Week 12 of 15 in 15 in ’15 Challenge: Towels, Sheets and Blankets

Cleaning out the linen supply is not only a great 15 in 15 in ’15 challenge, but a fantastic one for our Spring Cleaning activities!

Towels, Sheets and Blankets

How to decide what to keep and what to part with? Here are some guidelines: 

Sheets:

• If we’re not talking about “could have an accident in the bed” aged family members, 2 sets of sheets per bed are plenty. 3 if one is a flannel set.
• Your sheets should fit the beds you have currently in your home. I know that may sound silly, but I can’t tell you how often I have conversations with clients that include this exchange: ‘So, where IS the full size bed in your home?” “Um…  I don’t think we have one any more, since we upgraded to a queen”. 

Towels:

• Get rid of the ones that :
  • Are not your favorites (scratchy, nonabsorbent, ugly)
  • You wouldn’t offer them to an important guest
  • Are a supply greater than what you really need (like, do you really need more than 2 bath towels and 1 beach towel for every resident in your home? And a set of 2 guest towels?
  • 16 wash cloths? Probably more than you need.  

Blankets:

• Do you have enough for every bed and if you have a guest over?  That’s plenty
• Rank them in terms of “love these for my bed” and “Well, I guess if we lost power for 3 days and we had no heat and I had no other option to keep my family alive”.  Then get rid of that last few. 

What to do with what you’ve collected?

• Good shape?  Donate to a place where humans will use them
• Okay shape? Donate to a place where animals can use them (Check local SPCA, or pet stores)
• Bad shape? Donate to a textile drive near you!  Lots of schools and organizations have a “per pound” fund-raising program for gathering textiles.  Or call a local donation shop to see if they take textiles for poundage, not for resale. 

Don’t forget to take Before and After pictures!