This is not your standard closet makeover, that starts with a trip to the Container Store, or at least a dollar store. My budget for this project was $0.00, and I stuck to it. My linen closet was always an issue for me, because it has a hanger bar and no shelves. How to organize linens in such a setup without spending money? The other thing holding me back was that I hate our linens. They are awful. I have one set of sheets that I love, which are either on the bed or in the washing machine; and I have a set of ugly but very warm flannel sheets that I put on the bed when we can’t stand to freeze anymore. But the rest of our sheets? Hideous. They are all handmedowns from my mother in law, who judges a sheet’s attractiveness on the number of contrasting colors and its ability to stand out in a crowd. They are also all king size, and our bed is a queen.
Our towel situation is no better. All our towels are handmedowns as well, mostly shades of beige, except for one garish set of bright turquoise towels that don’t play well with our white-gray-purple decor. And of course they don’t match each other. Whenever I think about redoing my linen closet, I think about those hideous sheets and towels, and I lose heart. At some point, I had the brilliant idea to buy a hanging sweater organizer (purple and gray!) to provide a little shelf space in there, and I’m thrilled with that idea, but clearly it wasn’t enough, and I wasn’t really using it very much.
This week, I realized that I was running out of storage space in the pantry, and the linen closet was the most underutilized storage we have. So my ugly sheets and ratty old towels had to be faced. If we didn’t have frequent overnight guests, almost all of those sheets would be designated “project fabric.”
So, first step is to face reality. Here’s the Before… keeping it real for you…
Got to have a plan! The plan: store linens, towels, toiletries stockpile, and paper goods stockpile. Getting the bathroomy stuff in here would clear out space in the pantry for food storage, something I really need.
First step was to get the clothes out of the linen closet. I had been storing our out of season clothes on the bottom shelf. I moved those to the upper level of the bedroom closet. The clothes that were hanging on the hanger bar went either to the coat closet or the bedroom closet. That cleared out a great deal of space.
Having no budget means making do with what I have on hand. I collected a bunch of white plastic baskets and lavendar edged bamboo baskets that I already had.
The large blue box doesn’t match the color scheme and I am painfully aware of this – can you tell it’s in hiding back there? Anyway, it has toilet paper and extra tampons in it. In front, tissues, swiffer cloths, paper towels, and disposable gloves. On top of the box, left to right: dental care, skin care, and hair care.
On the bottom, I have a row of white plastic baskets in the back row: soaps; shampoo; shower gels; tampons; and baby wipes. In the bamboo baskets in the front: cosmetics; shaving supplies; bath sponges; deodorant; and cotton swabs.
(You have to do a special course to fold towels and neatly ironed sheets like that, I’m telling you, it’s a talent… 😉 Oh, whom am I kidding… I don’t waste too much energy on the hateful things!) Hanging sheets on hangers is the only solution I could come up with since there’s a hanger bar but no shelves, but I’m okay with it for now. I think that for $0.00, this is a solution that I can live with. It freed up one whole pantry shelf, two craft-closet drawers, and bits of other storage here and there. It’s also so organized that my husband can find things without having to ask. (He is always asking me where things are, because I’m always moving them around. When I showed him the finished result, he gave me the raised eyebrow. He knows that it’s quite likely I’ll redo the whole thing in a few days weeks months.)
As for labels… I wanted to stick to the linen closet theme, and I had an old orphan lavendar pillowcase, so I took it apart and used the border to make mini pillows, with the label written on them. Then I attached them to the baskets with a bright purple bow. I only used about a tenth of the pillowcase fabric, so that leaves more fabric for other projects, and it didn’t cost anything. And, to make them even more fun, there is actual lavendar inside the pillows, to keep everything smelling nice!
That’s my no-money linen closet organization makeover!
I’ll do an update on this if I ever get new towels and sheets! 😀
You might also like:
DIY Ziploc bag organizer
Before & after: craft closet
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homeingreece 
Love the idea of hanging the sheets!
Heidi,
Those little lavender sachets as labels…too cute!
I think you did a fabulous job! For no money? Not one red cent? Seriously. Nice job!
We have lots of re-arranging to do at our place. very inefficient use of space doing on in closets and cabinets and piles laying around looking for homes. Hopefully I’ll be posting soon.
Oh, and my husband also can’t find anything. I move things around until they have the right home. Then they stay there. (At least for a while!)
~ Dana
Cooking at Cafe D
Nothing better than a zero dollar makeover! Nicely done!
~Elena
http://acasarella.blogspot.com
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I love how you said your budget was $0.00! great job on that kinda budget 🙂 I love organization like this. It always makes me feel so much better!
This is absolutely marvelous! When I first started reading about how much you dislike the sheets/towels, I thought “oh, dear……” Then I realized that you were actually going to make something happen from virtually nothing and you did. Just shows what a little imagination and stick-to-itiveness can do when you really want something done. Great job and people should be really impressed.
thanks Maggie! I love the word ‘stick-to-itiveness’ and love that you applied it to me even more 😀
Great job for zero expenditure! Like the idea of hanging the sheets — what a space saver! I’d love it if you would consider linking with Busy Monday (open Monday through Thursdays) at A Pinch of Joy, a linky party for ideas that make life better, easier and more fun!
hi Charlene – yes, hanging the sheets turned out really well, I actually am quite satisfied with that. At first I thought of it as a “just until I can get shelves” solution, but I’m thinking I’m going to keep it. Thanks for the invite – I’ll link up!
Looks like you found a great way to organize all your stuff. In my house, we usually start with the hidden drawers and closets when the house is dirty. Somehow if those areas are clean, the house seems easier to manage.
Like you, my closet organization is all mismatced stuff. Just seems odd to spend a lot on stuff nobody will see. Thank you for linking your great organizational system up to my party this week!
i must use my gmail account to log in, even though the login says you can still use your youtube passrowd. so will someone please tell me how to log in? thanks
I love a good organized closet. Yours seems to function so much better now.
Can you come do mine next!;) Looks fab. Thanx for coming to the party!
Nothing leaves me feeling better than a newly organized space. Love that you spent no money on this!
Sharon @ mrs. hines class
Wow, I need to do that to my closet! Looks great!
-Mel
noplacelikehomkc.blogspot.com
Thank you for sharing your makeover and organizational skills at Potpourri Friday! Your participation is apppreciated!
Wow…you did an amazing job! Isn’t it amazing all the stuff you find when you go through and organize? Well done!
Bravo!! I love the idea of hanging the sheets (duh!! I hadn’t thought of that one) and it’s easy to see everything and looks pretty easy to get at everything without trashing the whole closet!
I’m in the beginning stages of organizing my laundry room closet and I’ve purchased baskets, but the rest might just be decorated cardboard boxes to keep it cheap!
So organized! I really need to do this in our bathroom, but I don’t think I have that many matching baskets on hand! Thanks for linking up.
Beautiful!
… Great work 🙂
Greetings from Australia♥
Fabulous! You did a fantastic job without spending any money! Your baskets look great! I am working on a few closets and am hoping not to have to buy storage containers too! Thanks for sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
Kathy
sono interessato a questa ricerca essendo un ragazzo non vedente per un distacco di retina totale. questa ricerca può risolvere il mio problema in futuro? per favore riattndepemi.ssluoi
Those labels for the baskets are too cute. 🙂
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