Organizing Your Linen Closet

Opt for Adjustable Shelves

If you're gutting your closet and starting from scratch, ClosetMaid sells adjustable wire and laminate shelving. Joan Pace, a ClosetMaid designer with nine years of new construction experience, has seen her share of problematic linen closets: "Linen closets are tucked in [places], and not always for the convenience of what's going inside of them."

Ideally, a linen closet should be in a cool, dry place in the home. But if your linen closet is in a bathroom, Pace recommends ClosetMaid's ventilated wire shelving for increased airflow between linens.

Pace likes the adjustable shelves because they can change as the family does. "If you're going to live in a house for a long time, you need change," she says, and the shelving should fit the function of the people who are going to be accessing the closet. Pace gives one warning when placing your shelves: Make sure there's enough room between the door trim and the highest shelf for storing your items.

If you already have shelves, consider handy add-ons like under-mount wire baskets or shelf dividers from The Container Store. These dividers snap onto existing shelves to create partitions, forming units of items and keeping them from falling over. To further identify units of items, labeling is a good idea. "A lot of people have difficulty organizing because they have a problem maintaining," says Peterson, but with labels every member of your family — and even your guests — will know where the towels go.