I hope you had a wonderful rest!
Today I wanted to share with you a project I have been working on. As you know, we have been moving into our new house. This house is a blessing with lots of storage, but it is still hard to figure out what goes where when the layout of a new house is si totally different from your previous house.
Not only that but we had a ton of stuff in storage that we are just seeing for the first time in years!
We have, over the years, collected a ton of linens--towels, sheets, pillows, blankets. Some are too good to throw away but are not our daily use items either.
I also happened to find myself with a several of those plastic cases with real zippers that sheet sets and curtains come in. I thought to myself "Why not make linen kits?". We have a travel trailer, we have company, and we may have times where we need to grab and go if we flood. Kits make it easy to know exactly what you are getting. No hunting for that one pillowcase, no accidentally taking only hand towels in a road trip ("Showertime! Who grabbed the bath towels?"...xcricketsx). If I have unexpected houseguests, I know there are complete, clean sets of linens.
The plastic cases, while not as pretty as I would like, also ensure that the linens stay clean and dust/bug/hair free.
I was delighted to discover that I actually had many spare pillows as well. I was able to make two complete queen bed kits (2 pillow cases, two sheets, one blanket, two pillows). Two complete twin bed kits (1 pillow case, two sheets, one blanket, one pillow). I also added mattress covers when I could. Those are good for when I have to make pallets on the floor using couch cushions.
I had more sheet sets, so I put extra complete sheet sets in kits. I have a queen sheet set kit (it was a large bag so I put multiple sheet sets in there). I made several twin sheet kits, each in individual cases.
For towels that are not our every day towels, I set up a four person kit and a 1-2 person kit. These are more for the travel trailer. We plan to set it up as functional on the property so if people come visit, they can sleep in more comfort. We do not have a guest room, so this gives our guests more privacy.
We ended up with miscellaneous pillow cases, hand towels, etc. These were grouped together and placed in their own cases. The benefit of this is that, if I need a muck towel or a sheet for a project, I do not accidentally grab a nice one or one of a set.
Currently the contents of the kits are marked in incredibly bright pink duct tape :). Because I want to have our house look more natural and charming, I will eventually sew up some covers and make proper labels which I will place over the plastic cases. However, in the meantime, the linens will stay organized and clean. If we have company, or if someone is in need, it will be easy to quickly grab a kit.
A few notes:
--I have never had any luck with those space saver bags not leaking. I would avoid paying extra for them unless you just need that particular size and shape. The ziplock bags also do not retain a vacuum. However, it is very helpful to do an initial vacuuming to be able to fit more items into a kit.
--I am using a mix of huge ziplock bags, space saver bags, and the plastic cases. Truly the plastic cases that the bed sets come in are the most handy . If you know an interior designer or stager, you might ask to see if they have extra of those.
--Square cases, like the ones good comforter sets or surefit couch covers come in, are worth their weight in gold. They stack incredibly well.
--Also, to keep things fresh, I added a spritz of clean cotton fragrance. That should keep any musty smell at bay. If I had had lavender linen spray handy, I would have used that instead.
I had great fun with this organizational project! I put on the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice and went to work gathering and placing in kits. A wonderful feeling of accomplishment!
From left to right: spare blanket kits, complete twin kits, complete queen kits.
Sheet kits and sets.
Below are towel kits and sets.
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