Folding for Travel {and more!}

Ok, let’s talk about folding {can you imagine anything more exciting?}. Seriously though, how we fold our clothing does play a huge role in how we pack for a vacation or trip. Additionally, it can really help with the organization of drawer/closet space. 

There are so many different ways to fold clothes. It’s important to know that no ONE way is the RIGHT way. It’s all about what works best for you. Whether folding tees, tanks, sweaters, pants, jeans, shorts, etc., it has more to do with how comfortable you are with the method you use. And if you’re not a folder, more of a toss it on the floor, shove it in a drawer type, then it’s about your willingness to fold anything at all. If you’re not willing to do so, then read no more! This post isn’t for you today!

As promised, let’s start with Brit’s folding method for travel. It may seem a bit obscure at first, and trust me, I have not caught on yet, but it is a successful method for keeping shirts wrinkle free and nicely organized. Let’s begin!

First: The set up

Start with your shirts laid out, stacking every other shirt facing an opposite direction, lining up the shirt sleeves together {hopefully this picture explains that a lot better than I just did}. Little tip: Place items that are more likely to wrinkle/crease on the outside {lay them down first}.

Second: Center stage 

Place a folded group of tees, pants, shorts, tanks, or anything else that can be folded in the rectangular shape shown here, directly in the center of the chest of the top shirt. My sincerest apologies if I am butchering these directions! Hopefully the images help...

Third: Hug it out

Wrap the top sleeves around the items in the center and tuck them as if they’re hugging the items. 

Then just tuck the collar up and flip the bottom half of the shirt over. 

Fourth: Repete, sil vous plait (repeat)

Repeat these same steps for all of the shirts you have laid out until you have what looks like a shirt pillow. 

{One more shirt to go!}

{Shirt pillow}

Fifth: Meet Red Oxx

Remember Brit’s crush? Meet the Red Oxx bag! This method of folding does not require the Red Oxx; the pillow of shirts will fit nicely in any suitcase or bag. But, look how perfectly this method fits into his carry-on bag. 

Just to give the Red Oxx {and Brit} their minute of fame, here’s the opposite side of the bag, where Brit packs his shorts, under garments, socks, and swim suit {when the occasion calls for it}. 

Brit is also able to fit all of his toys, trinkets and electronics in the center compartment. 

All in all, I can’t blame him for his bag crush. I love it too. With all of its compartments, it’s an organizer’s dream. But I will stick with my roller suitcase or a small bag, at least until I have saved enough and can justify spending my $$ on a dream {carry-on} bag. 
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Ok, so back to folding. I thought it might be helpful to demonstrate how to apply this method of folding with women’s clothing. So I took the items I recently packed for our 4th of July weekend and went to work. Here’s how it turned out!

The Set Up: 
1. First, I laid out two regular button down shirts 
2. Then, for test purposes, I added one with short (cuffed) sleeves
3. Also for testing, I laid some tanks and workout shirts on top, just to see if it could work this way as well

Center Stage: 
4. A side view of my "centerpiece", just so you can see how high this stack can be
5. The stack of shorts, a dress, a skirt and pants placed in the center
Hug it out:
6. Flip the sleeves up over the stack. With the shorter sleeves it wasn't difficult, I just had to hold the sleeve in place while flipping up the other one
7. Even with short sleeves, the stack can be hugged.

Now for the tuck: 
8. Bottom tucked up to the top 

Répétez, s'il vous plaît (repeat):

9-11. Repeating all of the steps for each shirt that was laid out.  
12. Finished!! Clearly, the collar does not fold up here because of the amount of clothing I have folded, but I was still able to maintain the tucked shape and it is still preventing wrinkles! 
TA-DA!!
Look how nicely that fits in my luggage, with plenty of space to spare!! 

{I was able to fit two pair of shoes, a clutch, jewelry case, two more shirts, and all of my under garments on the other side.} 

{AND, another pair of shoes on top of all this! While still easily zipping the bag!} 

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This method is clearly just for packing. However, there are tons of ways to fold clothes to allow for more space as well. If you’re looking for a new way to fold your things, browse through the images below and see if any of those work for you!

{Here is how I currently fold my tees (long sleeve, and short sleeve} and tanks. I fold them regularly, then fold them in half again.}

{In my drawers, this takes up about the same amount of space as folding them regularly, however I am able to easily see all of my tops this way.}

So that is what works best for me and for my drawers. But, here are a few other options that may be worth considering.

{Here, the short sleeved and long sleeved shirts are folded regularly, but I have rolled all my tanks. Rolling tops can help with space because they are easy to stack. Also, rolling tops can help prevent  wrinkles.}

Another option:

{Stacking them side by side. Pro: it makes it easy to see all of the tops. Con: see below...}

{I have yet to figure out a way to open my drawer or remove one top without the entire system crashing. It makes things look nice for a second but in the long run, it's not very realistic.}

Brit uses a FlipFold to fold all of his shirts. Personally, I don't have the patience for those things, and I'm just too lazy to take the time for them. But they do provide a perfect fold for tops. 

Now onto the bottoms!

{I use the same double fold method on my jeans that I use on my shirts. Again, it doesn't change the amount of space taken, but it does make it easier to see all of the pants.}

Here is a regular fold. I don't mind folding my jeans like this, however when I did, I would forget about all the jeans that were stored on the bottom because they weren't in plain sight. Not sure if I'm the only person who forgets I have things if I can't see them, but it's a serious issue for me. 

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What about hanging slacks? Here's a brief "how to" for how to hang pants while maintaining the crease and preventing wrinkles. 

{First: start with the pants folded vertically. The easiest way to do this is to pinch the seams together at the bottom of the pants.} 

{Slide the legs of the pants through the hanger}

{And voila! Hanging pant}

Can you believe I can say this much about folding?? I’ll be honest; I’m a little embarrassed myself. But if it was helpful to one of you, it was worth it! Do you have additional folding methods that you love? Please share! 

Thanks for visiting!

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