Organizing Tip: The Roll Method

This week, I thought I'd depart from the normal format and give a tip for fitting more clothing into a small space. My stepdaughter has a space challenge in her closet and room--she only has 2 medium sized drawers in her whole room. She had to get creative and I helped her out.

The photo to the right shows 7 pairs of jeans and over 25 tank tops living on one closet shelf. That's a lot of clothing in a very small space!

• Folding jeans with the rounded fold edge out helps you immediately identify how many pairs you have.
• Folding jeans takes up less closet space than hanging, if you're short on space.
• Rolling tank tops, underwear, camisoles, even t-shirts, creates lots more volume per square foot if you're short on space and long on clothing.
• You can see every tank top, its color, and pull out exactly which one you want without having to dig.
• Rolling takes about as much time as folding or hanging, so it doesn't add time to your laundry routine.
• Note: we used a small bin to contain the tank tops, keeping them visible and held in place instead of avalanching onto the floor.

Try the "folded edge out" and the "rolling" methods and see if it helps you save space and time.

(c) 2009 Sheri Smith Bertolini