What's hiding in your linen closet?

Is it crammed so full that you can barely slam the door before something falls and smashes your toes? (What are you doing barefoot anyway?)

Has your linen closet become a repository of heirloom linens and worn-out linens that have not been used in decades? What else is hidden in the back corners?

In our home we do not have a linen closet, thank goodness.

I used to have one in the house where my son grew up. I am going to reconstruct the stuff I had stashed in its shelves:

The very bottom of this closet contained our return air duct. The closet door was basically louvres that allowed the air to flow.

On the bottom shelf about two feet off the floor was my fabric stash. I used to sew all the time. This shelf was crammed full of fabric that I was never going to use. Did you know that fabric will dry rot? Not to mention get dusty and dirty.

On the second shelf were blankets and sheets. Most of those we had been given for wedding presents that didn't fit any of the beds we had. Why was I keeping them?

On the third shelf almost at the top of the closet were the boxes of keepsake doilies and pillow cases that were handmade by great grandmothers and grandmothers.

Also on this shelf were baby blankets that were too good to use for everyday, blankets that had been crocheted by my grandmother.

Love had been put into every stitch, and I shoved it in a closet and never used it to bless my son.

I had also stuff at the top of the closet because I had no other place to put it, including my father's U.S. Marine's dress uniform in a suit bag.

This closet was so full I hated to open the door.

The stuff in there called out to me, filling me with guilt and sadness. Why was I just stuffing it all in this closet? I think it was because I really didn't want to face it.

I didn't want to face the money I wasted at the fabric store and all the good intentions I had.

I didn't want to face that my father was dead or all the other people who had given us that stuff. It was good stuff, and I just couldn't get rid of good stuff!

I have come to a new way of thinking about this stuff! If you don't use it and it doesn't make you smile; it needs to go away. I have quit stuffing my feelings away by stuffing my closets full of stuff that is too good to let go. The hoarding has stopped, and I am blessing others with my abundance.

This week let's clear our out linen closets and keep only the things we love and pass on the rest of it to bless others. This goes for your fabric stash, too, and all those towels you are saving for company. Until you establish routines your company is going to be left standing outside your door anyway because your home is not welcoming them or your family.

Let go of your linen clutter and bless the world. Make room for the things you love and use. Everything will have a place and everything in its place.

Are you ready to FLY by only having just enough?

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Marla Cilley, a k a FlyLady, is the author of "Sink Reflections" (Bantam Books Trade Paperback). For more help, please go to: www.FlyLady.net. © 2006