Being absolutely fed up with my tiny linen closet and the fact that there never seems to be enough room I had to make some changes. As I pulled all the the linens from my closet I began to ruthlessly make decisions about what to keep and what could go. I do an ok job of folding, however I am not the only one that accesses the linen closet. Folding neatly is not enough to keep it orderly. Consistency of technique was going to be more important after taking into account the specific items stored and the size of not only the closet itself, but the individual shelves. Once I learned what would work for my specific situation I was going to have to transfer that information to the rest of my family to ensure it stayed that way.
I have towels that are roughly in two sizes. If I used the same technique for folding all the the towels, they wouldn't stack evenly. After some experimentation I figured out that the small towels should be folded in thirds and the larger towels could be folded in half (length wise) and then in half again for all towels to be relatively the same width. Now I can fit approximately 16 towels on one 17" by 36" shelf.
I also remembered that years ago I watched a segment of a Martha Stewart television show explaining how to fold fitted sheets. It was fascinating, but I didn't record it and it was impossible for me to remember all the steps. This was before the internet so I've continued on in frustration all these years folding my fitted sheets into puffy wads. Then I had a sudden realization that I might be able to find a reference to sheet folding by Martha on the internet. I was extremely amazed to find that Martha is not the only one to be skilled in the art of sheet folding. Click here to see one popular instructional video on You Tube called "How to Fold a Fitted Sheet Like a Pro" There are tons of videos on the subject.
Now fitted sheets are flatter and I go a step further and fold the fitted sheet inside of the flat to create a little package.
Now there is plenty of room and even added empty space.
