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Decluttering
Dilemma
Competition Winner |
Dilemma
My dilemma is how to organise my
linen closet, which is very small and only has 3
shelves. There are so many sheets and towels and
a couple of quilt covers that I rotate through
the seasons. In summer, electric blankets and
doonas need to be stored until winter comes
around. Every time I open the linen closet a
doona springs out at me and it’s difficult to
actually get to things that are right at the
back or up high. Unfortunately my bed goes right
to the floor and there is no room underneath to
store anything there and my wardrobe is neatly
organised but at capacity. Much appreciate your
advice. |
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Solution
Thanks for your decluttering dilemma
Susan. The linen cupboard is a thorn in the side
of many homes – especially now that we have
doonas and bulky items replacing easy to stack
blankets and throws. |
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Purge & Sort:
When was the last time you went
through what was in there? Theoretically you
only need 2 sets of sheets/pillowcases per bed:
one on the bed and one in the wash. Same with
bath towels, 2 per family member, one being
used, one in wash and a couple for guests. Beach
towel – one per person. It is amazing how we
collect so many sheets and towels and never use
them. Store:
A great storage idea is vacuum sealed
bags – but not the old style that sucked it into
a misshaped block that you couldn’t store easily.
These days they have a square or rectangular
case around the outside so when you are sucking
it into shape, it turns into a cube or flat
rectangle for easy storage. They are easy to
grab with handles for when they are stored at
the back of the cupboard too. Howard Storage
World has a huge range of these in all shapes
and sizes and I regularly recommend them to my
clients for their linen.
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Is there anywhere at all besides the linen
cupboard that you can store the out of season
items? Don’t be afraid to think outside the box.
One client ended up storing linen in her kitchen
as she had a spare cupboard! My husband put a
railing up in the garage and I have all my
winter coats hanging out there in sealed covers
(Susan has since informed me she found room in
boxes on top of her kitchen cupboards).
The same goes with your clothing wardrobe – when
was the last time you had a purge? Remember the
80/20 rule: we only wear 20% of our clothing 80%
of the time. Grab a trusted friend, put on some fun music and do a fashion
show (like the girls did in Sex and the City).
Feel good about donating clothes to charity; a
great one for business type clothing is
www.dressforsuccess.org/brisbane in
Fortitude Valley but they have them around
Australia.
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With these ideas, I hope your linen cupboard no
longer gives you any nasty surprises when you
open the door Susan! |
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