Happy 2023, friends!! I hope your new year has been off to a good start. I had hopes for two weeks of R&R and a mental reset, but this season of germs had other plans for our whole family. Nick got the worst of it and is still bedridden, and I’m a few clicks away from unhinged as the little ones are flying off a couch “slide,” shrieking over every toy, and asking for the 3rd snack of the AM…
The last week of every year, I love working on a big recap post on my top purchases and reader favorites of the year, but that’ll be a little delayed this time around! In the meantime, I wanted to share a little closet care post for getting organized in the new year.
After the kids go down at night, cleaning and organizing has been therapeutic to say the least. After sharing a photo of my favorite shelf dividers on my IG stories the other week, I wanted to answer some more questions on how I fold and hang my sweaters. To see the folding tips in motion, check my Instagram reel video here!
For more clothing storage posts:
- 5 Small Space Tips: Clothing Storage & Organization
- Small Space Storage Pt. 2: Shoes + Handbags
- How I Clean and Store My Winter Clothes & Boots
- Garment Care // The Best Petite Hangers
Acrylic shelf dividers & petite hangers can be found on my Amazon page.
1. Folding Storage (Shelf or Drawer)
As mentioned in my small space storage post, I store my knits in underbed drawers and also on sweater shelves with these dividers. I saw this general folding method on several Tik Tok accounts last year where one end of the garment is tucked into an opening at the other end, so that the garment doesn’t easily come un-folded when you take an item off a stack or move them around inside a drawer. I have now converted ALL my laundry folding to this method from sweaters to jeans to tees, leggings and tights. It’s been nothing short of a game changer!
Again, this method is MUCH easier to follow in video form, so be sure to check my IG reel!
- Lay the sweater down on a flat surface.
- Fold one sleeve + about 1 quarter of the sweater torso width across the sweater.
- Fold the sleeve down. If the sleeve length exceeds the torso length of the sweater, fold the excess length back upwards a little.
- Repeat on the other side.
- Fold the bottom of the folded sweater up a little more than halfway.
- Key Step: Use your hand to create a “pocket” opening where the bottom hem of the folded sweater is, and tuck the top part of the folded sweater into this opening.
- Voila! You have a neatly tucked-in folded sweater.
2. Hanging Storage
If you prefer to hang your sweaters, just be sure to do it in a way that won’t stretch on the knit, especially at the shoulder areas from the hanger edges. If I had abundant hanger space in a huge walk in closet, I’d probably opt for hanging more of my knits so that I can clearly see which item is which. Here’s how to fold sweaters over a hanger in a way that prevents stretching out:
- Lay the sweater flat.
- Fold the sweater in half vertically, so that the sleeves are aligned. Lay the hanger on top of the folded sweater at the underarm junction.
- Fold the sleeves over the top of the hanger and loop them under the bottom bar of your hanger.
- Fold the body of the sweater over the hanger. Now you can neatly hang your sweaters without stretching the shoulders out!
