From Simple Linen Closet to Gift Wrapping Perfection

When I first laid eyes on this simple linen closet with big accordion doors, it was housing so much. From keepsakes to bed linens, to extra pillows to all the gift wrapping things.

Nothing was labeled, and the items being utilized the most were nicely organized by type but stuffed in deep shopping bags and spaced out all over the floor.

You know one of the most frustrating parts about linen closets?! They are breeding grounds for keeping all the extra junk. Anytime I need a place to stuff something, it goes in my linen closet. The doors close and they can stay that way most of the time. Sigh.

This client had a few goals for this project:

1. Make it easier to find the linens they have and know the sizes.

2. Create a better storage system for all the gift wrapping so it will be easy to see what they have and wrap gifts easily.

3. Big, easy-to-read labels on everything so they can keep the systems in place.

Let the fun begin! Here’s where it all started.

We started by taking every single thing out of the closet. Because you don’t know what you have until you can see all of it, right?!

I organized it by item type so I could see how much we had.

As I moved through this process, we worked through the piles and made a donate bag, a trash bag, and a keep pile.

While that was happening, I began to play around with different layouts for the new bins. This ended up being my favorite.

Did I just get lucky that all of this fit perfectly? If only I was that lucky.

When I begin a client project, the first step for me is to do an in-home consultation where I learn all about their space – what they like, what they don’t like, and their hopes + dreams for their space. And then I measure. Everything. So I can go home and sketch their space and shop, shop, shop for the perfect plan for their unique needs. So there you go.

Here are the product deets:

Container Store Like-It Bricks Bin | IKEA Medium Kuggis | Container Store Large White Bin | IKEA Small Kuggis

I was liking the layout so I pulled all the bins out and started working the plan and organizing by type.

The ribbon went from ribbons in a bag to easy to find, easy to see.

The bows just plain make me happy. And the tissue paper exited the shopping bags and we found a way to display them on pant hangers so they stay unwrinkled AND you can see when you actually need to buy more! In this case, they are set for awhile.

For wrapping paper we found a super affordable solution that would work in most closets – we secured this Amazon tension rod to hold the wrapping paper in place at the end of the closet.

The last major hangup on this closet were the pillows they keep for when guests and grandkids come stay.

Pillows can take up so much room! We utilized these Amazon jumbo vacuum storage bags. I did a ton of research on these and it’s an incredible way to flatten pillows and large blankets like a pancake for easier storage, and it doesn’t hurt them at all! It takes just a vacuum or you can use the hand pump they include. It took seconds to suck the air out of the bag, and to inflate the pillows back up you just open the valve on the bag and the pillows come back to life. Note: I did learn that with feather or down pillows, you only want to remove half of the air.

And because there’s nothing like a good side-by-side before + after…

The labels. Never forget the labels. We labeled everything using my favorite label maker with these clear labels.

So tell me…what is your biggest struggle with your linen closet? Comment below!

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