Adventures in decluttering: The Linen Closets

I know I am strange. I dream of one day having a beautifully organized linen closet. One that when you open it, greats you with the scent of lavender sachets and the sight of perfectly folded towels and sheets. One that has linen lined baskets to hold all those little things you want hidden away from view. In other words, one that has no place in real life:

Source: Martha Stewart. com

Source: Seattle Times Home and Garden

In real life, I'll settle for being able to find what I am looking for without the hazard of anything falling on me when I open the door.

I joined in Operation Organization on the Coming Clean website. My goal for this week was to organize my linen closet. I needed inspiration. I needed it fast! I was browsing through Thrifty Decor Chick last night, and I ran across her entry on linen closets. Thankfully, her approach to closets is more in keeping with us mere mortals: get rid of the junk you aren't using and group the like things together. I thought "I can do that!"

And I did that! I weeded out the almost empty bottles of hair goo and body lotion. I pared down the number of sheets and towels. What was left was grouped in to containers by categories: first aid, skin care, etc. The result isn't any where near ready for a magazine shoot, but it's ready for me to take my bubble bath tonight without risk of injuring myself while searching for the bath salts.

Before and After

Addendum: It felt so good to organize and throw out the junk in this closet, that I went and did the girl's linen closet, too! Theirs had mostly towels and sheets shoved in balls into the corners. But just clearing out the extras and folding everything neatly gave me enough room to make 2 shelves into space for their games. Joy! ♥