My linen closet is full.

[Night Elf]

It's full! I don't know what sizes any of those sheets are. Ds has had one set he used for the past 12 years. There may be 2-3 double sized sheets from when dd had a double bed. She doesn't need them now because she has a new set she likes. I have a few queen sets but we only use two. We have one for warmer weather and one for cooler weather. Then there appear to be what look like curtains and bed skirts in the side that I can't get to. Random pillow cases stuck in any way. I really need to go through my linen closet and get rid of what we don't use but the job is so overwhelming that I can't seem to get started. 

[ktgrok]

I have the same issue, and although I am very much a minimalist and usually LOVE to purge stuff out of my house I have a mental barrier on linens. Every time I start to get rid of stuff I think of the last stomach virus we had, and how quickly you can go through a whole bunch of sheets and towels if kids are puking or pooping on them. And I end up keeping them all, lol. 

But in your situation, i'd purge down to two sets per bed, one for on the bed and one for in the closet. And a few extra pillowcases just in case. And donate the rest to a homeless shelter or women's shelter where they are probably very much needed. 

[HomeAgain]

I was in your shoes last summer!  We had crib sheets still!
I bought nesting baskets for my linen closet during Black Friday.  We have 3 sizes of beds here and I wanted separate sections for each one.
Three baskets for the Queen sized beds: fitted sheets in the biggest basket, flat sheets in the middle basket, and pillowcases in the smallest. 
Three baskets for the full sized beds: fitted sheets in the biggest basket, flat sheets in the middle basket, and pillowcases in the smallest.
1 basket for the twin sheets: they're used for air mattresses, cots, and rollaway beds when we have company so we don't need as many.  Each set of a flat and fitted sheet was tucked into a pillowcase.  All the sheets are standing up so I can see them all at the same time and don't have to dig.

Once the baskets were full I donated the rest.
I took the regular towels out of the linen closet.  They're stored in each bathroom now, either in a hamper style basket in the open (rolled and standing on end so they look pretty) or in a cabinet.  The beach and travel towels went on a shelf next to the sheets, which was empty thanks to donating half.
Washcloths and hand towels went in the extra two baskets I had from the last nesting set.

Blankets get collected and switched out in spring/fall.  I put them in vacuum seal bags.
I thought my closet was so tiny before I organized and purged.  Now it looks spacious!

 

[Garga]

Keep two of everything.  One stays on the bed/pillows.  The other stays in the closet.  Or...instead of staying in the closet, the spare set is stored under the mattress.  Then the closet will be empty of bed linens.  

You don’t have little kids anymore, so an illness won’t result in multiple sheet changes in one night.  No one is puking in the beds.  They’re all old enough to rush to a bathroom.  Of if there is an accident and someone pukes on the bed, they won’t keep doing so all night long.  They’ll be aware enough to use the toilet or bucket.

ETA:. Hmm.  I forgot about different weights.  I keep lightweight linens for summer and heavy flannel for winter.  So, I have 4 sets per bed.  I’d forgotten that!  You can’t store all that under the mattress, though I do store our extra bed linens in bins under the bed and not in a linen closet.  My linen closet is used for other things.

[Carol in Cal.]

Instead of starting with all those individual decisions, start with your ideal.

In my case, my ideal would be two sets of regular sheets that I really like per bed, and possibly a set of flannel sheets if I live in a place with a cold winter.  The flannel ones would be stored under the mattress until November to avoid taking up linen closet space.  The spare regular ones would be in the linen closet.

Then, I'd want spare towels in there, too, to rotate in when needed.  So, that would be one of each size.  Then there might be a few guest towels or seasonal ones (although ideally the seasonal ones would be in a seasonal box in the basement.)  And there would be a shelf of table cloths and maybe some cloth napkins.  

So I would have that list, and then empty out the closet and put in those things only.  Then I'd see whether I had any extra room that I wanted to use for secondary stuff.  Secondary stuff might be soap or candles, things that are used with the regular linen closet stuff.  

And I would get rid of the rest, or if it's keepsakey stuff that I want to have but not use, it would be boxed up for the basement or garage, labelled, and put on high shelves.  If I don't want to use it, it doesn't deserve space where it's very accessible.  Or if it's extras in those original categories and I had room for it in the linen closet, I would put it in there, but segregated from the rest (like, on the highest or lowest shelves.)

[CAJinBE]

I finally got rid of all the girly pink/purple floral and juvenile sheet sets. I just did an IKEA run for guest bedding and bought it all in grey/neutrals that go together. I would have to do major laundry before we left on vacation (for the house sitter) or when we had guests to make sure there was enough clean bedding. My new system will be put to the test tomorrow when we return from a trip and have house guests the same night. Hopefully everyone will have a clean bed to sleep in. I also bought three of the under-the-bed storage boxes to make it easier to know what goes with which bedroom.  We have American queen, American twins, and European single beds. 

[Guest]

I did this a few years ago. I like to take everything out and do it that way. It creates a much more complete job than chipping away at it in little dabs. There was stuff in there from way back, like diaper changer cover and pack and play sheets. Out with the old...

I generally know what sizes each are because of what beds they were meant for. I also have no qualms whatsoever about taking a Shapie and writing a letter on the corner - or even on several corners - to make the size obvious. I did this at our family beach house, because there were sheets brought in by several families and it was impossible to guess which ones fit which beds. The max number of sheets I keep for any one bed is two sets - on on the bed and one backup. (This also usually means one set is flannel and one is not.) 

Fold fitted sheets properly. That is half the reason many people feel like their linen closets are a hot mess. 

[PrairieSong]

I had a bunch of extra sheets but have pared down to two sets per bed, one regular and one flannel. That way one set is on the bed and only one needs to be stored. I have a few extra pillowcases. I gave a large bag of ratty/bleach spotted towels to the humane society.

I would do the whole linen closet at one time so you can wipe down the shelves and see what you actually have. Then put back only what you really want to use. Donate the rest.