How to Organise Your Linen Cupboard in 5 Simple Steps

There's a good chance you've watched on Netflix - or heard about - the infamous Marie Kondo and her incredible organisation skills.

One of the biggest, trickiest categories to organise, according to Kondo herself is the miscellaneous grouping of items usually found in the kitchen and the laundry. That’s right, we’re talking about the linen cupboard. If you’re anything like us, your linen cupboard can - at times - feel like a bit of a dumping ground. It’s the kind of place where things that don’t really have a dedicated home can end up, which means the overall effect is... disorganisation and chaos.

But it doesn't have to be this way. Taking advice from Kondo, here are the top tips to properly organising a linen cupboard like it's a piece of art.

How to organise your linen cupboard in 5 steps

Step 1: Purge

According to Kondo, the best way to tidy is to first get rid of everything you don’t need. By that we mean raggedy sheets from bygone eras, threadbare towels and anything that has seen better days.

Sure, you were keeping those extra sheets for that someone who would one day come to stay and you need a spare set. We get it. But the fact of the matter is that you’ll probably never need them, and they’re taking up space you might not have. Bid them farewell, and prioritise the beautiful, complete sets of sheets that you already have and use every day.

To be safe, we recommend three or four complete sets of sheets, augmented by one or two light blankets and throws for when you can’t bear to use your duvet.

Step 2: Organise

In order to keep your linen cupboard in tidy, tip-top shape, you need to put organisation first. This means you need to come up with some form of categorisation and stick to it. For easy access, maybe you want to keep all the same type of sheets together - the fitted sheets with the fitted sheets, the duvet covers with the duvet covers, and so on - or in complete groupings by colour or pattern.

Keep beach towels separate from bath towels, and both of these should be separate from smaller face towels and bath mats. If you keep your kitchen tea towels in the linen cupboard, then we recommend keeping these separate from the other towels as well. Towels are the trickiest category, mostly because of the sheer number of subsets within it, but as long as you find a system that works for you, that’s all that matters.

The point is to come up with a system that you use and stick to it. That way, you can impose some order over the chaos that is the linen cupboard. And always make sure to label each category of linens and towels, so you can keep track of your system and what you’re storing where.

Step 3: Finesse

Once you’ve got your categorisation complete, you’re going to want to add a little something extra. You can store your grouped together sheets in a receptacle, such as hand-woven baskets or wire baskets from somewhere like MUJI or IKEA, or you can leave them folded and on display on the shelves.

Maybe you want to line your shelves with a bit of scented paper, or place a sachet of lavender at the back of the cupboard to give off fragrance. If you have the space for it, the top shelf of a linen cupboard - the hardest to reach, and therefore the shelf you’re least likely to place stuff on - is the perfect spot for decoration. Why not store vases or glassware up there, or groupings of shells from your latest beach vacation? Let your creativity go wild.

Step 4: Extras

What about everything that’s not a towel or a sheet? Extra cleaning products, beach paraphernalia, the remnants of that cider-making kit you never got around to throwing out… We understand that a linen cupboard is rarely ever just for linen.

Approach these extras as you would everything else. First, purge. Do you really need that old snorkelling kit? Get rid of it if the answer is no. For everything you want or need to keep, organise them by category and store them in a matching tub or container as the rest of the cupboard. Again, you’re going to want to label these boxes or baskets so that you know exactly where you’ve put all the extra laundry detergent.

Step 5: Maintenance

Don’t over-stuff your shelves or tubs (again, this is where the purge comes in). The more things you have in your linen cupboard, the more difficult it will be to find everything. The idea is that you should be able to see everything easily, or if you have things hidden away in tubs, then you should be able to see their labels easily.

Once this is done the only thing left is to maintain your organisation. That’s the hard bit! But if you’ve laid the groundwork with organisation, it should just be a matter of sticking to your plan. Good luck, and happy organising.

Have you invested in linen sheets, or you're considering the change? We've answered the most popular questions about our 100% flax linen bedding here.