Organizing the T-shirt Drawer - YouLookFab Forum

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Organizing the T-shirt Drawer

Marlene

Veteran

I've been working on getting my wardrobe organized and today I tackled the t-shirt drawer. I'm wondering if anyone else has tried this method and how it worked out. Is it a huge hassle to get the shirts in and out? I like that I can see everything at once and don't have to root way down to the bottom of the drawer to find something that MIGHT be there. Maybe if I SEE the shirt, I will WEAR the shirt...

This makes me realize I have a LOT of t-shirts. But I wear a lot of t-shirts.

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19 replies

Latest reply was from janjan

Lyn D.

Veteran

I did this some time ago at the recommendation of Mo- and absolutely love it!
You can see exactly what is there and nothing gets 'lost'. It also helps for identifying what needs to go and wardrobe 'holes'.
I often find myself opening the drawer just to admire or re-arrange.
I have found it helpful to separate colours that are very similar- e.g..navy/black, for better visibility, as they can still get lost if placed directly beside each other.

I have one drawer for T-shirts and another for long and 3/4 length ones, and yet another for sweaters etc.

Day Vies

Veteran

I have shelving in my closet under my hanging clothes that holds a total of 8 13"X12" bins. The bins hold my folded clothing, including my t-shirts which I folded standing up (like you) so that I didn't have to ruin everything looking for 1 shirt. The problem comes when I decide not to wear a shirt and the bin is completely full. Pulling everything out just to put one shirt back is a pain. As a result I generally fill up 7 out of the 8 bins and use the empty one for folded clothes that don't readily fit in their home bin. The clothes in the spare bin stay nicely folded in the meantime. Also I have found every 3-4 weeks I have to pull all the bins out and re-fold everything -- but I enjoy that kind of thing. The benefit is you can see everything the downside if you want to call it that is maintenance.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Oh yes. I do this even with my underwear. I know - that's odd. But yes, anything that goes in a drawer gets 'filed' in there. Running gear, pj's, socks, in addition to the usual sweaters and tees. What can I say? Seeing is believing. If I can see it, I'm much more likely to wear it.

High five Lyn!

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Mo

(website)

Veteran

Marlene, my only thought would be maybe fitting them front to back in several rows, like in my pics, so that when a few shirts get out and worn, the whole big stack doesn't start to fall over? Just a thought. It might not be an issue in the least if you launder quite frequently. And it is pretty to see your one straight line of colors all in a row

Lyn D.

Veteran

Mo, you are the queen of filing clothes!
I am off to do this with my underwear and soxs too

suzyq

I've been doing this with HH tees for about a year and will never go back. He has so many that I run them in 3 rows perpendicular to the front of the dresser. I put the clean in the rear and push the others forward. The print goes on the outside so he can see it without unfolding. If he is not wearing one and passing it by it's easy to pick out as they look a little rumpled and have that picked over look. I pull them out when room gets tight. When I ask if I can donate a passed over tee I am right 99% of the time.

kkards

Veteran

i have not tried this, but i like this a lot. i

Marthe

(website)

I'm gonna try this today!

Lisa

Veteran

I do this with my scarves in a basket and it works like a charm because I can actually see what I have. Nice job!

Marlene

Veteran

I saw this organizing method on pinterest and was intrigued. So many of my shirts were lost under the stacks that I never wore them or couldn't find them. I hope something like this will help.

A couple points: when I did it in 3 rows in the other direction, there were not enough shirts to fill the row and the ones at the back fell over. I also saw on pinterest that people used those metal bookends to hold up the short rows. I may convert to that orientation if my one single row doesn't work out. and second, I am not terribly detail-oriented so I wonder how long this will last. Will I have the patience to carefully folding and filing? I like Day Vie's idea of having a holding bin. I will keep that in mind as I go forward.

ramya

Veteran

Thanks for the ideas ladies:)

amiable

Veteran

I like this idea too! I had just switched to color-coding and rolling my shirts, which works pretty well, but I want to try the file method too.

Marlene

Veteran

Update! Three weeks have gone by and I AM STILL FILING MY T-SHIRTS! I love-love-love this method of organizing my drawers! I find it doesn't take too long to put stuff away and much less time to find stuff. If you haven't tried this yet....do it!

Anonymous

YES! I have my tee shirts and other knit tops like Sweet Pea mesh filed in this way , only with the three rows the other direction. The great part is that I can get most of my short and long sleeve knits in. I also do underwear this way and have a small drawer for filing all my tank tops by color. I also roll my jeans and clam diggers (denims), filing them in my deepest drawer. I love being able to find things instantly and know exactly where to return the clean ones from the laundry basket. Since setting up this system several years ago, I've not had to redo the drawers.

HiggsMistress

One of the best tips I've read about! Tried this method with t-shirts, lightweight sweaters, undies and it has changed how I organize my dressers. I can now see what I own, make a decision and not pull everything out in search of that one item I'm looking for.

Disha

I roll and file. If that makes sense. So I roll the t-shirts and file them in small cubbies. These t-shirts are either workout, or very casual wear cotton ones. The nicer shirts - I may have to try the fold and file method.
Thanks for the great ideas!

Shirley

Oh, I need to try this. Question: is wrinkle a problem?

cheryl

Veteran

I store all of my tshirts like this. I love that I can see everyone at a glance. I also do this with jammies and might have to branch out with even more things like undies and socks lol.

janjan

i like this idea. Love being able to see it all. I've tried it before but didn't keep up with the maintenance. Day vies love your idea about a spare bin.I will try and implement that. Thanks for that idea.