9 Genius Ways to Fold Clothes to Save Space
No more forcing your drawers closed.
Make your closet shelves appear as crisp and tidy as the piles in the department stores by stealing these folding tricks for your shirts, pants, sweaters, socks, and underwear.
Store T-shirts horizontally.
Instead of piling your tees on top of one another and then rummaging through the stack every time you're looking for your favorite, use this trick. It fills the drawer more efficiently and lets you see your entire collection at once. (P.S. you'll need a laundry flipfold like this.)
...or compress them into tiny rolls.
This compact method reduces your T-shirt collection to the size of sock by turning the bottom half inside-out.
Try it the KonMari way.
If you're an adherent to The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, you'll recognize Marie Kondo's method of folding sleeves outward instead of inward, and then folding into thirds.
Roll up your underwear.
If you've never folded your underwear before, this trick is about to double the space in your intimates drawer. Or, store pairs in a shoe box so you can pack them even more tightly.
"Army fold" your socks.
Those tiny dumpling shapes are actually a pair of socks — the YouTuber who demonstrates the idea claims the technique is used by the military. This method doesn't waste any space, and you'll cut down on lost mates.
...or put your pairs into squares.
Laying your socks perpendicular to each other may sound counterintuitive, but once you see how neat it turns out you might just convert.
Fold jeans four times.
It might feel like overkill, but this super condensed way of folding jeans allows you to store 'em horizontally and pack more pants into each drawer.
Minimize bulky sweaters.
Hanging your coziest knits stretches out the shoulders, but there's not denying they're total drawer hogs. Try folding the sides in so all your sweaters have the same width — they'll stack more easily that way.
Rethink your kids' drawers, too.
Little clothes can pile up faster than you think. Keep the onesies straight from the sleepers by following these folding techniques.
WATCH: How to Fold a Fitted Sheet
Save some space in your linen closet too by storing these tricky sheets the right way.
Caroline is a writer and editor with almost a decade of experience. From 2015 to 2019, she held various editorial positions at Good Housekeeping, including as health editor, covering nutrition, fitness, wellness, and other lifestyle news. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism and dreams of the day Northwestern will go back to the Rose Bowl.
Lauren is a senior editor at Hearst. She was previously the senior editor at WomansDay.com and the home editor at GoodHousekeeping.com and HouseBeautiful.com. Her book club, ramen, and jean jackets are a few of her favorite things.
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