If you've been wondering how to fold clothes in a way that saves space in your drawers and time in the morning, then there's a good chance you've been folding clothes wrong your whole life. You've probably been creasing items to be flat and then stacking them on top of each other. But ideally, you should be folding them to "stand on end" and line them up in rows from the front of the drawer to the back of the drawer.
This style of folding, known as the "KonMari method," comes from Marie Kondo's bestselling book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Lifestyle bloggers like Abby of Just a Girl and Her Blog have since mastered the technique and shared their insight (and before-and-after drawer makeovers) for the world to see.
Want more than a photo tutorial on how to fold clothes vertically? Check out these helpful videos:
For sweaters...
...and pants:
The method of vertically folding things is also known as "file folding," and has been widely adopted since Kondo's book and Netflix TV show introduced it to a wider group of people. But, as professional organizer Wendy Silberstein, AKA the Aesthetic Organizer, tells Woman's Day, this shouldn't be the only method you use.
"Not every drawer deserves file folding," she says. "It's wonderful when you have a deep drawer and a multitude of items." For example, the method is perfect for a T-shirt drawer, since you can get each one to be a uniform size and by stacking them vertically you can see a glimpse of the motifs on each shirt and won't have to dig through a pile to find the one you're looking for. But for items like undergarments, Silberstein recommends other methods of folding such as rolling socks into a ball with its mate. So before you jump on board the trend, it's important to think about the types of items you're folding and what type of display will help you get the most use out of them. After all, organization is all about accessibility, Silberstein says, so function is of the utmost importance.
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