27

Linen cupboard overhaul

I have drawers and a stack of suitcases rather than a cupboard. My suitcase collection started with my paternal grandfather’s (the 3rd and 4th from the top.) He wasn’t a great family man, but he was an amazing traveller, so I like to remember him through this well loved baggage. The second from the top was my maternal great grandmother’s. It’s practically pristine, which fits all the stories I have heard about her and her love of looking after things. The others I picked up along the way at markets and garage sales.

I keep all the blankets, quilts and the like in the suitcases and tend to store bed sheets in the room they’re used in, as I find that more convenient, easier for everyone to make their own beds and handy for little people with middle of the night emergencies. I store tablecloths and napkins in a drawer near the dining table and a most of the towels in the bathroom cupboard.

Sort

1. We want to divide the stash into piles: keep, re-home, repair, soak and rags.

2. A maximum of three sets of sheets for each bed. This means while one is in the wash, another is on the bed and the third is stowed.

3. The same goes for towels – a maximum of three per person and one for each potential guest.

Organise

To make sense of everything we’ve decided to keep.

1. Categorise into: bedding, towels, tablecloths and napkins etc.

2. Separate further into seasons, everyday and special occasion items.

3. Stack the items back in the cupboard with the everyday and current season in easy access.

4. Store sheet sets together inside one of the pillow cases. Bulky items, like blankets and quilts can be stored in old pillowcases to protect them.

* A little note on sheet sets that I learned from a lovely Italian lady. If you like matching linen, always buy an extra fitted sheet for each set, as it always wears out first.

Maintenance

1. Try to stack the freshly laundered items on the bottom of the pile and take from the top, to keep things fresh and minimise the risk of the bottom ones being attacked by mould or insects.

2. To keep things smelling nice and dispel moisture, place a dish of baking/bicarbonate soda in the cupboard.

3. To deter insects, a little cloth bag with cloves, lavender and eucalyptus leaves, like the one mentioned in this post will make things smell nice too.