topic Re: Organizing Ideas in Linea by Louis Dell'Olio

Organizing Ideas

Pecan Sandie — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 15:33:48 GMT

I've been struggling to organize my Linea collection and thought you would have great ideas. There were some ideas about jewelry a while ago, so interesting, but this is about the clothes. If you have multiples in one style do you put them together in the closet, drawer, etc. or do you store by color or by outfit? For instance all jackets together, all black tops and blouses together or everything in alabaster in one area. (How did I get so much alibaster?) I am re-doing my closets and want better organization. You just might have an idea I did not consider. Thanks in advance for your suggestions! If you have come across a resource that has been helpful, it would also be appreciated.

Re: Organizing Ideas

queendiva — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 15:48:55 GMT

I organize by color AND type, for example

all black pants together. all black tees, white tees in another drawer.

For colors with fewer pieces, like olive, I keep them hanging together so I can see what I have to mix & match.

I have core colors in my wardrobe, which helps a bit.

After that, it's blouses hanging together, from light to dark, etc.

I also have clear plastic bins arranged by color for my WKs to store folded.

Yes, I am fortunate to have plenty of closet and dry basement storage for my wardrobe.

I do remove the sweaters and heavy winter items during the warm month and same for summer clothes during cold weather. I want to see only the clothes that I want to wear.

One of the best investments I have made is customizing my closets in my past and now my present homes. I use it daily and having a custom space really makes and keeps my wardrobe organized and saves so much time as well as $$ when I can see what I have and avoid buying unneeded duplicates. The other is Huggable Hangers. I used to think they were an unnecessary purchase. Now every hanger in my house is a HH.

Re: Organizing Ideas

GraceCO — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 16:53:05 GMT

@queendiva You've got a great system! I agree that getting a closet customized makes a huge difference. And, now with more (affordable) options from Ikea, it's an easier decision and the installation is manageable.

I have built ins for my closet & a separate section for my Linea pants, blouses & dresses, organized by color. I now use a standalone armoire to store my Linea knits in individual bins on each shelf.

The biggest help in figuring out what I own is a Linea board on Pinterest, which I suspect many of us use. I create a private board with sub-sections for each season and post the photos of what I've purchased. This refreshes my memory on what I own and gives me ideas on what to wear whenever I'm stumped, This has made the biggest difference in managing my obscenely large Linea collection! lol. Highly recommend it

Re: Organizing Ideas

Pecan Sandie — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 22:59:17 GMT

@queendiva I like the clear bin idea for the WK and grouping of the ever popular black pants. I'll do that except where they might be paired with a jacket of the same fabric. The huggable hangers are awesome. I too only use them. Thanks so much for your response.

Re: Organizing Ideas

Pecan Sandie — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 23:03:02 GMT

@GraceCO Pinterest! What a great idea! It will take me a while to create it now that I too have a ridiculous number of Linea. Ha! But I love them all and I think this catalogue is a winner. Thank you for sharing this!

Re: Organizing Ideas

GraceCO — Tue, 20 Aug 2019 01:07:24 GMT

@Pecan Sandie wrote:
@GraceCO Pinterest! What a great idea! It will take me a while to create it now that I too have a ridiculous number of Linea. Ha! But I love them all and I think this catalogue is a winner. Thank you for sharing this!

@Pecan Sandie Honestly, it's life changing! Saves time and money. I actually enjoy pinning the photos, and it even helps to organize "what to buy" each new season when Louis posts his sneak peeks. Starting from scratch, it will take you some time, but luckily, Louis has just about everything on his blog going back to 2010. Have fun!

Re: Organizing Ideas

Writer with Flair — Tue, 20 Aug 2019 21:28:53 GMT

@GraceCO wrote:
@Pecan Sandie wrote:
@GraceCO Pinterest! What a great idea! It will take me a while to create it now that I too have a ridiculous number of Linea. Ha! But I love them all and I think this catalogue is a winner. Thank you for sharing this!

@Pecan Sandie Honestly, it's life changing! Saves time and money. I actually enjoy pinning the photos, and it even helps to organize "what to buy" each new season when Louis posts his sneak peeks. Starting from scratch, it will take you some time, but luckily, Louis has just about everything on his blog going back to 2010. Have fun!

Love the Pinterest idea.

Re: Organizing Ideas

Lyn08 — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 01:46:33 GMT

@GraceCO - You mention, "I now use a standalone armoire to store my Linea knits in individual bins on each shelf."

I also have an armoire with a bottom shelf and 2 other shelves. I have a lot of tops/sweaters that I fold and stack one on top of the other. That doesn't work well for me, so I'm interested to know what size and type of bins do you use in your armoire? I'd be very grateful for any info you can give me. Thanks much, Grace.

Re: Organizing Ideas

GraceCO — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 02:34:03 GMT

@Lyn08

I purchased the bins at the Container Store. They are open on one side, which allows easy access, and they're stackable. Here's the link: https://www.containerstore.com/s/cases-of-premium-stackable-shirt-and-sweater-bins/d?q=plastic%20sweater%20bin&productId=11009289

Hope these work for you!

Re: Organizing Ideas

Barbara in Virginia — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 06:49:24 GMT

@GraceCO, I love the clear stacking bins! I have two large antique armoires filled with Linea. I have been using the packing cubes for travel, organized by color, but they slip and slide around and really aren't the best. I think I would love the stability of these bins along with the fact that I can clearly see what is in them. Now I need to measure my armoires to see how they would fit into them. Thanks again!

Re: Organizing Ideas

Somertime — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 16:25:38 GMT

@GraceCO What a fabulous idea, Grace! Love the idea of using Pinterest Board! I think I will embellish on your idea and create two boards. Board one for all my Linea purchases and the second board I will use Louis' styling pictures where he creates the finished look! If I have everything all in one place, I can "dress" quickly without giving it a thought! Easy peasy!! Thanks so much for your suggestion!

Re: Organizing Ideas

Lyn08 — Sat, 24 Aug 2019 01:39:13 GMT

@GraceCO - Thanks so much for the information. What size(s) did you get? Did you get the set of 4 or the set of 6? My space is 15" between the shelves, so I couldn't stack two 8" high bins.

Re: Organizing Ideas

GraceCO — Sun, 25 Aug 2019 18:19:53 GMT

@Lyn08 You're welcome! I have 9 bins, 3 on each shelf. When I purchased them years ago, I don't recall if they were offered in sets. I don't have room to stack two 8" bins either.

Re: Organizing Ideas

alliswell — Sun, 25 Aug 2019 02:57:07 GMT

@GraceCO Thanks for the info and the inspiration!

Re: Organizing Ideas

Lyn08 — Mon, 26 Aug 2019 01:14:11 GMT

@GraceCO - Thanks so much for the info. My shelves are 28" wide, 16" deep and 15" high. 8" high bins would not be tall enough, unless I also had the 5 1/2" high bin on top of the 8". My problem is that I have too many clothes.

I am taking clothes to consignment (mostly non-Linea, but some Linea) this week. I pulled out more clothes again today, and I'm trying to be ruthless about getting rid of things I'm no longer wearing. It's too early in the season to take coats to consignment, but I have lots of Linea coats to get rid of. They are like new, but how many do I need now that I'm no longer working?

Re: Organizing Ideas

GraceCO — Mon, 26 Aug 2019 02:11:09 GMT

@Lyn08 I actually stack sweaters above the allotted 8 inches in the bin and it works just fine. No toppling over. The sweaters in the middle bin can get wobbly, but the "ceiling" of the shelf gives the columns of sweaters structure. Those bins set the boundary, keeping it all in place and neat..

I'm also going through my clothes weeding them out. It's a process and I always dread it. Like you, I definitely don't need as many clothes now. My challenge has been making the shift from buying clothing for an earlier chapter in my life! So, I do need to be ruthless now, too.

Re: Organizing Ideas

Lyn08 — Mon, 26 Aug 2019 13:04:42 GMT

@GraceCO - I ordered one set of 8" tall sweater boxes, and I'll see how they work out. They are expensive, so I don't want to order more until I see how they work in my armoire. I'm having them shipped to me, since the store is several miles from where I live, and it's free shipping because of the price.

I'll let you know how these work out for me.

I also need to pare down what I have in the armoire, my drawers and closets. I dress more casually now, but I still like to look nice.

Re: Organizing Ideas

Lyn08 — Sat, 07 Sep 2019 10:59:22 GMT

@GraceCO - I got the bins you mentioned from the Container Store. I got the sweater bins and the shirt bins. I stacked a shirt bin on top of a sweater bin. I can only get two sweater bins and two shirt bins (stacked) on each shelf, and there is a small space between, where I can roll some tops.

I think this will work, but I still have too many clothes! I can't store as many tops in these bins that I had folded and rolled before on the shelves. But that's okay -- I have one bag ready to go to donate.

Re: Organizing Ideas

CGee — Mon, 11 Jan 2021 23:41:58 GMT

New question re long term storage in bins.

I'm stocking up on Linea, now that Louis is retiring, via QVC and resellers. Am wondering if you ladies think it is okay to store brand new Safari shirts and Boho skirts in their QVC sealed plastic bags, inside closed plastic bins?

Re: Organizing Ideas

DecorDiva — Mon, 11 Jan 2021 23:59:10 GMT

@CGee wrote:
New question re long term storage in bins.

I'm stocking up on Linea, now that Louis is retiring, via QVC and resellers. Am wondering if you ladies think it is okay to store brand new Safari shirts and Boho skirts in their QVC sealed plastic bags, inside closed plastic bins?

@CGee - I wouldn't store them in the plastic bags. I know quilts and fine linens should never be wrapped in plastic. Louis recommends you fold them with tissue paper in between. I think they would be okay in bins if not packed too tightly.