Help me with my hotpress!

[Some0ne]

I'm almost finished my maternity leave so I'm trying to get all the problem areas in the house sorted before I go back, and today I'm tackling my hotpress (in between entertaining a sick baby!).

How many towels do I realistically need for a house with 2 adults and 2 kids? We seem to have about 30, and we only ever use the top few on the pile. The rest have lain there, undisturbed, for years since the last time I tidied the press.

Does anyone use baskets or anything to keep the piles separate? Or labelling? Every time I tidy it I make piles of hand towels, bath towels, face cloths, cot sheets and kingsize sheets and within days they're all mixed up again. I need to make it simple so DH can't mess it up to maintain. I know about the sheets-in-the-pillowcase trick but that isn't enough, the piles still morph into one gigantic heapie and I'm worried that some night while we're asleep it'll crawl out of the hotpress and assimilate us all

What about drying clothes in there? I've terrible problems drying clothes in winter all bloody year because we're in Ireland, and I was reading about people drying stuff in the hotpress. Do you put stuff in straight out of the washing machine, or is it nearly dry when you put it in?

I use big baskets which seems to keep order there marginally longer, only for duvet and sheet sets. When you are looking to change beds you only end up tossing one basket rather than the entire shelf.

I would never dry clothes in the hotpress, but would finish drying them in there. They never get fully dry on the line.
Always just dump socks knicks etc in small baskets in the hotpress to 'air' them. When dc in bath I sort them, so it never gets too overwhelming.

for extra glamour i have a few nails driven into the wood at the side, I hang up bras and light unironable things like sports tops or dishcloths there to 'air'. I keep meaning do put another hook just inside the door to hang shirts and blouses there.

if you want to put damp stuff in the hot press ("airing cupboard" for the English) it needs to be nearly empty so that air can circulate. Anything already in there will be made damp by the wet clothes, so will not smell so fresh and might go mouldy.

Try taking everything out, and only putting back stuff after you wash it. Then take it out again when it is next needed. All the stuff you take out will have to go in drawers or cupboards somewhere. You may find you have some old stuff that should go to the charity shop.

BTW if the cylinder and pipes are well-insulated to save money, it will not get very hot in there.