File Folding and Organizing Clothes with the KonMari Method

File folding our clothes — also known as the KonMari Method of folding — has helped us to keep our drawers organized and uncluttered so that we can always find the clothing items we need without searching through stacks of messy shirts and pants!

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.

In 2015, I read a little book called The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. Along with changing the way I think about decluttering our home, it also had a significant impact on the way I fold and store our clothes.

I recently shared a detailed guide to the entire KonMari Method, but I wanted to dig even deeper into file folding and organizing clothes because it is the area I receive the most questions about!

Table of Contents

Click on the links below to be taken to a specific part of the post.

• Choosing the Clothes that Spark Joy
• Benefits of KonMari -ing Your Clothes
• File Folding Clothes
• How to Fold a Shirt
• How to Fold a Long Sleeved Shirt
• How to Fold Camisoles
• How to Fold Pants
• How to Fold Shorts
• How to Fold Socks
• How to Fold Underwear
• How to Fold Bras
• File Folding Video
• Marie Kondo Folding FAQs
• Does KonMari folding make the clothes more wrinkled?
• How do you keep the clothes from falling over when using the file folding technique?
• With KonMari folding, how do you tell the difference between similarly colored shirts?
• Doesn’t file folding take a really long time?
• How do you know what to hang and what to fold?

Choosing the Clothes that Spark Joy

Marie Kondo has a very specific order that she has her students go through when tidying their items, and clothing is first on the list!

Before we even get into folding anything though, Marie instructs her students to do a thorough decluttering of their clothes, keeping only what “sparks joy.”

To do this, she says to gather up every single article of clothing you own and put it in one big pile. (If you happen to own a huge amount of clothing and putting it all together in a pile doesn’t seem realistic, try taking out every article from one category of clothing at a time– all of the tops at once, all of the dresses at once, all of the pants at once, etc.)

Psssttt…Our Tidying Checklist is a great tool for helping the tidying process go quickly and easily! Snag it below!

Seeing my clothes all together at once was helpful when I went through the KonMari process myself because it showed me just how much clothing I owned! It also made it easier to compare pieces and figure out what I truly loved and what was ready to be discarded.

To decide if an item sparks joy or not, Marie recommends handling each item. Even it it seems difficult to pinpoint exactly what “sparks joy” at the beginning, as students get further and further into the tidying process, making decisions gets easier and easier!

Discarding items can be tough, particularly if the items are still in good shape. Marie advises students to be grateful that the clothes served a purpose in the past– even if it was only to show you what you didn’t love!– and then let it go. (And if it’s in good shape, it can be donated and will be able to spark joy for someone else!)

Benefits of KonMari -ing My Clothes

Even if it feels challenging, keeping only items that I truly love really does pay off in the long run! I recently did a mini KonMari session with my clothes because my closet and drawers were starting to feel cluttered, and even though I am the furthest thing from a clothes horse, I ended up being able to donate a large trash bag full of items.

After paring down my items, I’ve found that I actually wear more of my clothing because every single item in my closet and drawers fits comfortably and is reflective of my style.

Getting dressed in the morning is quicker because I don’t have to look through all of the “meh” clothes to find something I actually love.

And my closet has stayed much neater since my purge because there is plenty of room for everything, and I’m motivated to keep it looking nice!

File Folding Clothes

Once I have discarded any clothes that do not spark joy, it’s time to figure out the best way to store the clothes that I have left.

Marie Kondo recommends folding as many clothes as possible– using the file folding method that she is famous for– simply because clothes folded with the KonMari Method take up much less space than hanging clothes.

No matter which article of clothing we’re folding, the goal is to get it into the shape of a small rectangle so that it can stand on its own.

Before I discovered file folding, I used the more traditional stacking method to store my clothes in drawers, and they looked like this:

The drawers weren’t terrible, but when I changed to KonMari folding, I loved that I could see every single article of clothing in the drawer.

File folding also allowed me to fit more items in each drawer, which especially came in handy in my boys’ room. Connor and Caleb share one small dresser, so the only possible way to fit all of their clothing items in such a limited space was by file folding — it was a total game changer!

The KonMari Folding Method

Because file folding can feel confusing to execute, I created super short videos of the most common type of clothing items below, along with explanations for each type.

How to Fold a Shirt with the KonMari Method

1. Start by laying the shirt out flat, with the front side facing up.
2. Fold one side of the shirt across the center.
3. Fold the sleeve of the shirt back.
4. Fold the other side of the shirt across the center, stopping a little before the edge.
5. Fold the other sleeve back.
6. Fold the top of the shirt toward the bottom of the shirt, stopping a little before the edge.
7. Fold the folded edge of the shirt over toward the bottom.
8. Fold over the shirt once more to create a small rectangle.
9. Stand the shirt upright.

How to Fold a Long Sleeved Shirt with the KonMari Method

1. Start by laying the shirt out flat, with the front side facing up.
2. Fold one side of the shirt across the center, with the sleeve laying flat.
3. Fold the sleeve back across the folded portion of the shirt, laying the sleeve flat.
4. Fold the sleeve so that it lays along the folded portion of the shirt.
5. Fold the other side of the shirt across the center, stopping a little before the edge and letting the sleeve lay flat.
6. Fold the sleeve back across the folded shirt, laying the sleeve flat.
7. Fold the sleeve so that it lays along the long rectangle that you have created with the shirt.
8. Fold the top of the shirt toward the bottom of the shirt, stopping a little before the edge.
9. Fold the folded edge of the shirt over toward the bottom.
10. Fold over the shirt once more to create a small rectangle.
11. Stand the shirt upright.

How to Fold Camisoles with the KonMari Method

1. Start by laying the camisole out flat, with the front side facing up.
2. Fold one side of the camisole across the center.
3. Fold the other side of the camisole across the center, stopping a little before the edge.
4. Fold the camisole in half, including the straps, leaving a small gap between the end of the straps and the bottom of the camisole.
5. Fold the folded edge of the camisole over toward the bottom.
6. Fold over the camisole once more to create a small rectangle.
7. Stand the camisole upright.
8. I like to store my camisoles in the narrow SKUBB boxes from IKEA.

How to Fold Pants with the KonMari Method

1. Start by laying the pants out flat, with the front side facing up.
2. Fold the pants in half widthwise, with the pant legs stacked.
3. If the seat sticks out, fold it over against the legs of the pants.
4. Fold the ankles of the pants up toward the waist, leaving a gap before the waistband.
5. Fold the folded edge of the pants over toward the waistband.
6. Fold over the pants once more to create a small rectangle.
7. Stand the pants upright.

How to Fold Shorts with the KonMari Method

1. Start by laying the shorts out flat, with the front side facing up.
2. Fold the shorts in half widthwise.
3. If the seat sticks out, fold it over against the legs of the shorts.
4. Fold in half, folding the waist of the shorts toward the leg openings.
5. Stand the shorts upright.

How to Fold Socks with the KonMari Method

1. Start by laying the socks out flat, with both socks facing the same direction.
2. Stack one sock on top of the other sock.
3. Fold the toes of the socks toward the middle of the socks.
4. Fold over socks once more to create a small rectangle.
5. Stand the socks upright.

How to Fold Underwear with the KonMari Method

1. Start by laying the underwear out flat, with the back side facing up.
2. Fold the bottom of the underwear up toward the waistband.
3. Fold one side over to the center.
4. Fold the other side over.
5. Roll the bottom of the underwear up toward the waistband.
6. Turn over so that the waistband is at the front.
7. IKEA SKUBB boxes work well for storing underwear.

How to Fold Bras with the KonMari Method

1. Start by laying the bra out flat, with the back side facing up.
2. Fold in each side of the bra’s band.
3. Fold down the bra straps into the cups.
4. Turn over and store with the front of the bra facing up.
5. When storing multiple bras, nest them inside one another.

File Folding Video

If you’re looking for even more examples of how I fold different types of clothes in our household, this video I made a few years ago can help!

(Note: You may notice that the techniques I use in the video vary slightly from the ones shown above. I filmed this video after I had read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, but before I read Spark Joy, which explains the exact folding technique in greater detail. The end result is still the same, though– all clothes end up folded in a small rectangle.)

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Marie Kondo Folding FAQs

I’ve been file folding for several years now, and every time I share a photo of our KonMari -ed drawers on the blog or social media, I seem to get the same questions, so I wanted to be sure to answer the most common ones here!

Does KonMari folding make the clothes more wrinkled?

One of the most common questions I get about folding t-shirts using the KonMari Method is, “Does it make the shirts more wrinkled?”

I have actually found the opposite to be true. My shirts seem less wrinkled with this method than when I was stacking them all up in a big pile.

As I fold, I am sure to pull the clothing taut so that everything is nice and smooth, which keeps wrinkles from forming.

Since I am not piling items on top of one another, they don’t get smushed in the drawer, which also helps them come out wrinkle-free when we’re ready to wear them.

How do you keep the clothes from falling over when using the file folding technique?

My clothes and the boys’ clothes are small enough that when I fold them into a small rectangle, they are able to easily stand on their own without falling over.

Sometimes, even if they’re small, shirts that are dri-fit material are harder to get to stand up because the material is so slippery. In that case, I try to file them in the drawer next to the sturdier cotton shirts to give them a little extra help standing up.

Men’s clothing items, like Donnie’s, are larger, which can sometimes be a little more difficult to get them to stand up on their own. I typically do an extra fold in his shirts to make them smaller, which helps.

To help keep Donnie’s clothes upright so the drawer stays neater, I also use drawer boxes for added support. My favorite boxes are the SKUBB boxes from IKEA, which come in three different sizes.

The SKUBB boxes work perfectly for Donnie’s t-shirts…

…and I use them for a little extra support in my sock drawer as well.

For Donnie’s shorts and athletic pants, I needed a box that was a little larger, and I found these ones, which ended up working perfectly.

Expandable drawer dividers like these would work to help keep items upright too!

With KonMari folding, how do you tell the difference between similarly colored shirts?

Since many times with the file folding method, the design of the shirt will end up on the inside, many people worry that they won’t be able to easily tell which shirt is which.

This hasn’t really been a problem for us at all; I am familiar enough with the color and texture of our clothing items to be able to know which is which.

If I have a few shirts that are similar, I can easily peek in the side to see which design is on the front without messing up the fold, and it is still quicker than sorting through a pile of stacked t-shirts to find the one I want.

If you had a bunch of t-shirts that were the same color and material and it was becoming a problem, you could always tweak the KonMari fold so that the design ends up on the outside to make it easier to tell them apart– you won’t get put in “KonMari jail,” I promise! 🙂

Doesn’t file folding take a really long time?

When I first started using the KonMari folding technique, it did take me longer than my previous “stacked” method of folding; however, now that I have been doing it for years and years, I am just as fast at file folding as I was at the traditional fold.

Plus, I actually save a good amount of time when I’m getting clothes out of the drawer because I can see everything at once rather than having to search through piles for the clothing item I’m looking for, so overall, using KonMari folding is actually saving me time.

How do you know what to hang and what to fold?

Marie recommends folding as many clothes as possible, but she does make a few exceptions.

In The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, she says, “My standard is this: hang any clothes that look like they would be happier hung up, such as those made with soft materials that flutter in the breeze or highly tailored cuts, which protest at being folded” (page 78).

I typically hang all of my non-tshirts, so blouses, collared shirts, vests, blazers, and cardigans. (I do fold my sweaters so they don’t get nubs on the shoulders!)

I hang all of my dresses and skirts as well.

For the longest time, I hung my jeans, but I recently started folding them instead, and I’m really liking the change so far!

Marie instructs that clothes should be hung by type (all jackets together, all suits together, all dresses together, etc.) and then by length, with longer items on the left, sloping up to shorter items on the right. This is because, as Marie claims in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, “Lines that slope up to the right make people feel comfortable” (page 79).

Again, I don’t follow this rule to an absolute “T,” but I like to at least make sure that all of my clothes are grouped by category so I can easily find what I’m looking for.

Related: File folding also works perfectly for packing! See how to pack an organized suitcase.

So that’s file folding and clothes according to the KonMari Method! I hope that this post was able to answer some of the most common KonMari questions and give you some ideas for organizing clothes in your own home!

If it was helpful for you, don’t forget to pin the image below so you can come back to this post and reference it later!

You can learn more about the KonMari Method and see how we’ve used it in our home in these posts:

The Ultimate Guide to the KonMari Method

File Folding and Organizing Clothes with the KonMari Method (You’re here!)

The KonMari Method: Organizing Books

How to Organize Paper with the KonMari Method

Organizing Komono (Miscellaneous Items) with the KonMari Method

The KonMari Method: Organizing Sentimental Items

The KonMari Method: One Year Later

Have you tried the KonMari Method in your home? I’d love to hear your thoughts about it in the comments!

Sources

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up Book 

Spark Joy Book

SKUBB Boxes

Target Bins for Organizing Donnie’s Pants and Shorts

Thank you so much for following along! Have a wonderful day!

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.

The images below are from a previous version of this post.