You’re Storing Your Scarves All Wrong, According to The Home Edit

When it comes to organizing your closet, there are some things—like scarves—that typically don’t get much attention. During the cooler months, they probably end up strewn over bannisters, coat hooks, seat backs, door knobs, etc. In the warmer months, they might exist stuffed in a basket or on a shelf somewhere. As a result, the accessory often ends up wrinkled and, worse, completely forgotten about.

Thankfully, organizing gurus Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin of The Home Edit have a better way to store your scarves: rolled up in “doughnut” shapes. The method, demonstrated in an episode of their new Netflix show, Get Organized with The Home Edit, is simple, but effective.

1. Simply twist the scarf around your hand until it forms a rough ball.
2. Bring the end of the scarf through the hole where your hand is to form a tight, compact knot that’s easy to stack in a pyramid or stash in a clear container.

While the biggest benefit of this method is organization, another plus is it helps prevent you from forgetting about the scarves you own. It’s a key principle of the Home Edit System: holding yourself accountable to clutter by being clear about what you already own. When your accessories are bundled in the back of a closet or shelf or at the bottom of a storage bin, it’s easy to lose track of them. Conversely, when they’re front and center and knotted into neat balls, they don’t get lost. This means you actually use the items you have and you don’t buy more of the same type of scarf if you don’t need to. 

So before you purge all of those oversized blanket scarves you own, try this method first. Simply invest in some acrylic bins (a good excuse to go to Target, really), master the doughnut scarf method, then toss all of those knotted scarf balls into said acrylic containers. Boom—organized.