Organizing Towels & Linens

Towels & Linens

Know what’s in your hall closet or seen the back of it lately? Time to check what treasures are there.

Put the timer on for 30 min. Remove everything from the first shelf.

Tip #1

Quickly go through the towels, keep what you LOVE, fold them and put them back. Let go of towels that don’t absorb well.

Tip #2

Now go through the linens. Again, keep what you LOVE. Check for stains, holes or worn areas. Don’t keep them! Fold the ones you’ll use and put them on the shelf. Donate the rest.

Tip #3

Third are the sheets, pillow cases and duvet covers or blankets. Again, check for holes, worn areas and whether you love them. As much as possible match top and bottom sheets. Refold pillow covers and duvet covers. Refold blankets you love. Put them on the shelf. Donate what is no longer useful.

As you now have discovered there are treasures you have forgotten about in this closet.

NOTES

·       Old pillow covers can be used to cover clothes. Cut a hole for the hanger.

·       Old towels, facecloths and hand towels make excellent cleaning and polishing rags. Keep a few, perhaps 5-7.

·       Your donated items are essential for helping charities in your community. If the linens aren’t able to be sold they are bagged and another charity will purchase them by the pound. That charity will then recycle them to make new garments. 

·       If you are keeping items for others, put them into a clear plastic bin with a label.

One last thing, after you have completed this closet revisit it later and congratulate yourself on a job well done!

Storage

Do you remember what you have in your storage unit? Have you visited it recently? Do you know what's there? If you have a storage unit how much a month are you paying to keep things you haven't seen or are never going to use again? Can that money be better spent in your life?

As the economy takes a shift so should you. Think of it this way. You have money in your storage unit, just sitting there. Sell your furniture, your rugs, the china, the sports equipment, the truck or boat. The market for books is also changing due to online books. Take those books you've been keeping and either donate them or sell at second hand dealers. In a few years there may not be a market for them.

If you can't face the job of revisitng your storage facility take a friend or friends to help, hire a professional organizer. It is important that you downsize your 'stuff' when the market takes a hit. You don't want the heavy burden of financial output nor do you need the emotional weight of the stuff you may never see or use.

Make that commitment to yourself to get started. Keep at it until you have downsized by at least 60% and if you can't part with things you can now get a smaller unit to keep your treasured items. You are making a shift in your resources as the global market also makes a shift.

Clothes

What fits?

Now that Spring is beginning to emerge, what new changes are happening in your closet? Anything in there that isn’t being worn, anything been there for quite some time and needing to go?

It is so very important as each season arrives to clear out the old, the unused, the uninspiring.  What makes you feel wonderful when you put it on?  What gives you a lift when you wear it?  If you are unsure check with your partner or a friend and ask them to tell you honestly what makes you look good.

In my years of helping women create space in their closets there are a few little tips that are guaranteed to work.  Here are a few.

Tip #1

Put the timer mentioned in my first blog, on for an hour.  Take everything on hangers out of your closet and put them on the bed. Now, go through and try one piece on at a time, look in the mirror and ask yourself one question “Do I love it?”  There are only 2 answers to this question; it is a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’.  If it is a ‘no’ don’t even consider putting it back. Put it in a bag for donation.

Tip #2

If the answer is a ‘yes’, check to see if it fits you well. If it is too big get it altered, if it is too snug, give it away.  I have never had any client want to wear any of the clothing they THOUGHT they might wear after loosing weight.  They wanted something different and up to date.

Tip #3

Put what you love back in your closet with the hangers facing backwards.  As you wear your clothes put the hangers back the way you would normally place a hanger.  After 6 months or so you can see at a glance what are your most popular items.  Anything not worn after 6 months or so you can then make another decision to purge again.

Did you beat the timer?  If not try again, and consider trying for ½ hr. And remember don’t over-think it!