How many do we need? Cleaning house.

Hubby and I have been cleaning out the house. We have a small house. I'm seriously starting to question my old habits.

For example, bed sheets. When it was just the two of use we had four sets of sheets. Two winter sheets, two summer sheets. We don't have a ton of space, but we were able to store three sets (one on the bed doesn't need to be stored obviously). Today I just realized that very soon I will be dealing with three twin beds and our full bed. Four beds in total. This would mean 16 sets of sheets, 12 of which would need to be stored at any one time. I don't have an abundance of room, I'm at a loss of where I would even be able to store that many sheets. When changing sheets I've almost always washed, dried, and folded them the same day, so it isn't as though I actually need those extras because I won't get around to washing them later in the week.

Then there are coats/jackets. I look at the size of our closets and it is very clear that back in 1922 when building the house they didn't have anywhere near the amount of clothing we do now. But when I look in my closet I don't see which coats/jackets can go. Do I really need a light weight jacket, medium weight coat, heavy weight coat. Add in dressy versions of these and it quickly becomes unmanageable.

We've already gone from multiple tablecloths down to three. My Aunt's china set that didn't match, but did complement my current one I inherited from my grandmother, has gone out the door to be donated because I finally accepted the fact that I will never, ever need than 12 place settings.

Looking in the kid's closet my two year old has 30 shirts hanging up. My five year old has 25 hanging. I'd say for the most part they keep wearing the same 10 or so shirts. But when faced with deciding what to let go I am at a complete loss. I am afraid to even look in the drawers.

Couple of thoughts:

1. Sheets - Ours have usually been stored in a drawer (or box, or rolling thingy) under the bed, if that space isn't already in use in your house. otoh, I've never had more than one or two sets beyond what's on the bed.

2. Kids' shirts (and lots of other things) - May be easier to decide which ones to keep, rather than which ones to toss. Decide on a reasonable #, and keep your favorites? Good news is the others are sure to be welcomed in some other kid's home.

congrats on getting started cleaning out!! i'm still just thinking about it, and posting on mol....

I stopped buying unless i needed it (really needed it) and found i really dont need that much

if you do laundry weekly cant imagine kids needing more than 14 shirts

why not one set of sheets and put back on bed on laundry day - i found its much easier than switching sheets as fresh sheets out of the laundry seem to be crisper and hold the softner scent

Marie Kondo's book would probably help you!

Here's a trick I learned for how to decide which clothes to get rid of: At the beginning of the season, take the clothes in your closet for that season and hang them such that the hangers are turned backwards. After you wear and wash an item, re-hang it normally. At the end of that season, get rid of anything that is still hanging backwards. You haven't worn those item all that season, so how likely are you to wear them next year? This helped me weed a lot out of my wardrobe.

afa said:
Marie Kondo's book would probably help you!

Is that the book about only keeping things that give you joy so you don't have to do housework?

We also have a small house and limited closet space. Hubby and I have maybe four sets of sheets. We have one child. Her bed is platform style with drawers underneath, and her bedding is stored in one of the two large drawers. If each of your kids had this type of bed, you'd gain a lot of storage space.

+1 for the platform bed with drawers. That's where my kid's sheets go. Also the cushions for my lawn chairs.

spontaneous said:

afa said:
Marie Kondo's book would probably help you!

Is that the book about only keeping things that give you joy so you don't have to do housework?

Yes--I don't have the time to categorize and go through everything in my house like she says to, though, so I'm still stuck doing housework. But her basic idea is helping me feel better about tossing/donating/selling somethingwhen I come across it when I'm cleaning and I realize I haven't used it in forever, or just plain don't like it. I used it just stuff it away somewhere.

Dave, can we make this thread a sticky? I need to read it regularly to remember to donate every item I didn't wear this summer!

When you have a king size bed, sheets take on a life of their own!

I've recently been introduced to un*****yourhabitat.com. I'm not sure if the automatic censors will bleep that out, so it is unf*ckyourhabitat.com and just replace the * with a u. It's kind of like flylady but with curses.

I am currently toying with the thought that maybe we only need one set of sheets per bed and one towel per person with a few extra for guests. I tend to take the sheets off the bed, wash them, and put them right back on that day... so why bother with the others that are in the linen closet? I think maybe I could manage with just the one set per bed, plus one extra set in flannel for the coldest months.

But I haven't tried it yet!

spontaneous said:
I've recently been introduced to un*****yourhabitat.com. I'm not sure if the automatic censors will bleep that out, so it is unf*ckyourhabitat.com and just replace the * with a u. It's kind of like flylady but with curses.

LOVE this website. Great, great, great advice.

Maybe it would be helpful to apply the one-year rule: If you haven't worn something in a year, it goes.

I have to admit none of those things have happened to me, Suzie2.

So maybe I wasn't allowing for enough variables.

Speaking of sheets, it has taken me a long time to recognize that my fitted bottom sheets should be the first things out of the house! Carpel tunnel, arthritis, etc have made getting queen and king size beds made up a painful activity!

A few months ago, I began using two top sheets instead. So easy to make, easier to launder as it is so much less bulk. Wish I had figured that out a few years ago

If you have more than one bed of the same size then you don't need multiple sets of extras, but I do think that you need at least one, possibly two, extra sets in each size used regularly in the house. (But extras not needed for spare/guest beds.) Having flannel/winter sheets adds to the requirement if you choose to use them. (But the "regular" sheets could serve the emergency need in that case.)

I wish we could use flat sheets on the bottom... but Mr. PeggyC plays basketball in his sleep, so the sheets would be all over the place.

PeggyC said:
I wish we could use flat sheets on the bottom... but Mr. PeggyC plays basketball in his sleep, so the sheets would be all over the place.

I don't like folding fitted sheets, but I sure don't like making beds without them.

I learned how to properly fold fitted sheets, and now am actually good at it. My husband is convinced that it is the work of the devilsince he claims no normal person can actually fold one of those.

have u tried the vacuum bags - you stick a bunch of stuff in there and then use your vacuum to suck all the air out. it is great for storing things, especially stuff like sheets and blankets, that take up a lot of room but you don't need to use all the time. you'd be surprised how flat a stack of blankets can get, and then you can stack the flattened bags on top of each other.

I have 3 sets of sheets per bed---one on the bed, one in the laundry and one in the linen closet. But I have many towels, because I take 2 clean towels every time I take a shower. I don't see anyway to get around that,because I refuse to launder 2 towels a day.

As for clothes, when I retired I donated 14 bags of clothes and shoes,including coats. I just don't need that many clothes anymore. I kept 2 suits---one winter, one summer, both black---in case I need to look dignified or go to a funeral.

But I have no trouble pitching things, it is just getting to the point of actually doing it.

Suzie2 said:
Two sets of sheets per bed is a must... because you'll need that second set immediately in case of their soiling by the inopportune expulsion of various bodily fluids from a sick person...

OMG yes... I remember when my husband had food poisoning. I spent the night on a bare mattress (both of our mattress pads ended up in the wash). Thank goodness I had a Snuggie blanket... (Husband spent the night in his sleeping bag on the hallway floor right by the bathroom.)