I remember as a kid, the only kid in my home, that we had one towel. Sure my mom had a closet with beautiful fluffy towels, but those were either for “decoration” in the bathroom – or for guests.  In Jr. High and High School, each day after the showers, I would hang up my towel and it would be dry and ready for the next day. I remember going to camp, and listening to the girls complain about their slightly damp slightly stale towels come Friday – and roll my eyes at them.  Mom did wash up my towel – but not every day.

Fast forward to my own home, and I’m not sure why, maybe it’s my personality, but we have quite the eclectic assortment of towels. Size Shapes Designs Quality. I have little recollection of purchasing any towels – ever. Handme downs, garage sales, guests, ??? I have a friend who has a favorite blue towel. It is worn almost to resemble a table linen sheet. She loves it. Takes it with her when she travels. Says the fluffy ones just don’t do the job. . . ..  Towels. 

And yet, as I travel to 4-5 beautiful vacation homes a day with my new job – towels are the one consistent thing.  They are all white. They are all (mostly) the same size. Folded the same, displayed the same. (except for the super creative housekeepers who do an origami fold on everything – those towels are awesome . . . .)

Towels and sheets are all white, crisp, fluffy, and in good repair.  No matter the approach to the beach or lake theme going on in the home, the towels are all unified.

I can’t express how unified this brings the home, pulled together. The eye is at rest among the decorations. The linen closets look unified, organized and clutter free.

Why do I ponder this Towel Topic this morning?  To encourage you to shape up those towels.  Where are they right now?  In a pile by the laundry waiting til you run out so you can do a whole load of them? Are they hanging all over the bathroom?  Shoved on a shelf?

Instruct your kiddos to know which way to fold your towels so they fit on your shelf.  Use the kitchen table if they can’t get the folds uniform.  Each family member folding the same way will help with the look of the closet.  How does the towel need to be folded to fit on the rack?

The last part of my Arrival Check-in is to insure that each bathroom has sufficient towels, hand towels and wash clothes. That they are folded with precision and displayed with beauty. What about the guests in your home?  When does your husband shower each day? Does he greet the bathroom with his towels displayed, soap fresh and shampoos ready?

The housekeepers do their part to clean and freshen up the home –  But the uniform towels really pull it together.

My camera took another swim in the lake without me – so I am short on pictures for a week or two, but I’ll continue on with my Towel Theme in the coming weeks and show you some before and after photos.  I could show you how I folded all of my towels at home nicely in a uniform stack last Tuesday and my 13 year old son crammed them into the linen closet. . . . . Not cramming folded clothes would be my next lesson . . . . .

       Written for The Christian Home – Homekeeping