Four years ago (almost to the day), I shared a post about why we didn’t need extra storage for linens — mainly because we didn’t have any extra linens!
And honestly… we didn’t!
We had one set of sheets per bed, a few extra towels stored in a basket in our bathroom, and some sleeping bags in storage.
It was a fabulously minimalistic system that worked well for us for several years. However, 4 years (and 3 more children) later, we have a little bit different system.
We still only have a minimal number of towels (1 bath towel per child, 2 bath towels per adult, and a few extra hand towels and washcloths) but Dave and I got flannel sheets 2 years ago and we instantly fell in love with them!
Since then, our kids have begged us for flannel sheets — so we now have 2 sets of sheets per bed (with no great place to store the set that’s not in use). We could very easily make space in the kid’s closets and in our closet, but I came up with a “better” idea for now 🙂
I simply store the 2nd set of sheets under the mattress pad!
I just switched our sheets over to flannel a few weeks ago — here’s how I layered the sheets
- mattress
- fitted sheet from the set we’re not using
- flat sheet from the set we’re not using (folded in half widthwise and laid lengthwise on top of the mattress)
- fitted waterproof mattress pad
- fitted flannel sheet
- flat flannel sheet (tucked under the end of the mattress like “normal”)
- any other blankets or comforters we use on top
It sounds like a lot of layers, but it’s a very quick process and a great way to save tons of space on linen storage.
As an added bonus, if a child has an accident or gets sick in the middle of the night, you can simply pull the top layer of sheets AND the waterproof mattress pad off the bed and you instantly have a second set ready to go.
I should point out that this system would NOT work well without a waterproof mattress pad to protect the 2nd set of sheets. Otherwise, you’d just end up getting both sets of sheets dirty and creating more work for yourself!
Also, I don’t wash the mattress pad every time I wash the sheets, so everything under the mattress pad stays put even when I wash the top set of sheets and put them back on. If you like to wash the mattress pad every single time, this system might be slightly more of a pain for you!
And finally, if you put any sort of cushion or feather bed on top of your mattress, you’d most likely want to put that ON TOP of the unused set of sheets but still under the mattress pad.
I’ve used the layering system in our crib for years (layering multiple mattress pads and sheets on top of eachother) I’m not sure what took me so long to think of doing it for the rest of our beds too!
So now we can all enjoy lovely flannel sheets all winter long without adding extra clutter to our home!
Win Win!
How do you store extra sheets?
Oh, and if you’re wondering what brand/type of sheets we use…
- I LOVE the Threshold line of sheets from Target
- And these are the flannel sheets we use.
Pat says
My kids were little a long time ago (70’s). We had several sheets per crib. It was not unusual to change crib sheets daily and sometime twice a day. Diapers were cloth and they only held so much liquid. We did laundry at the laundromat sometimes 3 or 4 times a week. I was so thrilled when I got my first machines! I did discover that in an emergency a double sheet put on a crib mattress sideways went all the way around the mattress and made a great crib sheet. Wet babies in the morning was common.
Gabriela says
Love it! So simple.. I do have the space for the extra sheets right now, but I still like your idea – easier when you have to change them.
Before setting it up though, I will need to get rid of my super old sheets and then buy new ones. Mom also bought recently some flannel sheets and she really likes them. So I added them on my wishlist already. A gift for next year for sure… 🙂
Judy says
I do the between mattress & box springs, too and I just fold them thinner so there is not a problem with the mattress being higher at the foot of the bed.
Hannah Beth Reid says
We do a similar idea, but I hadn’t thought of it as a space saving storage trick. We keep an extra sheet on our children’s beds underneath for easy changes after accidents in the night, but now that I think of it that means we don’t store it anywhere. We should consider this for our bed if we ever have an extra set for it. Thanks for the tip!
Alicia says
We don’t actually have any spare sheets for any of our 3 twin beds and 1 crib ! I just wash and dry them and remake the bed all in the same day. For our bed, which is a king, I have a set of flannel sheets for winter and a set of regular sheets for spring/summer, but that’s it. No storage necessary for us.
Andrea says
Yes, this is exactly how we did it for years… until just recently when the kids convinced us to get the flannel sheets 🙂 Otherwise, I’d just wash, dry, and put them back on the bed.
Pixie508 says
So, what did you do if a kid had an accident or got sick in the middle of the night? I don’t want to be doing laundry at 3am, and then deal with finding a new place for said kid to sleep. We have 2 sets for every bed. That way I can easily swap without much fuss, and just wash the next day. We actually had 3 crib sheets, because I got them for a shower gift, but I donated one eventually. Plus, we have a queen set that we keep because we have a queen air mattress, for guests (or ourselves if we go camping), but they’re rarely used. We recently upgraded to a king, so we just kept one of our old sets.
Andrea says
we only had one set for years and it was never really any issue. On the VERY rare occasion that we had to change the sheets in the middle of the night, they just slept in their sleeping bag on their bed (I think we honestly only had to do that once in 6 years of having little kiddos!)
Alicia says
Yes,if we ever have an issue in the middle of the night, they just sleep on extra blankets.
Kate says
We only keep one extra set per bed also. We have a linen closet now but at our old house, we didn’t. I used to store the unused sets in everyone’s bottom dresser drawers. When the kids were smaller (and so were their clothes!) it worked well.
DeeDee says
Since we live in Florida and most nights are warm year round, to save time changing sheets, I put the top sheet over the bed and strip it the second week. This leaves the fitted sheet and saves me time of having to change sheets weekly.
Andrea says
this is what my grandma always did!
Kellie says
This is exactly what we do too! When we had our first baby I layered the crib sheets (waterproof mattress pad on bottom, then fitted sheet, then a second waterproof mattress pad, and second sheet on top). It is SO helpful in the middle of the night when baby has pooped through his sheets or spit up and you have to strip the bed at 2 AM. Literally takes 2 seconds and you barely disturb the baby! I kept it up now that our “baby” is in a twin bed and has accidents sometimes. No problem! I thankfully have doubled my sheets so I can strip his peed-in bed in seconds.
Andrea says
yes! It saves so much time in the middle of the night!
Jen says
When we moved this summer, I cut down drastically on our linens, but I still like to have two sets for each bed. We have three queen beds and one twin so I’m only storing 4 additional sets at a time. And two of those beds are in guest rooms that are rarely used so the sheet changing around here is minimal! I fold each extra set and place it inside the pillowcase for the set and then it stores neatly and compactly in our hall linen closet. We have plenty of closet space and this has worked well for me for years! Somehow, I feel like sleeping on my set of “clean sheets” would still make them dirty, even through all the layers! LOL!
Andrea says
ok, so maybe I should clarify… we have 2 sets — one “regular” sheets and one flannel sheets.
BUT the flannel sheets stay on the bottom during the spring and summer, and then the regular sheets stay on the bottom during the fall and winter. During the 6 months or so when the flannel sheets are on top, I remove and wash the flannel sheets and then put them back on again (I don’t rotate to the other set until the weather changes). Then, when the weather warms up, I wash BOTH sets of sheets, put the flannel sheets on the bottom and the regular sheets on top.
However, if there is an emergency (like someone gets sick or wets the bed) I conveniently have another set of sheets on the bed, ready to go 🙂
Sara says
I store extra sheets, pillowcases, and light blankets on hangers in my living room closet 🙂 We have 2 sets for each of the 4 beds.
Andrea says
yes, this is what I did at our old house — stored the sheets inside the pillowcase. I still do this for the 1 set of extra sheets we have for our inflatable bed.
Lindsey says
We store ours between the mattress and box spring towards the foot of the bed.
Andrea says
yes, I’ve heard of this too — do you feel like it raises the end of the bed at all?
Deb says
I have them in the dresser in the guest room because I can’t stand looking at sloppy fitted sheets in the linen closet and I stink at folding them!
We have two sets for our bed and one for the guest bed.
EMPTY NESTERS!
Andrea says
yay for being empty nesters and not needing a bazillion sets of sheets!