Linen closets can get musty and give your sheets and towels an odd smell. Don’t you just hate having to rewash your sheets before you can put them on your bed? Here are some ideas for freshening up your linen closet and keeping it organized.

First, get everything clean. Sheets, blankets, and other fine linens can get really wrinkled under the weight of each other. Plus, stacking them in the traditional manner helps them to hold in moisture and create that tell-tale musty linen closet odor. The smell actually comes from molds and mildews growing in your sheets and towels. If your closet smells, it may be a good idea to rewash the sheets and towels that are in there before you begin. Make sure that they are completely dry and free of moisture before you put them back in.

To avoid the wrinkled sheet problem, try installing an inexpensive hanging bar in the linen closet. You can use sturdy wooden hangers or specialty hangers with clips to hang your fresh sheets. This keeps them nice and smooth, instead of compressed, musty and wrinkled. It’s a really easy solution to a lot of linen closet problems.

The next thing you can do is use cedar wood hangers in the linen closet. Clothes hangers made of cedar absorb any moisture that may be left in your clean laundry. They also deodorize the area and keep it smelling fresh. They help fabrics and carpet resist mold and mildew growth. The smell of cedar is so nice on your linens and will make you feel like you’re staying in a nice hotel whenever you use a towel or change your sheets.

If you like other scents, you can use sachets or linen sprays. Sachets are just little bags made of breathable fabric. You can fill them with your favorite herbs, dried flowers, potpourri or cedar accessories. You just sprits linen sprays on your fabrics weekly to keep the whole closet smelling nice. Cedar will last a long time but may eventually start to lose its aroma. If that happens with cedar hangers or cedar accessories, just rub them a little with a fine-grit sandpaper and they’ll be as good as new again.

You can also use dryer sheets to freshen your closet. Some people like to put one dryer sheet, or fabric softener sheet, in between each sheet and towel in the linen closet. However, many people with sensitive skin are unable to use fabric softeners. If this is the case for you, simply leave the box of fabric softener sheets in the closet, but not touching any of your linens. This may be a good idea for everyone, since dryer sheets contain a wax that can mark your sheets and other linens.

Using dryer sheets, sachets, cedar accessories and cedar clothes hangers will keep your closet smelling nice. Hanging linens on nice wooden hangers will keep it looking great as well. A good wood hanger will be sturdy enough to support the weight of heavy blankets without bending or breaking. When your linen closet is fresh and organized, you can enjoy it every day.

About the Author: Charlie Hafter is on the staff of Closet Hanger Factory, a leading online resource for wooden hangers. Get all of the wood hangers and closet accessories you could need at http://www.closethangerfactory.com, which is recognized worldwide for their excellent quality hangers.

Organizing a closet is a personal thing, which is why most people prefer to do it themselves. Only you really know what you use the most and where you would like for it to be when you need it. However, it can be hard to decide, with so many options out there. We’ve assembled a few tips and tricks that some people find helpful when deciding how to organize their closet. Whether you want an elaborate system or just have a few dollars to invest, these tips can get you started in the right direction.

Designing your own system can be a lot of fun. Go ahead and dream big when you design your closet. You don’t have to do everything in the design, but it can help you get ideas about what will work best for your space. You may decide to add on sections at a later date, and just leave them blank for now.

For example, many people find drawers in the closet extremely useful. There is so much little stuff that we want to keep out of sight. Ties, underwear, belts, spare shoestrings, you name it; it probably needs to be stored in the closet. A closet drawer can be divided into sections that help you keep everything in its place. If you don’t have room for an entire dresser or series of drawers, you might be able to install just one or two underneath an existing shelf. Drawers don’t take up much space, but they can get rid of all of the little things that clutter up your closet.

Another thing that many people are doing now is to double up on the bars. Most people don’t hang a lot of suits and dresses anymore, so why do we need an eight foot long bar dedicated to hanging these long items? We don’t. Most people can get away with a one to two foot bar dedicated to long dresses and coats. Think locker-style hanging area for long items on one side of the closet.

If you do hang a small bar on one far side of the closet like we’re talking about, then you can use the next foot or two of space for shelving. Shelves can be used for anything from underwear baskets to photo albums. You will find lots of uses for shelves in your closet.

Next to that you can hang two bars, one high and one low. You can hang all of your shirts on one and all of your pants on the other. Measure how many feet of hanging room you started with, usually eight feet, and measure how many you have now. With the one short bar for hanging dresses, plus the two for hanging shirts and pants, you should have nine to twelve feet of hanging space, plus the shelves that you installed.

You can create so much more usable space in a closet if you just use your imagination. When you’re done, update your clothes hangers to finish it off. A good clothes hanger is sturdy and attractive. Wood hangers are cheaper than you may think and can really add a high-end feel to your closet. Coat hangers are best for coats and suits because they help them to keep their shape at the shoulders. When your hangers look good, your entire closet will look good!

About the Author: Charlie Hafter is on the staff of Closet Hanger Factory, a leading online resource for clothes hangers. Get all of the closet and clothes hanger accessories you could need at http://www.closethangerfactory.com, which is recognized worldwide for their excellent quality hangers.

The biggest problem in most closets is storage space. From sports equipment to socks that you haven’t found the mate for yet, there are endless things around the home that don’t have anywhere else to go but your closet. You need some solutions. Use these tips for making the most of the little space that you have.

First, get some specialty hangers. Little things like belts, hats, and scarves don’t seem to take up much space. However, when you put them all together, they do actually take up room. Even worse, if they’re disorganized, they can make your entire closet look disorderly and cluttered. Specialty hangers give you a specific place to put all of these little things. They also help to save on space, because instead of each of these things taking up shelf, drawer, or basket space, they simply hang on the bar. All of your belts, scarves, and hats can take up as little as three inches of hanging space when you use specialty hangers.

Cascading hangers are also great space savers. You can get special cascading pants hangers and skirt hangers that allow you to hang multiple like items on one hanger. If you don’t like digging underneath the pants to pull out the ones that you want, consider getting one that is hinged at the top. You simply lift up the bottom and all of the pants or skirts will hang freely apart from each other. This little detail helps you to not pull pants and skirts off onto the floor or wrinkle them trying to get them off of the hanger.

Your clothes hangers can have a big impact on your space as well. Flat hangers are great for saving space, but they can be flimsy, causing your clothes to end up crumpled on the floor. When the hooks get all tangled up and the clothes get smashed together, the space that you saved seems to not be worth the effort. This is why we recommend wooden hangers made to save space. You can buy flat wood hangers that keep your clothes very slightly separated. They save space, but are designed not to cross up on the bar and they are definitely sturdier than plastic or wire hangers.

Specialty hangers, cascading hangers, and space saving wooden hangers are available in all sorts of styles and colors that will suit your needs. You’ll be amazed at how much better your closet looks when your clothes hangers all match. A good clothes hanger will be sturdy, beautiful, and free of sharp edges that can snag and rip clothing. Wooden hangers are definitely the hangers of choice when it comes to saving space and organizing your closet.

About the Author: Charlie Hafter is on the staff of Closet Hanger Factory, a leading online resource for wooden hangers. Get all of the wood hangers and closet accessories you could need at http://www.closethangerfactory.com, which is recognized worldwide for their excellent quality hangers.