To Hang or To Fold. That is the Question.

Hanging vs. Folding

The age-old debate – OK maybe not quite as age-old as the chicken and the egg, but no less important – should you fold or hang your clothes.

Talk to any hard-core folder and they will tell you all about the virtues of folding:  no puckers from the hanger, your clothes don’t get stretched out over time, how space-saving it is, etc.  These are all valid points.  It’s true that you can store more items folded in a space vs hung (see pic), especially when using a hanging organizer (or two) as pictured.  You can see there is no way we could have hung that many items in the same amount of space.  And we have all been victims of the dreaded shoulder pucker that is a tell-tale sign that your item was hung wet and left to dry.

However, anyone on the other side of the spectrum will counter with an equally strong argument:  no one likes folding laundry.  Plus, unless you are trained to fold clothes in the Olympics, it’s virtually impossible to fold your garments without leaving creases and wrinkles.

I have to admit, I find myself in the latter category.  I hate folding clothes worse than going to the dentist.

So how is one to decide?  Basically, it comes down to personal preference and space, space being the more important of the two.  If you have a closet that is tight and tiny, you’re going to have to accept the fact that folding is in your future.  It’s the only way to fit more clothes in less space.  Also, there are so many more options for folding:  hanging organizers, baskets, dresser drawers, under-the-bed tubs, etc.  For us hanger hang-ons, there’s only, well, hangers.

With a larger closet comes more choices.  If you hate folding and have space to hang, then hangers away my friend!  Or, if you have lots of space, but still prefer folding, you may have just opened up some extra room in your closet that can be used to store things from other areas in your home.

One word of advice…if you’re going to fold, you want to make sure that you are folding things uniformly to maintain an organized closet.  Whether you choose to fold as Marie Kondo suggests is up to you, but if you fold things all “willy nilly”, your closet will look more cluttered.  If you and your family (or whoever folds the laundry) can’t commit to these folding standards, then maybe don’t set yourself up for failure if a streamlined and organized closet is what you’re looking for.

Whichever you choose, make sure it’s the one that affords you the most functional space in your home, and most importantly, is something you can sustain over time.  Otherwise you will end up as the unlucky, perpetually wrinkled guy that pulls his clothes out of the laundry basket.  No one wants to be that guy.

Be Organized,

Lisa