Is vertically folding t-shirts the best way? My experiment may surprise you. My results on vertically folding t-shirts vs. other folding methods.

I fold my shirts one way and my husband folds them another.  I have seen TONS of pins on Pinterest on vertically folding t-shirts, all slightly different but based on the Kon-Mari Method. The Kon Mari method supposedly makes it easier to see all the shirts and save space.

Here is what I discovered (and you might be surprised).

Vertically folding t-shirts, step by step.

This is the main pin I saw pinned over and over from http://www.darkroomanddearly. I have heard so many positive things about this technique from other professional organizers that I thought I would give it a try.

My husband and I have a lot of t-shirts.  We live in Florida, where it’s warm (actually h-o-t) year-round, and we each have 1 large drawer in our dresser just for our folded t-shirts.  They all fit in the drawers, but I wondered if there was something to this new folding technique that might be better, so I tried it out.

My folded shirts:

My dad was in the military and traveled a lot.  He taught me to roll my shirts up to save space and not get wrinkled. (Like this) And that is how I have folded my shirts my whole life. Even in a suitcase they don’t wrinkle. They are lined up in rows in my dresser and I can see a lot of them at a glance.  However, my shirts are several rows deep, so it can be hard to see the ones at the bottom.  And, I also have more than just plain T-shirts in there, too.  I have tank tops and “women’s” cut (tapered shape with shorter, more fitted sleeves) as well.

Hubby’s folded shirts:

My husband, on the other hand, folds his shirts so they end up lying very flat. They are in his drawer in multiple stacked piles, so he can only see the top shirt of each pile. He only has t-shirts in his drawer. They are pretty much all the same size and cut. So they do look more uniform. (Now, in all honesty, I must say this method drives me crazy because his shirts farther down in the stacks don’t get used as much. Therefore, the ones on top are getting pretty faded. But in all fairness, it does look very neat.) (Sorry, dear… 🙂 )

So, with his permission, I took all of our shirts out of the drawers and refolded them using this new way.

Here is my completed drawer:

Here is my Hubby’s:

The results.

Did vertically folding t-shirts save space?

No, it really didn’t, especially in my drawer where my shirts were different cuts. Therefore, the shirts didn’t fold or stack the same.

I was very surprised at this outcome, since that is the main reason so many people say they use this method. 

Did vertically folding t-shirts make it easier to see all the shirts in the drawer?

Yes.  For example, I didn’t realize I had so many striped shirts and now maybe he will wear some of his that weren’t in the top layer.  🙂

So, for comparison here are the befores and afters side by side:

Mine: 

Hubby’s: 

The verdict?

If you are looking to save room, using this method to fold your t-shirts isn’t your answer.

But, if you want to be able to see all of your shirts at a glance, using this method to fold t-shirts worked better than either my or my husband’s original ways.

Also, I found it difficult, once they were vertically stacked, to then put a single shirt back in the drawer, once I had folded a washed load of clothes.  I kind of had to dig a hole and stuff it in, which took more time than either of our methods.

I was really surprised at my findings because I have heard nothing but praise for this method of how to fold your t-shirts, especially from other professional organizers. But it wasn’t as wonderful as I had hoped.

For great folding techniques for towels and those dreaded fitted sheets, check out my post on How to (finally) organize your linen closet.

Have you tried using this method to fold your t-shirts?  Did you find it a success?  I would love to hear from you either way.