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Your airing cupboard....

(72 Posts)
loopylou Tue 01-Dec-15 12:17:12

My airing cupboard shelves hold bed linen, / loo rolls/ bath cleaner etc and you can barely see the gas boiler.
It struck me that leaving the door ajar would allow the warm air to heat upstairs rather than keeping my bed linen unnecessaryily toasty warm.
Should I be using the cupboard for something else?
I've done this all 38 years of married life....l

TerriBull Tue 01-Dec-15 18:06:32

On our third floor landing, housing the hot water tank. It's full of sheets and towels and I also use it to air bits and pieces rather than leave them on the rads.

cornergran Tue 01-Dec-15 20:32:10

Combo boiler keeps it warm enough for the towels and odd pieces of laundry to air. There 's also a filing cabinet in the bottom - don't ask !

loopylou Tue 01-Dec-15 20:49:31

grin cornergran
My parents airing cupboard has a safe in it!

jimorourke Tue 01-Dec-15 20:58:30

I was thinking of having shelves put in our airing cupboard to make it better to store bed linen. Although we have a gas boiler in there I wonder if it is possible/safe to put a light in that cupboard because we can't really see where stuff is at the moment.

FarNorth Tue 01-Dec-15 21:50:28

Maybe you could get one of those little LCD lights that run on batteries, jim.

hulahoop Wed 02-Dec-15 10:34:43

I use mine for towels and spar shower curtain on shelf above hot water tank gets very untidy at times ?

jimorourke Wed 02-Dec-15 10:38:04

Thanks Far North I'll try that. Has it snowed up your way?

Teacher11 Wed 02-Dec-15 10:47:15

I love my toasty airing cupboard which keeps all of my washing and ironing dry. I have a step stool in it to reach the top shelf and my spare weighing scales and some washbags. That's it.

loopylou Wed 02-Dec-15 10:48:33

Wel..... I've just emptied mine and am now the custodian of a very tidy airing cupboard <smug>

I'm also equally embarrassed at how much bed linen and how many towels I possess tchblush Sadly that means definitely no purchases for the rest of my life I suspect!

I've also found miscellaneous plumbing items (DH I'm looking at you) lobbed down the back of the tank, 7 odd socks, a pair of running leggings (DS who hasn't lived here for 9 years), DD's ex bf's sweatshirt, a pair of TED stockings (DH had a dvt 5 years ago) and that we own 8 bath sheets.......

Bit sad really 'cos I like buying looking at nice bed linen and towels.......
Ho hum!

MumMum Wed 02-Dec-15 11:11:18

I converted a bedroom alcove into an airing cupboard when we did this house up. Put a little green house type rad in the bottom which I switch on when I need to air stuff. And all my bed linen and towels are in it.....and sorted!! wink, plus giving my halo a spin!!!

Synonymous Wed 02-Dec-15 11:22:55

I have to confess that I do like a well organised airing cupboard. Mine has room sets of bed linen and towels in their sizes, a hanging rail to put things to hang creases out and a small tube heater near the floor. I have a ladder rack on the wall to hold my Airers so I don't need to fight them to get at anything. Plenty of space to air things off before putting them away - bliss! smile

portiatrue Wed 02-Dec-15 11:37:35

Quite a large airing cupboard with tank and shelves, but so untidy! Piles of towels, sheets, cushions, throws - feel quite ashamed, in fact going to tidy it now before Dgd wakes up from her nap!

tellywatcher Wed 02-Dec-15 11:38:19

Since my husband thought it would be a good idea to make a loft hatch in our airing cupboard instead of the one in the bedroom, mine has a permanent loft ladder. So I keep the ironing board Hoover etc. in mine. Lovely warm ironing board and Hoover handles though!!

granjura Wed 02-Dec-15 11:44:25

We had a huge double airing cupboard in our last UK house- no airing cupboards here, and I truly do miss it.

JackyB Wed 02-Dec-15 11:51:20

I envy UK people their airing cupboards, too. Here in Germany, all the heating gubbins is in the cellar and it's not really clean enough to keep linen, etc. in. Apart from which, it's miles from the bedrooms or bathrooms, and it's so well insulated, it's not really warm at all.

My mother has her linen in hers, over the boiler, but she can't reach anything further up or back. The iron, ironing board, sleeve board, vaccuum cleaner and cobweb duster on its long handle are kept neatly in there, too.

rosequartz Wed 02-Dec-15 11:53:31

Mine does get untidy because some shelves are quite high and deep and I tend to throw things over onto the back of the top shelf I can't reach it all very well.

auntbett Wed 02-Dec-15 11:55:04

I'd love an airing cupboard!

rosequartz Wed 02-Dec-15 12:00:21

When DH was thinking of changing the boiler which wouldn't require a hot water tank I said I didn't want to lose the airing cupboard, even though we could extend the bathroom.
I said that we would have to put a radiator in there.
We've always had an airing cupboard (some better than others) and I couldn't manage without one.

The one in our first house was wonderful - every shelf accessible!

GrandmaValerie Wed 02-Dec-15 12:28:21

Ours is a big cupboard with a 50 gallon HW tank and the wall mounted boiler, so the boiler has to be well boarded off for fire safety. Plenty of room for towels, sleeping bags and spare pillows (at very top) and vital - instructions for programming the boiler, printed extra large. Why, oh why are programmers ever more complex, with menus changing at every press of a button! DH has given up, so it's now my job when something needs changing.

Willow500 Wed 02-Dec-15 12:44:52

We've lived in our house almost 30 years and have/had a very large airing cupboard which was wonderful for airing off bedding etc until we had the combi boiler put in and the tank taken out. It still houses the bedding and towels (too many even though I cleared it out last year) as well as several suitcases full of curtains and the clothes horse and radiator airers. Oh - and the odd cat when she sneaks in there to hide :-)

Lupatria Wed 02-Dec-15 12:45:24

combi boiler plus towels, bed linen plus all sorts of table cloths [which hardly ever get used] and other miscellaneous "stuff" such as inherited fabric mats, tray covers, etc.
i've got another cupboard on my landing which houses spare duvets, cleaning materials, loo rolls, the upstairs hoover and also my iron and ironing board.
thankfully i've got loads of storage in my house - well it was loads until my daughter and grandaughters moved in. we've now run out of storage so we'll have to start using the loft!

MammaN Wed 02-Dec-15 13:08:03

Boiler plus bed linen, towels, spare blankets and duvets. It is also storage for loo rolls, kitchen rolls, wash powder, cleaning materials and toiletries. Plus 2 vacuum cleaners, ironing board, iron, bird food(!), newspapers for recycling and my small steps. Think that's it ?
DH wants to put more shelves in as he thinks the space is underused.

MammaN Wed 02-Dec-15 13:10:02

Forgot the feather dusters!

toria100 Wed 02-Dec-15 13:20:14

My airing cupboard is a cupboard under the stairs with a radiator in it. I suddenly realise that I may not have cleared it totally for 25 years as I know that on the top shelf are unopened rolls of wallpaper from Laura Ashley at least 25 years old (never got round to hanging it) and several cheese presses from the time I made cheese from the milk of our Jersey house cow. On lower shelves are an ice cream maker with mislaid paddles(one day they will turn up) all the towels and linen on next two shelves at eye level. In the bottom are huge supply of loo rolls and kitchen towels from most recent visit to the wholesaler and a constant supply of mouse bait blocks (mice a perennial problem in this old farmhouse....)
I never could fold the towels and linen neatly however hard I tried so I just close my eyes and fling it in .

MaryXYX Wed 02-Dec-15 15:45:12

My "airing cupboard" is actually the only cupboard in my flat, so as well as the water tanks and water softener it contains bedding and towels, loo rolls, the vacuum cleaner, toolbox, spare light bulbs.