Article Rewrites

Now we move on to towels and other things in your linen closet….

3.    Take stock of your towels, washcloths, and other terrycloth things.  Do you have towels that are holey or bleach-stained?  Do you have towels that aren’t very absorbent from using too much fabric softener?  Do you have towels that don’t match your current bathroom décor?  Donate them.  Keep only that which matches your décor (unless you turn it in to a rag), and only that which wouldn’t embarrass you to put out for guests when they visit.  That should pare down your towel collection to a more manageable number.  I can’t tell you an exact number that is appropriate here—that depends on how many members are in your family.  What I can suggest is 2 towels per person—one that’s currently hanging in the bathroom and one clean one that can be conscripted in to service when the current one is in the wash.  Do you have washcloths?    One for every-other day of the week would be appropriate—many people don’t use them anymore, in this age of scrubbies, poufs, and other facial cleansing methods.

4. Do you have a rag-pile (or kitchen-towel pile) in your linen closet?  If so, fold those and put them on a shelf that’s easy to access.  You’ll use those most frequently, so make them easy to reach and use.  Again, sort through and see what’s in reasonable condition and put the rest in the pile for the animal shelter.

5. What other things are in your linen closet?  Do you have table linens there?  If so, do you know what’s there?  Are they neat enough that when you need them you don’t have to go digging and put the iron on “fry it silly” to get the wrinkles out?  If any of the above is true, pull them out, wash, sort, keep only the best, and fold (or press) them quickly and put them away.

6. Finally, if you have other miscellaneous things (doilies, candlesticks, etc.) in your linen closet, set a shelf aside for those things.  If you don’t have a full shelf to ascribe to them, use a shelf that’s only half-full of other items.  Again, sort through and keep only what you’re in love with—anything else can be donated to a charity-resale shop, given to siblings, or sold on eBay.  Don’t keep things “just in case” great-aunt Mildred comes by—she won’t, and if she does, she probably won’t remember what it was.  Remember, you’re organizing your home so that it’s not just a house of stuff for your family.  That’s much more important than not offending a distant relative!