The Space-Saving Way To Fold Your Clothes

We've been told from an early age to always fold our clothes, whether packing for a trip or just putting away our freshly cleaned laundry. It has gotten to a point where this act has been etched into our household chore list, but do we truly understand its purpose?

Highlights mentions that teaching children to fold their clothes is a great way to develop their personal responsibility and improve their self-confidence as they continue to learn how to take care of themselves. Regardless of age or stage of life, however, folding your clothes can also benefit your specific garments and their storage spaces. For example, Bakers Centre Laundry expresses the noticeably neat and crisp appearance of outfits that have been neatly placed in your dresser or closet. When folded in a specific way, these storage areas can also become significantly more efficient, making it easier to both store and access more items. Although your current folding methods are, without a doubt, great at keeping your outfits crisp and organized, you may still struggle with a lack of space. Luckily, we have compiled some of the best space-saving folding methods you can easily take advantage of. Let's take a look at a few of them below.

According to Lifestyle Fifty, over 40% of people have 30 or more shirts, blouses, or tops in their wardrobe, making it a clothing item that commonly overpopulates the rest of your closet. That being said, it's increasingly important to tone down the space these items take up. Considering that these garments also play a significant role in your everyday appearance, it would be very useful to know a good way to fold them to ensure their easy access along with their condensed storage. Fortunately, Knowsy (via YouTube) can easily show you just how to do that.

Start by laying your shirt face-up on a flat surface with the collar facing you. Then, visually break the clothing item into three sections that extend from the top to the bottom of the piece. Next, fold these sections inward, layering one over the other. At this point, your shirt should be in a rectangular shape, which you will then split again into three more sections, this time extending from left to right. Once again, fold these parts inward, layering one on top of the other. Finally, fold the rest of your tops in this same fashion and simply stack them either one on top of the other or side-by-side for easier access.

Bulky sweaters and hoodies are rather difficult to tame when it comes to saving space in your closet. However, Janelle Margot (via YouTube) shares an easy hack to fold essential winter clothing pieces, providing more space amongst your storage and a visually appealing view.

For a hoodless sweater, start by laying it face-down on a flat surface with the collar facing you. Next, from top to bottom, draw an invisible line down the center of the sweater. Once the center point has been determined, take both sides of your clothing item and fold them inward along your center line. During this step, ensure the sleeves are also neatly folded on top of their designated half. Once the sweater is symmetrical, mentally split the clothing item into three sections from left to right and fold one on top of the other. This will leave you with a neatly folded square that will fit perfectly into your closet or dresser.

When folding a hoodie, be prepared for a slightly different process. Start with the item face down on a flat surface, with the hood extended toward you. Then, split the item into three sections from top to bottom and fold the two side sections toward the middle section without covering it. Finally, fold the sleeves and the hood into that empty middle section and finish off by mentally splitting everything from left to right into three sections and folding one over the other to create another neat square

Similar to shirts, pants are also an essential part of your everyday wardrobe. Luckily, they are a very easy piece of clothing to fold, as shown by OrganizedLiving (via YouTube). To start, lay your plants onto a flat surface and fold one pant leg neatly over the other, creating one straight line. Next, bring the bottom of the pants up to the top, folding it completely in half. Then, visually section the folded piece into three even parts and fold them on top of each other. Finally, fold the rest of your pants in a similar fashion, and either stack them on top of each other or file them next to each other for easier access.

As you go about folding your pants with OrganizedLiving's helpful tips, it's important to also consider the type of pants you are folding. Although you can easily fold slacks or dress pants along with the rest of your clothing, S&S Cabinets and Closets highly recommends hanging them neatly on a hanger instead. This is because, unlike informal pants, like jeans, that can resist wrinkles and creases, formal pants tend to be more susceptible to markings that require heat to remove; therefore, it is much easier to simply hang these clothing pieces.

Although many people prefer leaving their undergarments unfolded, you can tidy up and make more room in your underwear drawer if you take the time to do it. For an average pair of women's underwear, True & Co recommends using a roll method. To try it out, start by laying your panties on a flat surface and folding the bottom tip up toward the waist. Then, fold the panties over once from left to right and continue by rolling them into a tube-like shape before storing them. For male undergarments, lay them flat and fold them into thirds. Then fold them into thirds again, much like you would fold jeans. You can then stack multiple pairs for easy storage (via Organizing.TV).

Bras are more difficult to fold, but Practically Perfect (via YouTube) says there are several easy ways to care for them. For padded bras, it is better to keep them unfolded. Instead, simply stagger them one on top of the other for the best results and easy access. Other bras, like sports bras that don't include a built-in pad, should be folded to accommodate space. To do so, lay the bra face down on a flat surface and fold the straps behind the cups. Then, fold it in half with one cup over the other and place it into your drawer. If you have limited space, you can also fold the piece more than once to meet your storage needs.