What a strange thing to “re-do”. The linen closet. But, it was driving me insane. I couldn’t take it anymore. It was so full and disorganized that every time I did laundry I had to actually shove towels and sheets back into little crevices with force until they stayed and then quickly slam the door before an avalanche occurred. Something had to be done. I don’t even know how it got that way.
I took myself to the dollar store and bought 10 baskets. I might have been tempted to go to the container store if it were closer. But then again, I wouldn’t have been able to do the whole closet for 10 bucks! 😉 I also would have liked to buy all 10 baskets in one color, but my dollar store only had 6 matching ones left, so I went with two colors.
This is the before…..
How embarrassing.
There are 5 shelves in there somewhere!
The first thing I did was take EVERYTHING OUT!
Oh there are the shelves!
And here is all the junk I pulled out of it!
The pile was taller than my children.
Ridiculous.
I re-folded everything and organized it all into categories.
Below is the pile of stuff that I got rid of! Seriously.
There are several sets of sheets in there for a bed size that I haven’t even owned in three years!
(Hoarder) 🙂
And here is the after!
ahhhh.
I love it. Everything has a place.
I labeled the baskets with tags and string.
It looks so nice, and all for 10 bucks.
To be fair there are 11 baskets, but I already owned one.
Spring cleaning commenced….
I have heard from many people that their Dollar Tree doesn’t always carry these baskets.
It’s a three pack and you don’t have to even leave your house! 🙂
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looks great!
I LOVE the ‘After’ shot. The ‘Before’ looks way too much like my own! So, I’m off to the Dollar Store too. And I laughed when I read about owning sheets that don’t fit any bed you currently have. I think I do too! This is a great idea. 🙂
That looks great! Wanna come organize mine? 🙂
Looks great!!
Love it. Think I will do the same for my linen closet!!
I should send you money for this. Going to the $ store tomorrow.
haha!! i’m so glad you like it!
The thing that I noticed from the final pic is that I have that same pink polka dot gift bag. Lol. Finished product looks great, and makes me feel inspired to tackle my closets soon.
This post changed my life. Dramatic? Yes. True? Yes. Seriously. I love the results. Thank you for sharing. And letting me share. 🙂 And I love your blog, too.
This is so insparational & supper do able!! I’m off to the dollar store! thanks for sharing, btw I am such a horder I have sheets I haven’t used yet! 🙂
I LOVE this. I like that the baskets have holes so they are a bit more ventilated to allow some air flow to stay a big fresher, vs. being in a stuffy closed box. You did a great job, and it’s very visually appealing with being obviously more organized.
Never seen these baskets at a Dollar Store. Pretty, though.
Thank you all! @Elle. Do you have Dollar Tree? I was just there yesterday and they still have these same baskets. They are red and yellow and gree now. I think they change the colors every season. Hope you can find some.
The colors do change for every season. The fall ones are my favorite!
Going to the dollar tree!! It looks amazing, and BTW I think the two colors look great together!
Wow! I love this idea. Your pictures could be my closet – men in the house tend to grab from the bottom of the stack. A mess. I’m going to implement your idea. Thx.
So I found this on pinterest and it is right up my alley! I’m going to have to make a run to the Dollar Tree and use those containers to help revamp and organize ours. Thanks for sharing (even if I am like 2 yrs late to the party!)
haha! You are never too late! Funnily enough, the Dollar Tree still has these same baskets, two years later! YAY!
Have you ever used your pillow case to put the sheets inside …..it works !
Oh Bev! That is a fabulous idea! Thank you!
This is total genius. I get totally overwhelmed by trying to organize on a budget. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC
Thank you so much Beja! I agree, when I look at magazines and stores I think of how organized I would be if I had hundreds of dollars to spend on containers! haha
did you know you can order from Dollar Tree online?!?! they have tons of things and you can have them shipped to your store! So if you don’t see enough of one color… you can order them!
OH MY! Alison. You have just blown my mind. I did NOT know that! Thanks for the heads up!
Great idea!!! Thanks right now I am on the the move to reclaim y closets!!!
Animal shelters are only too happy when people clean out their linen closets and donate the sheets and blankets. I donated a ton after my older kids moved out, and my linen closet still seems overstuffed! (do those sheets and blankets procreate?)
What a brilliant Idea!! I need to try to see if this will work for me!
ok I am jealous…now its my turn to organize all our closets
thanks
kelly
great idea but what do we do with extra blankes/comforters?
ha. Yes. That is a great question. Luckily I have a trunk at the end of my bed where I can keep those.
I found the baskets at my Dollar Store and I am going to organize today! Thanks for the great tip! Oh…and what makes me happy is that the baskets are “bendy” so they should fit just about any space! Thanks again!
OH yes. That’s a good point about the baskets being bendy! I love that too. So glad you found them! Happy organizing.
you can order things online from dollar tree at dollar tree.com they Don’t charge you shipping if you ship it to a store of your choice. Some things you do have to order in case quantity but there are some that you can order less. Great place to check out! (And yes I do work for them! I love dollar tree!)
There’s a dollar store in Amherst NY by transit Rd (for those on my area) they have all sorts of colors of these baskets.
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OH MY GOSH! Thanks so much!
This is totally do-able! I’m going to try to organize both hall closets and the linen closet this way.
YAY! I love it.
wonderful and cheap. Thank you for such a great and cheap fix. I have these baskets somewhere and I’m doing my closet NOW !!Have a super day .
Thanks for the comment. So glad you are going to do it too! Let me see it when it’s done.
This is great and looks like a really popular post! I am about to do a re-org project with the spare / homeschool / toy room and this was inspiring. Love the dollar store for inexpensive solutions!~
Thanks so much for the great idea! I did this to my linen closet, got the baskets like yours at Dollar Tree and matching bins too! it worked so well. No more jumbled up mess.
I did this as my closet looks exactly the same and am very happy! Found the baskets for $2.50 at Ocean State Joblot. Thank you!
I would love to post a picture of my closet – but I don’t know how to do that – I guess I need to read up on this.. I don’t see where I can attach a pic – I just pin , like and comment!! 🙁
OH. right! haha! You could email it to me. I would love to include it in the post. My address is Erindubb(at)gmail(dot)com.
This is awesome! I have seen these baskets at the dollar store so I’ll get some. Did you roll the sheets, towels etc or just folded them? Also, how did you manage the fitted sheets in the baskets? My husband hates them cuz it is a pain to fold them neatly. Thanks 🙂
Thanks! I did roll them. The fitted sheets are a pain, for sure! But, I rolled them tightly and put them in the back of the baskets. 🙂
Where do you get the tags, an office store?
You can get them at the Dollar Store these days, but I bought them at Hobby Lobby and had them in my stash.
If I had a linen closet like that I would leave the door open all the time just so people would see it! Beautiful! You have given me some great ideas. Thank you!
That is so sweet! haha. Thank you!
Hi
Where can I find those tags??????
Thank you
I have seen them at Hobby Lobby.
This is a great idea! One little hint, roll your towels! The take up even less space which in turn makes even more room.
That is a great idea!!! I will do that. Thanks for the tip.
This is a great idea. I’m embarrassed to say but my linen closet looks like your before. ?
A Dollar Tree just opened here so I plan to get those totes for my linen closet.
Thank you for your tip.
I recently did my linen closet. I could only find bright pink baskets but my closet is so narrow and dark they actually look nice. My towels and bathroom is a sage green with creamy sea accents so it goes with it. I found chalkboard tags and they look awesome with the pink. I don’t know how to add a photo but it looks nice, no more looking like a war was being fought amongst the shelves. ?
First of all I want to say wonderful blog!
I had a quick question which I’d like to ask if you
do not mind. I was curious to find out how you center yourself and clear your mind before writing.
I have had a difficult time clearing my thoughts in getting my ideas out.
I do enjoy writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are usually
lost just trying to figure out how to begin. Any ideas or tips?
Appreciate it!
That is a great idea. I will do that. Thanks for the tip.
Hi! I love your post. I’m so tempted to take on my closet like this, the clutter is driving me crazy! I have a question and you may or may not have the answer. Spray paint. The multiple colors thing would bug me once I got into my crazy cleaning lady mode. I wonder, would spray paint eventually rub off into the sheets or towels and ruin them?
That is a great question. I think they do have spray paint made specifically for plastic. But, I would be concerned that it would scrap off eventually. Better just hit a few stores and get all the same color!