7 Things Professional Organizers Say It's Time to Remove From Your Linen Closet
It's time to say farewell to those mismatched sheet sets you never reach for.
Linen closets are one of those spaces in the home that can become surprisingly cluttered. Before you know it, the shelves are overflowing with things that you don't necessarily need. Organizers say it's time to toss these linen closet items that are just taking up space.
Many people have a linen closet filled with "just in case" items, like mismatched sheet sets for the guest room, old towels you could use as cleaning rags, and random toiletry items like old sunscreens or half-full bottles of shampoo. But the truth is, if you never end up reaching for those items, they're just taking up space and making it harder to access the items you do actually need.
Luckily, decluttering the linen closet doesn't have to take all day. Following these tips can help you get it decluttered and organized in less than an hour. If you find yourself at the end with a stack of sheets and towels you don't want anymore, consider upcycling them into something new. You can also reach out to local animal shelters to see if they'll accept these items as donations. Many of them use blankets, towels, and other items to make the kennels more comfortable for the animals.
Keep reading to see the linen closet items organizers say you should toss ASAP.
Sentimental pieces you never use
Consider this your nudge to either display these pieces or let them go. “There's only one reason to keep something sentimental, and that's to make it part of your life so you can enjoy it on a regular basis,” says Lucy Milligan Wahl, professional organizer and owner of LMW Edits. “It's OK not to keep everything that at one point had good memories attached—if we did this, we'd live under mountains of stuff.”
If you’re not ready to let go completely, take a picture of the item or save a square of it to frame.
RELATED: Items Professional Organizers Want You to Think Twice About Decluttering
“Rags”
You’re the only one who can honestly answer if you’ll actually use that stack of worn towels as rags—but many organizers say you probably won’t. “We see a lot of towels that are musty, threadbare, torn, or stained with bleach or makeup,” says Cathy Orr, professional organizer and cofounder of The Uncluttered Life. “People say that they’re keeping them for rags, but it’s not very often that they use them for this purpose.”
Try tossing all but one, and if you haven’t reached for that one after a year, throw that one away, too.
Mismatched sheet sets
“I constantly see bits and pieces of old sheet and towel sets—think a solo pillowcase, three washcloths that match each other, that kind of thing,” says Wahl. And, she argues, you don’t have to live that way: “Linens are a category where we can greatly increase our daily enjoyment of life without spending a lot of money,” she says. “Imagine the feeling of making up a bed with a matching set of fresh, clean sheets, and climbing into that cozy bed at night.”
All you need to do to achieve that is toss those past-prime sheets and replace them with ones you love.
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Non-linens
Instead, put these items where they belong. “I've seen a lot of unexpected items in linen closets because they can feel like a good place to shove things you're not quite sure what to do with,” says Wahl. “Anything from toys kids have grown out of, to boxes of photos, to memorabilia from past partners, to toxic things parents want to keep out of reach of little ones.”
Let it go or find a more intentional home, she advises.
Your least favorite set of sheets
Toss any set of sheets that doesn’t make you excited to put on. “This can be for any reason, from the fact that the bottom sheet has a hole to a pillowcase that is stained, to you just liking some other sets you have better,” says Wahl. “There are no points awarded for trying to force yourself to use ostensibly useful things that you're not drawn to!”
Toiletries
If these haven’t earned a spot in your medicine cabinet or vanity, you probably don’t need them. “I find a lot of leftover items from vacation, like expired bottles of sunscreen or half-used tubes of aloe,” says Kim Shiu, professional organizer with Tidy for Good. “Items like these can be discarded, especially if they are expired or were exposed to high temperatures outside during the summer.”
Toiletries in good condition can be stowed for your next trip.
Shower curtains and liners
Orr sees these in linen closets more than she would expect. “Shower curtain liners should be replaced every six to 12 months, and shower curtains should be replaced every one to three years,” she says. “If a plastic, vinyl, or fabric shower liner has mildew stains or slimy buildup that won’t wash off, don’t put it back in your linen closet.”
They’re just not the type of things you want sitting next to your fresh sheets!
Juliana (she/her) is the deputy digital editor at Good Housekeeping, where she leads the lifestyle team and oversees coverage across entertainment, health, home, holidays, food, and travel. She brings more than a decade of experience to the role, including time as deputy features editor at HGTV Magazine and Food Network Magazine. Her bylines have appeared in Reader's Digest, Elle Decor, Editorialist, Best Life, Bloomberg News, and more.
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