator. Example-I emptied 3 half or nearly empty bottles of BBQ sauce into one. None of the 3 brands were better than the other but "consolidated" it was pretty darn good.

Looks very neat, but do you really need all those bottles, cans, and sprays? Looks like some of them may have been around for years. Suggest you go thru all that stuff, chuck anything that's old. Say, more than a year or two. You can give shampoos, hair conditioner and the like to a women's shelter. It will free up a lot of space for the things you DO use.

The one thing I would do is make labels for the translucent boxes. YOU know what is in there, but does DH? If he is like mine, he wouldn't necessarily associate something on the edge he could see (bandaids) with a tube of antibiotic ointment (neosporin) that he couldn't see, but if it was labelled FIRST AID, he'd get it.

So, where are all the linens? LOL

Barbara

"So, where are all the linens? LOL "

That's what I wanted to post a few days ago, but was reluctant to do so!!!

Where ARE the linens, if not in your linen closet?

I keep my bed linens on the bed, with an extra clean set stashed between the mattress and boxspring. Just a hint I read somewhere. That way I only need two sets per bed. My MIL was in the habit of giving me sets of sheets for birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas. Generous of her, but I didn't need all those extra sheet sets.

Re: stashing the extra set of sheets between the mattress and box springs. Exactly how do you do that? I've read about it before, too, but I couldn't figure out the logistics. Doesn't it make for a lumpy bed to sleep on? What am I not grasping?

mw9456a, you did a great job making a not so neat closet look very neat. My guess is your sheets are on the top shelf since you only show four shelves in the after pictures when there were five in the before picture.

I like the idea of storing an extra set of sheets on the bed, but if I did so I'd put them on one over the other flipping the mattress to do so. This would force one to flip the mattress, though more often then suggested, but still get that baby turned for better wear.

Personally I have under the bed containers that stores extra bedding. Always close by that way.

Mustangs I like your way of making lotion and bbq coctails. I bet your skin is softer than ever now! We only use one brand of bbq so no such luck mixing those, but I'm going to try the lotion next time I have a mix of small containers. I usually just cut open the containers that are almost out and do the all over body softening to use it up.

When I do laundry, I fold the sheets right out of the dryer, lift my side of the mattress near the foot on my side, lay the top flat sheet (folded in a square), the fitted bottom sheet also folded, and the pillow cases. Not all on top of each other. Takes up a minimum of space. Not lumpy at all. Then next week, I strip the bed and put on the folded set I stashed under the mattress the week before. The only thing you have to be careful about is the sheets must be totally dry when you do this. And they do come out wrinkly. But wrinkles on my sheets don't bother me. I'm just lazy.

Congratulations! Doesn't it feel good?

I was excited to see the title because I just did the same thing. However, my linen closet was full of old bed sheets and lightweight blankets. I found 3 complete sets, that I just finished laundering and will keep, and a bunch of mismatched sheets and pillow cases that I'm going to give to the Goodwill.

I keep my medicines in a kitchen cabinet so it's closer to the origin of accidents.

WOW the closet looks great - you are inspiring me to go at it. I did the same thing with the boxes & baskets about 4 years ago but have let things get out of control again. Time to take control again.

Thanks for the tip on the sheets, too. I like white sheets, but we have 1 each twin, double, queen & king in our house. When I wash sheets together it's hard to tell the double set from the queen and the queen set from the king. I did something to help - took a Sharpie and marked D, Q, K small in corner of the top sheet & edge of the bottom sheet. Now I'll just slip the set under the right sized matress!

I figured no one else would see our sheets anyway and "defacing" them with a Sharpie has made my life easier.

Labeling the shelves in my linen closet made all the difference. Now visiting children and grandchildren can find what they need without plowing through the stacks. Even DH can understand this system. I always knew where things were but I forgot that no one could read my mind. Love my P-touch labeler!

We recently finished a bathroom renovation, which involved tearing out the old linen closet and replacing it with a wider, shallower unit built from a base cabinet and a wall cabinet. No drawers. My bathroom linen closet holds towels, but no bed linens (we keep those in the B/Rs). I wanted to post a link to the small acrylic drawers that I found at the Container Store. I purchased four of these and they organize all of the hair things for my four daughters (we have a lot of hair stuff.....). These are big enough to hold headbands. Worth noting is that when I cleaned out the old linen closet, I realized that I had over-purchased many items, due in part because the old cabinet was so deep and high (I couldn't see most of the top shelf). Now that the closet is a more manageable size, I keep things grouped together so I can check quantity more readily. The base cabinet holds two hamper baskets and about 30 rolls of toilet paper (we are a large family).

Also, during the renovation, we installed a pair of recessed medicine cabinets (one above each sink) and purchased two extra glass shelves for each one. It is incredible what these hold: tooth brushes. contact lens stuff, skin care items, drinking cups, eye glasses, etc. There is no more clutter on the counter, just soap, a clock, and a hand towel on a glass tray. Finally, like another poster said, I keep all medicines in the kitchen, there is space there for a variety of asthma meds, sunscreens, bug repellant, lots of bandages, OTC medication, hand sanitizer, etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: Acrylic Drawers