How to Organize Table Linens

My burgeoning table linen inventory inevitably overwhelmed the space I have available. The result was that my linens have been jammed in drawers and shelves, resulting in it making it difficult to find what I was looking for. And, when I did find what I was looking for, my linens were inevitably wrinkled!

Each drawer was filled with a combination of tablecloths, napkins, and even a few placemats thrown in for good measure.

And because the drawers were filled to capacity, my napkins were tucked in wherever I could find space.

But…that was then…

This is now! Organized Table Linens and napkins!

Instead I realized that I had more linens than I had space and, therefore, needed to find some new space.

My idea was to use some of the space in the closet under the stairs to hang up my tablecloths. This freed up the drawer space for the napkins. This space under the stairs was perfect, but a spare bedroom closet or coat closet would work just as well.

We used these  support brackets and a flagpole we already had. The brackets hold up to 125 lbs on the hanger, so I now have the capacity to add more tablecloths! 

I employed the methods I used in the past of taking all the linens out of the cabinet to examine them for their condition and to decide if they were something I still wanted to use. In the process, I discarded a couple of dated runners and repaired a small tear in one of the tablecloths in the process.

I measured each of my tablecloths and runners and I created labels so that now I know exactly what I have. Then, I folded 4″ by 6″ cardstock in half, cut a little half oval at the fold, wrote down the details, and attached it a hanger. 

A little glue/tape keep the label in place.

Now all my tablecloths are organized and I can easily see what I have!