How to Organize Clothes Drawers

Tired of losing your favorite t-shirt at the bottom of your drawer? Here’s how to organize clothes drawers and make efficient use of your space.

How to organize clothes drawers

I didn’t always fold my clothes this way.

I will be the first to admit it, I am a reformed drawer stuffer!

Oh, my drawers never started out a stuffed mess.

I began each cleaning session with the best of intentions, each pile folded neatly in my drawers.

Until, that is, I had to find a t-shirt or pair of pants at the bottom of the pile. I would dig for the necessary item until I found it. And then everything went downhill after that.

Who has time to refold laundry every time you need a t-shirt?

However, I didn’t truly convert to a new method until I was going through my daughter’s clothes and we discovered pants and shirts she had never worn, but had now outgrown! The disappointed look on her face made me realize that my method was not working.

Unorganized clothes drawer

Fear not!

I have now discovered what is, in my opinion, the best way to put clothes in drawers. (I may be a little biased here, but I love, love, love how easy it is to find things.)

How to Organize Clothes Drawers

Below are tutorials for folding:

  • t-shirts
  • pants & shorts
  • longsleeve shirts

I find that when I organize drawers this way, it is not only easier to find items, but also saves a ton of space in the drawers too. It also keeps clothes from getting as wrinkled. And these methods are easy enough that my kids are able to do a pretty good job folding as well. Hopefully these tutorials can help you get organized and keep you from losing your favorite clothes.

How to Fold T-Shirts

Step 1: Lay the t-shirt flat with the front side face down.

Note: If you fold the shirt with the front side down you should be able to see any pictures or patterns after the shirt is folded. This will make it easier for you to tell which shirt you are grabbing.

Step 2: Fold one side of the t-shirt a third of the way over.

Step 3: Fold the other side of the t-shirt a third over. The shirts should now meet centered in the middle with the sleeves overlapping. (See pictures below for a visual.)

Steps for folding a t-shirt

Step 4: Now, this step can vary depending on how big your shirts are and how deep your drawers are. For my kid’s shirts I fold the bottom of the shirt up to the bottom of the arm pits. Then I fold the top over. (Yep, this shirt is definitely wrinkly because I didn’t fold it right away. Whoops!)

Steps for folding kid's shirt

For adult shirts, I fold the bottom and top of the shirt down until they meet evenly in the middle. Then I fold the shirt in half one more time.

Steps of folding adult t-shirt

Remember to smooth the fabric out in between each fold to keep the smoothest fold possible.

Store the shirts filed up and down in your drawers. This allows you to see each shirt. It also gives you the ability to fit more in your drawer because it utilizes the available space fully.

Shirts file folded in drawers

How to Fold Pants and Shorts

Step 1: Fold the pants in half and lay it flat.

Step 2: Then fold in the crotch seam. (This is the seam along the butt of the pants that sticks out in a triangle shape.)

Step 3: Fold legs up to the waist line. Leave about an inch gap from the top for smoother folding.

Steps for folding pants

Step 4: Fold the pants a third of the way up. Then fold once more until you have a small rectangle. Remember to smooth in between folds!

Steps for folding pants

This method also works with shorts. Just fold the shorts in half twice instead of folding it in thirds.

Once again, store these up and down in the file method.

How to Fold Long-Sleeved Shirts

Step 1: Fold the long-sleeved shirt in half so that the sleeves are together.

Step 2: Bring the sleeves across the body of the shirt. Fold the sleeve back towards the middle of the shirt where the sleeve touches the edge of the shirt. About half of the sleeve will be folded back in towards the shirt. (This is a little hard to describe, but see pictures below for a better visual.)

Steps for folding a long sleeved shirt

Step 3: Fold the bottom of the shirt up until the shirt is halved. Then fold in half again.

Folding long sleeved shirts

Once again, make sure to smooth the shirt after each fold. When folded, file the shirt up and down in your drawer.

Best way to Organize Clothes Drawers

This is, by far, the best way to put clothes in drawers that I have found. It allows you to see all of your clothes because of the up and down filing method. This keeps you from having to dig through your drawer to find things.

Shorts folded in drawer
Shorts file folded in drawer

This method also saves a ton of space. As you can see above, after using the file folding method I still had more room to add more shorts.

Organized clothes drawers with pink flowers on top of white dresser.

If you are looking for ways to organize your underclothes in a closet, even if you have no drawers, check out these ideas.

Need a few more organizational ideas? Check out this post on organizing your junk drawer or this one on organizing a small bathroom.

What is your biggest folding challenge? What drawers do you lose your clothes in?

Smiling woman with brown hair

Thank you for reading! I am so glad that you stopped by! If you enjoyed reading this, I would love for you to share it on Pinterest and Facebook!

Creatively Yours, Erin

4 thoughts on “How to Organize Clothes Drawers”

  1. I love the T-shirt folding method. I have the same problem with my T-shirt drawer and so I will reorganize it. Great idea!

    Reply
  2. I just reorganized my drawers and I found missing clothes too. I will soon try your way because you’re right! I can’t see what is on the bottom or even the middle!

    Reply

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