How to Fold Everything in Your Dresser

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There’s nothing quite like the frustration of trying to find a shirt in a dresser drawer packed full of balled up clothes. There’s no order, and everything is kind of just shoved in there. While it may be tempting to just close up your dresser drawers when they start to get chaotic, being able to have everything nicely folded and visible will make getting ready in the morning a million times easier and maximize your storage space. So, rather than just tossing that tee in the back of the drawer, fold it properly the first time so you can find it when you need it. Keep reading for the best way to fold shirts, pants, socks, even underwear!

Watch this video on how to fold everything in your closet, and keep reading for the full details.

The easiest way to fold laundry is on a clean, flat surface. So clear off your coffee table or dining buffet, and let’s get to folding.

Before we get into how to fold t-shirts, I wanted to mention which kinds of shirts you should be storing in your dresser, versus hanging in the closet. Generally speaking, you want to fold t-shirts, tanks, undershirts, or anything that isn’t heavily affected by wrinkles. We’ll cover how to fold a dress shirt, but personally I prefer to hang dress shirts to prevent creases. You always want to fold a sweater, never hang. Using a hanger will pull on the weave of a sweater, leaving stretch marks at the neck and shoulders.

How to fold a t-shirt

This is the famous “two second” folding trick—however, on the first few tries it’ll take you just a little longer. It might seem like magic, but after a bit of practice, you’ll be folding your shirts in a jiffy!

1.  Make an invisible line across the chest of the shirt, stopping just past where the collar ends. Pinch here, making sure to grab both the front and back fabric of the shirt.
2. Make an invisible line up to the top of the shirt, and pinch here with your second hand.
3. Still pinching the fabric, move your second hand down to the bottom of the shirt. Pinch the fabric here too, still holding onto the top of the shirt.
4. Uncross your arms.
5. Lay the shirt down.
6. Fold in half.
7. Fold in half again if you want to save even more space in your dresser.

How to fold a dress shirt

Whether you’re packing for a trip or packing your dresser, you want to learn how to fold a dress shirt in a way that minimizes wrinkles, and protects the collar. Here’s how:

1. Button up the shirt.
2. Flip the shirt over, and fold the sleeve over so it crosses the back of the shirt.
3. Fold the second sleeve over the same way.
4. Fold in the shoulder, so it meets the middle of the shirt.
5. Fold in the second shoulder in the same way.
6. Fold the shirt in half.
7. If you need to save more space, fold in half again.

How to fold a sweater

Hey, guess what? Now that you’ve learned how to fold a dress shirt, you can fold any long-sleeved shirt! Simply fold the same way.

1. Flip the shirt over, and fold in the sleeves.
2. Fold in the shoulders to the middle of the back of the shirt.
3. Fold the shirt in half.
4. Fold in half again if you need to save more room.

How to fold a shirt with straps

Tank tops and spaghetti strap shirts are a little awkward looking when folded, unless you know the secret (psst – the secret is to hide the straps!).

1. Lay the shirt face up.
2. Fold the shirt in half, with the top of the straps meeting the bottom of the shirt.
3. Fold in half again.
4. Fold the sides in, meeting in the middle.
5. Fold in half again.

Now that our tops are folded and put away, let’s talk bottoms. Folding pants in a way that keeps them wrinkle-free is simple.

How to fold pants and jeans

1. Button the waistband.
2. Fold them in half, front side out.
3. Fold in half, lengthwise.
4. Fold then in thirds, lengthwise.

How to fold shorts

Folding shorts is just like folding pants, only… shorter!

1. Button the waistband.
2. Fold them in half, front side out.
3. If your shorts are short, fold them in half, lengthwise.
4. If your shorts are longer, fold them in thirds, lengthwise.

How to fold socks with an ankle (knee-high, crew, quarter-length, etc.)

You probably already know how to fold socks, but let’s go over it again, shall we?

1. Line the socks up, side by side.
2. Put your hand inside one of the socks, opening it up.
3. Grab onto the other sock through the first, and begin to turn the first sock inside out.
4. Turn the first sock inside out entirely.

How to fold socks without an ankle, a.k.a. no-show socks or low-cut socks

So, what about socks that are teeny-tiny? We can fold those too!

1. Lay socks together, pointing in the same direction.
2. Put your hand inside one of the socks.
3. Put your socked-hand inside the other sock.
4. Pull your hand out, leaving one sock inside the other. Done!

How to fold a bra

Bras are like necklaces, they get all tangled up when you’re not looking! Keep them organized by folding them like this:

1. Open the bra.
2. Fold in half, with both cups pointing in the same direction, nesting into one another.
3. Tuck the straps into the cups.
4. Done!

How to fold underwear

Finally, let’s talk about how to fold underwear. Do you fold your undies? A lot of us don’t, but folding them sure makes it easy to see what you have available in your drawer.

1. Lay the underwear face up.
2. Fold one side over a third of the way.
3. Fold the other side over a third of the way.
4. Fold the top to the bottom, in half. Ta da!

Now that you’ve mastered your dresser drawer, let’s talk about that linen closet. Start by learning how to fold a fitted sheet.