This is my second post in my series on proper laundry care. Today’s laundry lesson is on how to fold your clothes. Folding clothes is an important part of putting your laundry away. If you fold clothes properly it can help shirts with creases keep their shape, keep clothes from becoming wrinkled messes, and make it easier to put away and fit all of your clothes back into your closet or dresser.
Before Folding
Before we start folding clothes we need to be prepared for folding. First run the clothes through the dryer before folding, I was always taught to fold clothes while they’re still warm, and it helps prevent wrinkles to fold clothes fresh from the dryer. I suggest using two baskets. Dump all of your clothes into one basket, then once you fold the clothes lay them down in the other basket, but you can always just pile clean and folded clothes on your bed or couch as well. Also be sure to have a place for socks that have lost it’s pair, mine just stay in the basket until its match is found.
How To Fold A T Shirt
We’ll start with something simple to fold, a t shirt. A basic t shirt doesn’t have any special folding needs, like some other shirts or clothing items do to keep their shape. There are two methods that I am aware of for folding t shirts. The first method is fold the t shirt in half down the middle of the shirt crosswise, so sleeve to sleeve, then fold in half lengthwise, collar to hem, then fold the sleeves under. The other way to do it is to fold in the sleeves behind the t shirt, then fold the sides to the middle of the t shirt, then fold in half lengthwise, hem to collar.
Folding a Dress Shirt
Now we’ll look at how to fold a shirt that may need some more special care than a t shirt. First make sure the shirt is buttoned up all the way. Then you fold the sleeves to the middle of the back of the shirt, and make sure the cuffs cross over the middle of the shirt. Then you fold the sides towards the middle, then fold the shirt lengthwise.
Folding Pants
For basic simple jeans and pants, just fold the pants in half crosswise, leg to leg, then fold in half the side way, hip to hem. For pants with pleats. Fold the pants crosswise, but match up the pleats. So fold them pleat to matching pleat, then straighten everything out and hang on a hanger.
I hope this helps you learn how to fold clothes. If you want more instructions, or more detailed instuctions, check out these resources:
The Best Way to Fold Laundry from Socks to Shirts
Proper Laundry Folding Techniques
Learn to fold clothes properly
How To: Fold a Dress Shirt from RealSimple
How To Fold Pants – Written Instructions And How To Videos
How to Fold Dress Pants for Travel
Happy folding!