ORGANIZED LINEN CLOSET: THE MAKE OVER REVEAL!

I am so excited to share our organized linen closet reveal with you today! It is probably the most gratifying before and after I’ve ever tackled. Well, when it comes to organizing that is.

Last year, when I revealed our kitchen pantry makeover, I felt the exact same way. I still love it to this day! It cost very little and functions perfectly for us.

What I love about today’s reveal, is that it’s incredibly functional and so beautiful you are going to love this too, I promise. I’m thrilled with the results and can’t wait for you to see.

I shared my plans for this linen closet organization as well as a few other current projects last week, it’s all in this post I also organized my kitchen drawers, what a difference it makes!

Today is all about our beautiful, clean, bright and airy, organized linen closet. Come and take a look.

*Affiliate links are provided throughout, or at the bottom of this post. Please see my full disclosure policy here.

OUR ORGANIZED LINEN CLOSET MAKEOVER REVEAL!Functional and beautiful organized linen closet with baskets to keep everything neat and tidy.

Here’s a little peek into our newly organized linen closet. I knew I wanted as many baskets as I could fit into this shallow space, that was both functional and beautiful. 

Some are tucked deep into the sides of the closet and couldn’t be photographed. 

I could have easily just folded extra items and tucked them in, but I really wanted everything to be housed in its own storage basket. Easy to grab when needed and everything contained. Keep reading to see some before shots and the gargantuan mess that I pulled out of here and purged.

Organized linen closet reveal! A fresh coat of paint, pretty baskets and major purging, it went from messy and cramped to spacious and airy!

We have a very narrow, dark hallway, with no natural light whatsoever, so it was very important to me to bring a light, airy and open feeling to this space.
organized linen closet

We recently updated all of our doors handles throughout our home, and we added some beautiful matching glass knobs on these doors as well. 

All of our new hardware, including our front door, is from Emtek – they are exquisite! 

You can see how narrow this space is, and luckily, our linen closet is nice and wide. Unfortunately, it’s very shallow, so it can be tricky to store things here. Clever storage and careful editing were a must for this linen closet.organized linen closet



LINEN CLOSET – LET’S SEE THE “BEFORE”!

Do you remember this from last week?! Not so pretty is it? 

It wasn’t painted, and it was chockfull of mismatched sheets and stray towels. 

Not to mention the years-old toiletries…organized linen closet

I took everything out of the closet, including the shelving so I could give it a fresh, bright coat of paint, and also be able to see what I actually had in here. empty closetI can’t believe the difference the white paint makes. It’s amazing, really. Those brown, MDF shelf brackets or shelf dividers added so much visual noise.

Now that I had a fresh clean palette to work with, I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. I also gave the doors a few paint touch-ups as well, they really needed it!  

This color is Cracked Pepper by Behr and is used on all of our interior doors throughout our home.empty linen closet

Below are the complete contents of our linen closet. It truly amazes me how much stuff we had ‘stuffed’ in there.

Literally. There was so much surplus – sets of sheets, hand towels, old shampoo bottles, expired medicine, you name it.

So many items I haven’t actually seen in a few years, or even longer…items I figured we’d use eventually, or that I kept ‘just in case’ I needed it for something.

That’s a perfect recipe for accumulating a whole lot of clutter.
linens for the closetWhat I learned, most importantly, is there is absolutely no need to hold onto things like this!

I must have had six sets of twin sheets I’ll never use again. Here you can see everything I compiled to either donate or throw away (that wouldn’t be of use to anyone).

There was so much unnecessary clutter in that closet that was taking up valuable space, and giving me stress every time I opened the door – and I had actually cleaned it out a few years ago!bunch of linens and towels

LINEN CLOSET – THE FINAL REVEAL!

What I love the most about this organized linen closet, is that everything I kept has it’s placed and is beautifully stored.

Baskets have become my best friend and the different styles I found work so well together.

I knew I wanted a clean and crisp look, but not completely monochromatic… it needed warmth as well. A grey, white and natural color palette is what I settled on to create the look.

I’m sharing a lot of photos below, I hope you love this as much as I do!
linen baskets

I needed the top shelf and floor to hold the biggest and bulkiest items:

  • Extra sets of bedding
  • Sheets
  • Toilet paper
  • Bath mats
  • Tissue boxes
  • Towels and more

So I set out to find the biggest baskets this closet could handle. At 11″ deep, it was a challenge, but I was able to find some that fit perfectly at a local retailer (I’m linking similar ones to shop further down!).

I used fabric baskets on the top shelf for our extra bedding, and the lined wicker baskets on the floor for toilet paper, tissue boxes, towels, and bath mats.Organized linen closet reveal! A fresh coat of paint, pretty baskets and major purging, it went from messy and cramped to spacious and airy!

The second shelf holds all of our medicine (this closet serves double duty since our bathrooms have very limited storage), extra toiletries, bandages, heating pads, and all of those beautifully packaged drug store items that add to that visual noise I was talking about. 

I decided to use these very handy natural woven baskets to conceal all of it. They’re tall enough to hide bottles of peroxide and such, deep enough so you don’t see the contents, and within reach, so everything is very easy to find. 

Our kids are teenagers so there’s no need for labels or keeping things within reach (or out of reach) for small hands.organized linens and linen baskets



More towels and washcloths are stored in additional baskets and on the shelves as well.

Our bath towels have to sit sideways, because of the shallow depth of the shelves.

It used to be a challenge to fit everything in here, but now that I’ve purged so much, and gotten rid of so many unneeded things in here, there is a ton of space and it feels like a breath of fresh air.Organized linen closet reveal! A fresh coat of paint, pretty baskets and major purging, it went from messy and cramped to spacious and airy!I’ve kept only what we use, what we need, and a few additional items.

I even have some extra space in here that’s not being used, that’s how much I was holding on to.Organized linen closet reveal! A fresh coat of paint, pretty baskets and major purging, it went from messy and cramped to spacious and airy!

I had so many extra ratty towels and bath mats – the ones that aren’t nice enough to donate, get used in the garage for rags.

The same goes for old sheets. Whatever can’t be given away gets used for drop cloths – I always need them for painting projects.Organized linen closet reveal! A fresh coat of paint, pretty baskets and major purging, it went from messy and cramped to spacious and airy!Organized linen closet reveal! A fresh coat of paint, pretty baskets and major purging, it went from messy and cramped to spacious and airy!

 It feels so great to have all of this extra space and such a clean look in this linen closet.

I’ll be honest – I don’t like organizing at all – it’s the reward that I love so much! This project was a lot of work.

Cleaning it out, sorting, painting and deciding what to put where afterward, was both physically and mentally tiring.

I think it took me about three or four days to complete, but I am so happy I finally got around to getting this done.

Nothing feels better than crossing a task off the list!Organized linen closet reveal! A fresh coat of paint, pretty baskets and major purging, it went from messy and cramped to spacious and airy! Organized linen closet reveal! A fresh coat of paint, pretty baskets and major purging, it went from messy and cramped to spacious and airy! Organized linen closet reveal! A fresh coat of paint, pretty baskets and major purging, it went from messy and cramped to spacious and airy!

A place for everything and everything in its place.

Nothing makes me happier. It’s the little things ;)Organized linen closet reveal! A fresh coat of paint, pretty baskets and major purging, it went from messy and cramped to spacious and airy!

Organized linen closet reveal! A fresh coat of paint, pretty baskets and major purging, it went from messy and cramped to spacious and airy!



Our linen closet is about six feet wide, and there’s quite a lot of extra storage space that you can’t see in the photos – that’s where I’ve stored beach towels out of sight, extra sheets and even some of the kids’ baby towels in here.

Even though I did some major purging, I wasn’t ready to part with those ones just yet ;)Organized linen closet reveal! A fresh coat of paint, pretty baskets and major purging, it went from messy and cramped to spacious and airy!Cute glass apothecary jars from the dollar store (no, I haven’t labeled them yet!) hold bath salts and cotton balls and I love that I have enough room on the shelves now to style them with other beautiful jars.

You may recognize some of these from my master bathroom makeover reveal from last year.Organized linen closet reveal! A fresh coat of paint, pretty baskets and major purging, it went from messy and cramped to spacious and airy! Organized linen closet reveal! A fresh coat of paint, pretty baskets and major purging, it went from messy and cramped to spacious and airy!

Organized linen closet reveal! A fresh coat of paint, pretty baskets and major purging, it went from messy and cramped to spacious and airy!This was a project I put off for far too long. It was work, but there’s no better feeling than the reward at the end!

Don’t forget to check out my organized kitchen drawers with tons of tips!

I have a couple of other areas that I need to get on top of and organize, but the really big ones – our bedroom closets and ridiculous mess of a basement, may have to wait a while.

Tell me what you think of our organized linen closet! I hope this has inspired you to get organizing too. Trust me, it’s really not that bad once you have a vision and a plan. You’ll be so happy you finally did it too.

Thank you as always for reading with me! Happy organizing! xo



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28 Comments

  1. tamaraanka says:

    Thanks for the tip, that’s great to know, I had no idea!

  2. Everything looks beautiful! A suggestion for your shredding. Do yourself a favor and bring it all down to staples. They have a secure bin where the material can be dropped. Small fee but your shredding will be done! (And not by you!)

  3. tamaraanka says:

    Thank YOU so much for reading along! I am thrilled you like it and so excited it inspired you! I truly appreciate your sweet words, thank you so much! Good luck with you project! xo

  4. tamaraanka says:

    Erin!! Coming from the Queen of organization, I could not be more happy! Thank you my friend!! xoxo

  5. Tam!!! I’m dying over this makeover! So amazing! πŸ™ŒπŸ»πŸ‘πŸ»πŸ‘πŸ»πŸ‘πŸ»

  6. the3rddecade says:

    Thank you so much for sharing this project! To look at this both functional and beautiful closet is the the best kick for me to open my own crowded closet and s t a r t. I always love watching your posts – they are a spring of energy for me. Thank you!

  7. tamaraanka says:

    I’m so happy you’re inspired! Baskets make everything so much easier to contain and to find and having a clean organized look makes such a big difference – I think you will be very happy with the results too! Thanks for stopping by! xo

  8. tamaraanka says:

    Oh no, I am so sorry, I had no idea! Thank you for letting me know! I think it may be because they are linked on Walmart.com and being redirected to Walmart.ca – I’ve sent in a request to my affiliate partner to try and fix the problem asap! Thank you again! xo

  9. tamaraanka says:

    Thank you very much!! It was a big project to tackle but so worth it! The easiest way to find my rug is under the SHOP tab, SHOP MY INSTAGRAM – you can click on any living room image and it is there. Hope that helps!

  10. Martha Hooks says:

    Hello, I love your home, everything is so pretty. Your linen closet looks so organized, maybe that will be my next project. I wanted to ask you where did you get the curtains in your dining room?. Thanks

  11. Most of your links (baskets) do not work. I tried to look at the fabric and the gray wicker. They don’t work.

  12. We have a very small and not so deep linen closet and need to do a good purge as well. This inspired me to do my linen closet as well as my husbands closet that has to hold our extra towels, toilet paper and Kleenex. Like the baskets for that will look so much better.

  13. tamaraanka says:

    Diane thank you so much, I’m thrilled you like it – and I’m very flattered! And I can totally relate, I’m a ‘just in case’ person too, but no more lol! Thanks so much for reading! xo

  14. tamaraanka says:

    Thanks so much Bianca!! I love baskets too – you can’t have enough!! And pillows haha! Thank you for reading with me! xo

  15. tamaraanka says:

    Thank you so much Isabel! I’m so happy you like it all – this project was so satisfying, we love being able to find everything easily! Thanks for reading! xo

  16. tamaraanka says:

    Thank you, so happy you like it! That’s great to know about the animal shelters, I appreciate it!

  17. Excellent work! You can also donate clean towels and sheets to an animal shelter, they are always in need of these items for washing animals and making them comfortable.

  18. I love this Tam! And yes it is β€œthe little things” that bring joy. I love how you folded your towells up straight in the baskets. Thanks for sharing!

  19. Looks amazing!!! Love of course all the baskets, so many good ones!!!!!! I’m a basket fanatic as well. Pillows and baskets are my weakness ;) have a great weekend!

  20. Great job Tamara!! I have organized my linen closet,but your looks like a professional did it. I am a great one for keeping something for “just in case!”πŸ™„

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