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I get asked how I fold everything from sheets to towels to clothes. This has always been a popular question from you guys but I’m pretty sure that the interest has a lot to do with the Kon Mari method of tidying and folding.
Before I show you my ‘methods’, this works for our family. I don’t think that there is a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to fold clothes or towels or sheets. You need to take your storage, time, family, and needs into consideration. Fold in a way that works for your home, your systems, and your needs. My goal with this post is to give you some ideas for your own methods and to make folding a little simpler for you, not more complicated.
If you are struggling with just doing laundry, might I suggest doing a load a day. This is one of my daily tasks and it makes folding and putting laundry away a little easier. New to my routine? Start here!
I have specific ways of folding household items because I like things to fit in drawers and on shelves and I like the look of a neat and tidy space. Having a method is helpful and since I’m asked so often I thought it would be fun to show you how I fold everything from clothes to sheets and towels. I’ve taught my kids to fold their clothes this way too – my older two kids fold and put away their own clothes. I don’t check their folding or re-fold anything. I am just happy that they know how to fold and put away their own clothes.
Bath Towels – hand towels, bath towels, wash cloths – fold in thirds lengthwise and then I fold bath towels in thirds and hand and wash cloths in half. These get stacked on shelves for easy access.
Kitchen Towels – all kitchen towels get folded in thirds lengthwise and then in thirds again. Bar mop towels are stored vertically with flour sack towels and hand towels are stacked. This is what works best in our kitchen drawers. All my kitchen towels are from Clean Mama Home.
Cleaning Cloths – I fold my microfiber cleaning cloths and bar mop towels in half and then in half again. I stand them up in a wire basket (as pictured) or in the kitchen drawer. I keep my flour sack towels stacked up horizontally, not vertically. All my cleaning cloths and towels are from Clean Mama Home.
Sheets – FITTED SHEETS – Fold sheets in half the long way, tuck one fitted corner into the other – like a pocket, fold the sheet in half again with the fitted corners on the inside, fold the sheet in half, bringing the two corners together fold in half again – it should be about 11”x14”, if not, fold it again. TOP SHEETS – Start by folding the top sheet in half and then in half again. Continue folding vertically and then put the fitted sheet in the flat sheet. Put the extra pillowcase in the sheets or on the top and slide into the pillowcase. Place the sets on top of each other on a shelf or in a basket. You can see more details on our linen closet here.
Shorts – Fold in half lengthwise and then fold in half and stack or put vertically in drawers.
Jeans + Pants – Kids – fold in half lengthwise and then fold in half and then in half again and stack or put vertically in drawers. My husband folds his jeans and pants in half lengthwise putting a crease in the front and then in thirds and then stacks them on a shelf in our closet.
I fold my jeans and pants in half lengthwise and hang them.
T-Shirts – Most shirts are hung on hangers in our house – we have the room to hang them and it’s just my preference and I’m not a fan of fold lines on shirts. The shirts that are folded get folded and stacked vertically if there’s room in the drawer or horizontally if there isn’t. This is my husband’s t-shirt drawer – it’s a very short drawer so the shirts have to be stacked.
If I am folding shirts, I hold it up, fold the sleeves and about a third of each side in, lay it flat and fold in half and then in half again. If you are looking for a perfect fold, you can always try a shirt folder – I find it quicker just to fold without a folder but that’s just my preference. Here’s a post that shows how I hang shirts quickly by stacking and hanging.
Leggings – Fold in half lengthwise and then in half again. I continue to fold the pants or leggings until they are as small as the waistband.
I keep them vertically in my drawer and then only way they fit this way in the drawer is if I fold them down to the size of the waistband. This is how they fit in my drawer.
Pajamas – I like to make a ‘package’ with pajama sets. This makes it easy to grab the set and it eliminates searching for the set. I start by folding the pants in half and then in half again. For the top, I fold the sleeves in and place the pants in the bottom half of the shirt and fold the top half over the top.
Socks – We do socks differently for everyone – for my socks, I fold over and then bring the band over them again. This is the only way they fit in my narrow sock drawer.
My husband keeps his socks in baskets in our closet – one basket for sport socks and one for dress socks – nothing gets matched of folded.
Undies – Fold in half and then in half again and stack and place in a drawer. The kids each have a small bin in their drawers and they just toss their undies into the bin.
Curious how I actually DO LAUNDRY? Here’s my Laundry Essentials post.
Any folding tricks to share? Tell us all about them in the comments!
J Says...
Since I started folding my clothes using the Konmari method & storing them vertically, my clothes have stayed organized. I think it is because when you are adding clean clothes and all the others are in the drawer so neatly, it would be hard to just throw the clean items on top. I love that I can see all of what I have unlike when you store clothes in piles.
I never fold sheets, I wash them and put them back on the bed the same day, thereby eliminating that task.
I appreciate all your great ideas. One of the best ideas I learned from you is how to hang a lot of clothes quickly.
Betsy Says...
Love this post! Thank you! Where did you get your silver baskets that are holding your microfiber towels and kitchen towels? I also like how you state, fold to what size drawer or area you have. Not everyone has the same size drawers.
SandyHarsh Says...
I got mine at Amazon.
b r Says...
Post authorThey are mDesign from Amazon – check out this post:
https://www.cleanmama.net/2018/06/organized-cleaning-supplies-storage-solutions-for-your-products.html
Linda F. Says...
Could you make a video demonstrating your folding techniques?
b r Says...
Post authorMaybe someday 🙂
Mary Says...
Always interesting to see what others are doing. Thanks for posting.
Rose Says...
I use to work for my friends mom who owned a laundromat, we did university kids individual laundry. It was a whole system, had scanner, computer, weighed it, it had a video to show system. We sorted whites and darks into mesh bags, they had numbers on them so all clothes stayed separate. We would get like 33 bags individual students laundry. It’s a system invented then bought by proctor and gamble out of Dallas. The university students pay a certain amount each month. They have a video that shows exactly so everything would be size of clip board to stack then seran wrap to put in bag.
We did towels in half then half then threes. Jean and pants we folded in thirds, shirts we folded like the boutique. I personally don’t like my socks folded inside the other one. Just folded together like in half. Also, fitted sheets: fold in half then tuck corner into other one, fold side so it’s rectangular and then keep folding. They come out really great. I can fold fast, we would do 600 pounds of laundry some days. It was crazy. Key is to fold it so it’s not wrinkly. I know you use wool balls, but on thick cotton shirts sometimes it’s hard to get wrinkles out. I use dryer sheets. Also get clothes out as soon as dry.
I folded enough laundry at home I fold everything.
Always check washing instructions then make your best judgement!!