One of my New Year's resolutions is to keep my dresser drawers organized. As you can tell from this photo, my drawers have gotten a little out of hand. You know how it is – in the hustle and bustle of daily life you want to grab your clothes out of the drawer and go. Then, on laundry day, you drop your clean clothes in the drawer and promise you'll be back later to straighten up. Well that day is today! And here are a few tips for getting your dresser organized and keeping them that way.
1. Every few months, take everything out of your drawers and refold them. It's not a very fun job but it will keep your drawers tidy and organized. Plus, it's a good time to pull out stained or torn clothing.
2. Rather than stacking T-shirts, try "filing" them. As you can see in the after photo, I filed my color T-shirts so I can easily assess which one I want. When items are stacked it's invariably the one of the bottom that you want and getting to that one involves disrupting all the others…and that's what leads to a messy drawer.
3. Use containers in your drawers to hold the small stuff. In my drawer I've used a few containers. There's a small bank where I stow my collection of wheat pennies and other old money, a jewelry box for watches and necklaces, plus a large bowl to hold my bow ties.
4. If you have a particularly large drawer, consider picking up dividers or organizers. You can find organizers at stores like The Container Store which will help you keep things tidy by creating sections in the drawers.
5. Keep your drawer smelling fresh by storing candles in it. Whether it's a new or even just a little nub of a mostly burned one, a candle placed in your drawer will keep your clothes smelling lovely. You could also use bars of soap.
Images: Jason Loper
(Re-edited from a post originally published on 01.05.2011 - JEL)
The Ultimate Used Furniture Cleaning Kit
Ana Creates a Community at Home
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Z2 iPod Dock and Wi...
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
Recipe: Spring Fruit and Nut Tabouli
I LOVE THIS!!! I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM.... DEFINITELY GOING TO TRY TO "FILE" MY T-SHIRTS. THANKS FOR THIS!!!=D
I think I unconsciously mess up my drawers on purpose, just for the pleasure of re-organizing them.
I keep my t-shirts in one of those hanging closet organizers for the same reason that is listed here.
I'm not sure if I have super sleuth, stealth hands or something but I never seem to have an issue with T shirts getting rumpled in my drawers. I realize now that I must be in the minority, so I've developed and patented a special technique for removing clothes without making a mess. I'm calling it the two handed slip, brace and pull. It requires slipping your non-dominant hand underneath the bottom of the T shirt above the one you want to retrieve. Lift slightly and brace. This is where the tricky part comes in.
Use your dominant hand to gently caress the desired T shirt out of it's resting point. Once the tee has been removed intact, simultaneously use the fingertips of both hands to adjust the remaining Tshirts. Using a combination of pulling taught and wiggling side to side, everything will once again be back in place.
Check out my vlog for a tutorial.
*pulling taut.
way to ruin a perfectly good joke
Irish Spring is an especially good soap to use - it both scents and absorbs bad odors, even cigarette smoke.
Great tips! I have a pile of shirts that need to be put away. I'm going to try this filing idea tomorrow. Thanks for the help!
And...purge. Often.
Oh, man, and here I thought I was so special because I "file" my t-shirts! ;) Yes, it really does help you find things quickly and get them out without messing up the drawer. All my other drawers are a disaster, but the t-shirt drawer is lovely!
My husband's shirts are easy to pull out without messing up the others, but even carefully "bracing" my shirts always seem to bunch up if I want to get one from below. I'm definitely going to try the filing method.
To keep my drawers and clothes smelling nice I like to slip in a dryer sheet or two.
I started "filing" my shirts after I saw my friend's drawers. It is an excellent method. I also have my column files sorted by type. Long sleeved shirts go in one, short in another, and whatever other categories that might be necessary.
Love this! Such a great way to actually SEE what you have instead of just wearing what's on top. Great ideas, thanks!
Juuuust curious as to why all the spammers are not being deleted.....??? I frequent the ohdeedoh.com site and have never noticed it to be a problem. As a relatively new reader of AT, I find it distracting and annoying!
I stick a sealed bar of Ivory soap in every container of clothes or linens; it helps a lot.
After reading this post, I went to file my t-shirts, then I filed my socks, then my pajamas, then my underwear...you get the picture! My drawers look so awesome! Thanks for the great tip :)
Is it strange I file all my bf's boxers? LOL
Inspired by this post, I just re-organized all my drawers last. The t-shirts are all nicely filed and I decided to roll all of my jeans and other pants - made sense for that particular drawer. I put a bar of soap in each drawer; they were pretty little handmade soaps that I got on a recent trip to France and just hadn't found a use for them...now they are keeping my clothing smelling great!
My drawers aren't really deep enough for "filing" shirts though I still do that on occasion... it usually means the shirt has to be folded into a really tight little square, or the edges of shirts end up sitting under the others anyway.
I find the part where my drawers get messy is actually when I put stuff away. I hate doing laundry so often after I fold and pile my shirts, I take that pile and plop it on top of everything else and try to close the drawer! lol
I have really deep, built-in drawers...any suggestions for organizing those??
My soap vote: Yardley's English Lavendar.
I always kept my underwear filed but it didn't occur to me to apply the same principle to my t-shirts!
Let me get this straight...people actually fold clothes? And put them in drawers?
@steph.a.s., I have no suggestions, but having used them can confirm that deep drawers are a pain.
@steph.a.s - use stacking trays?
Filing only works if you have enough clothes and wash them enough. I used to file, but if 5 t-shirts are not replaced fairly immediately, the whole thing flops over, and you go back to exhibit A.
I've found shoeboxes to be really helpful with "filing". It adds support for when the stack gets low, and keeps the mess from affecting other stacks.
I roll up my tank tops and "file" them like this in cardboard boxes (old 12-pack instant cup noodle boxes) - so the shirts kind of look like cans of soda. It works well because I can see everything and if I take out one tank, the rest basically stay in place (I think it works better when everything is packed tightly).
I would've never thought to file my shirts. I needed this tip SO bad. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
i guess it's a "filing" variant, but my grandfather taught me to roll all my clothes, which he learned in the army. it has the same advantage of being able to see everything at once, but no problem with the "filing pile" flopping over as happybirthday pointed out.
aocoats, I hear that rolling clothes is good for packing luggage, too, with less wrinkling.
something I have started doing is recycling my soda can fridge packs into draw organizers. You cut the top off so it's just the bottom and four sides and slide them into your drawers. Putting things like socks and underwear in them keeps them from moving around, and they stay organized.
"Filing" is SUCH a good idea! I'll definitely try that one-- it's so annoying to have to dig to the bottom of the pile to find the one shirt you want.
I use old shoe boxes, cheap, recycling future trash flow and just about the right size for many items. We started this when my daughter was little - little shoe boxes were just right for storing little socks and undies. The practice has continued my sock drawer is always completely sorted never do I grab navy when I aimed for black.
I love the "filing system"! It looks lovely and might be a better use of the space in my drawers. Thanks for the TIP!
My mom taught me to "file" my shirts a long time ago, been doing this for years. It really works!
@JasonLoper - I thought about doing this, so maybe I will just have to give it a try :)
@Miami's Elaine - Yes, they are a total pain...when I move out of the parental's house I am definitely going to get a dresser with more shallow drawers!
I just had to come back here and report. I filed my shirt drawers and it's AMAZING! I can fit so much more in my drawers and I can SEE everything. WHY didn't I think of this before? Thanks again for the post!... I think it changed my life! (o;
"Filing" and rolling... it's THEE way to organize your clothing drawers! (I admit to rolling my underwear too lol)
I'm going to try the cardboard dividers. Good call.
If you fold like in this video http://www.howdini.com/howdini-video-7117430.html
Then the clothes stand up by themselves and don't flop over.
I use these drawer dividers for things I've folded and 'filed'. Having dividers makes things stand up better when the drawer is not full.
http://www.amazon.com/Axis-442-Tension-Divider-Natural/dp/B001CJHK88/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1299943836&sr=8-7
I also have something similar to this for little things like socks and underwear
http://www.amazon.com/Honey-Can-Do-SFT-01625-Drawer-Organizer-32-Compartment/dp/B003XAMI72/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1299943752&sr=8-6
Guaooo..!!!
I use shoe boxes as storage devices - narrow ones for undies and socks, the wider ones for tee shirts.
I'm less worried about an untidy drawer, but I do roll my tee shirts so I can reach in and grab the one I want easily.
Those drawers (both before & after) look like the clothes would come out good and wrinkled. Always needing ironing before being presentable. My method is to either hang the t-shirt or only give it one fold down its middle. The less compacted folding, the less wrinkles. Devote one drawer to shirts all folded only once in half and your shirts will be waaaay more presentable. I hang mine color coded and my husband's folded only once in the middle.
This is a great idea - though I already do a type of filing. The one that resembles spreading out a deck of cards accordion style before dealing them. Though, not quite so neatly. Must try new system!
Looks good! And I totally agree about refolding or organizing every once in awhile. I don't agree with the 'filing' method. I'm a chick who wears a ton of white and black with various different cuts and styles. It won't do for me to just pull any old black tank out, I'm usually looking for a specific one. It's not hard to keep stacks neat! Stack by color first of all. Then when you're looking for a shirt, pull an entire stack out and look thru it on top of the dresser. Say its in the middle of the stack, you put the top 1/2 on the side, remove your shirt, replace the top half and put the whole stack back in. Seriously took me longer to write that than it would be to actually do it :-)
alouise & aliceb...Thanks for the tip on the cold pack and shoe boxes. Great idea!
We hang our t-shirts on hangars. No filing needed!
You're the only person I've ever heard say that they collect wheat pennies. I thought I was alone. :)
I like the filing idea, but look and think it might be harder to put laundry away if you've washed 2 or 3. I'd be tempted to put some functional dividers between them - I have some metal bookends that would work and am very tempted to give it a go.
I started filing our tees when this first published. I even got the hubs on board. We use a flip-n-fold, and fold in half one more time so they are the right height for filing. It works so well, and we never have to reorganize. It even still works now that we went from a dresser to having storage in our bed (the slats and mattress lift up). I also started folding my undies and socks. I can keep so many more items in the drawer, and always find what I want. Such simple things make such a big difference!
I had to bookmark this. I'm about to go on a major closet renovation, and my drawers need help too. Thanks for this!
Great idea.! I have already rearranged all the clothes drawers in my bedroom. Vertical storage is a great idea and it gives you a much better chance of seeing (& therefore, finding) the item you want quickly.
Filing t-shirts! Brilliant! Merci.
I've found that the cardboard dividers from my FreshDirect orders fit perfectly to divide my drawers. green, free, useful.
Those long, shallow storage boxes that were originally designed for diskettes are great for storing socks, hosiery, scarves, and other small items. They stack easily too-they work in deep drawers.
Start by getting rid of a third of the stuff you have cramming the drawer.
Nice thing about "filing" is that you put the freshly washed stuff to the back and take from the front, at least we're talking about underwear or white socks.
Wait, wait! I don't understand how you are folding the shirts to file them. What happens when the stack is partway empty? Don't they all just collapse into a heap?
I hate using dressers. I use mine for sox, underthings, stuff I rarely ever use like my absurd scarf collection (I don't wear t hem but I lvoe the fabrics... sigh) and my secret stash of chocolate!!! My knit tops (Ts, tanks, sweaters) all hang in the closet. I fold my slacks onto the closet shelf. So all the clothes I actually wear are hanging or shelved. I hang them hot from the dryer and almost nothing ever needs ironing. Easy!
Another great idea for keeping drawers fresh is to put a bounce sheet in each of them...
I think this is a great idea and creativity of organizing the dress in the drawer at well manner and it is very easy to find the cloths. After read your post I have already arrange the cloth drawer.
Nashville Personal Trainer
I tried filing folded clothes for a while - I thought I was so clever! - but anything that had been sitting for any length of time came out with horrible wrinkles in the back, because of how many times I'd had to fold everything to make it fit the drawer (I was wearing 3XL stuff back then).
I roll my underwear and file it though, and that works for me. My socks are rolled, so I stack them...so maybe I'll try rolling my shirts and filing them vertically. It couldn't hurt. I'm also doing a huge purge since I've lost a few sizes...maybe I'll take the opportunity to wax the drawers and line them with paper while I'm at it...
I recently read something on "rolling" clothes rather than folding (very similar to filing), and it has saved me a lot of frustration when it came to finding what I was looking for, and pleasure from seeing my beautifully organized drawers!
Love the idea on storing candles and bars of soap in drawers... Candles have always been something I've had a hard time knowing where to put before I'm ready to burn them (I get a lot as gifts, etc)
One of my best friends came over one day and saw the (horrible) state of my room. I had just moved back in with my parents and condensed my portion of a three bedroom *house* back down in to a bedroom, and it wasn't going very well. Clothes had simply exploded everywhere. She sat down immediately and emptied out my entire dresser (which wasn't hard as I hadn't put much in it yet!) and began to re-fold all of my clothes. I was mortified of course, but she persisted and finally won.
She showed me, for the first time, the 'filing' system of folding clothes; I have never disappointed her so horribly again! Every time she comes over she's pleased to see that I actually use the system and that it works for me (I never knew how to fold shirts flat correctly, no matter how much I practiced!) and how nice my bedroom looks. I still have clothes out, but not my entire wardrobe! It literally changed my entire life.