The Case For Rolling, Not Folding, Your Clothes - House Beautiful

Thanks to her Netflix show, Marie Kondo is the empress of organizing these days. While you might admire the pretty way she neatly folds shirts in perfect vertical files, it might also discourage you to try to recreate that kind of precision on a regular basis. Worry not, and stop folding your clothes. It's all about rolling them up.

I first discovered the joy of rolling clothes on my trek to India. I had lots to pack and rolling not only fit in more pieces, but helped me organize my suitcase more efficiently. I was able to see and pluck out what I needed without messing up a tight stack of folded clothes. Once home, I wondered, why not maximize my limited drawer space and roll everything?

There are a few methods, like army rolling, also called "ranger rolling," which keeps things snugly bundled, or a looser style that I call a "burrito wrap." The advantages of either: Your clothes will have fewer creases, you can easily find what you need, and, depending on how you organize them, you can store a lot more in your drawers.

For ultimate space saving, this OCD technique combines folding with rolling. You can even use it on towels!

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I lay my rolls horizontally in the drawer, but you can try a KonMari version of lining them up vertically. You'll have to use the army roll method and pack the rolls in more tightly, to make them stand up (which means you can add more stuff!), but it makes seeing everything at a glance super easy.

Pack in more with vertical rolls.

And it's much simpler to pull out what you need this way than from a folded stack—even better than one of Marie's vertical-shirt rows, which tend to wilt when one shirt is removed.

I still hang my pants, dresses, and sweaters, but my drawers have all been converted to rolling. They look like trays of brightly colored burritos, which definitely spark joy whenever I see them! A mere bonus to having easily accessed, unwrinkled clothes.

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