How to Fold and Store Jeans

• Lay your jeans down with the front facing up and use your hands to smooth them out, making sure the pockets aren’t bunched.
• Fold the jeans in half at the crotch, laying one pant leg over the other, and check that the seams line up.
• Bring the hem up to the waistband to fold the jeans in half. Or, fold them in thirds by bringing the hem up to the thigh, then folding the top down over the hem.

Doing a Basic Fold

Shake out the jeans and flatten them with your hands. Pick up the pair of jeans by either end of the waistband and shake them out with 1 or 2 short, emphatic flaps to remove any obvious wrinkles. Then lay the jeans with the front facing up and run your hands across them to smooth them out. Also, reach your hand into each of the pockets to expand and flatten them. Bunched-up pockets can make for lumpy jeans.

Fold one leg of the jeans over the other. Fold the jeans in half lengthwise so that the back pockets face outward. Make sure the legs themselves are flattened along the seams, or your fold may create wrinkles. Or, fold them so that the front pockets face outward and the back pockets are touching; whichever looks nicer to you. If you like, tuck the crotch fabric extending past the legs back over the topmost leg. It may make the folded jeans a bit thicker, but they’ll look neater.

Fold the pants in half or thirds, depending on space. If you have plenty of room in your dresser or cupboard, fold the hem up to the waistband, then smooth out the pants. If you need to fold more compactly, fold the hem up to the thigh, smooth the pants out, then fold the waistband all the way down to the folded edge of the pants.

Other Ways to Fold Jeans

File fold your jeans to stand them up in a drawer. Lay the jeans flat and fold one leg over onto the other. Then, fold the hem up to about 2–3 in (5.1–7.6 cm) short of the waistband. Finally, fold the bottom third up toward the waistband, then fold it again to line up with the waistband. This method was popularized by organization icon Marie Kondo, and gives the folded jeans just enough thickness to stand them on their side.

Fold the jeans in half twice for a tidier look. Lay the jeans flat and fold one leg over the other. Then, fold the hem up to the waistband. After, fold the already-folded jeans in half again. This creates a slightly thicker but more compact-looking bundle. Or, fold the jeans into thirds after folding the hem up to the waistband, for an even more compact bundle.

Roll your jeans to help them fit in shallow drawers. Smooth the jeans with your hands, then fold them in half, one leg over the other. Then, starting at either the hem or the waistband, roll them up as tight as you can to create a small, space-saving bundle.

Ranger roll your jeans for a secure, on-the-go fold. Fasten the zipper and button, then lay the pants flat. Flip the waistband inside-out, then tightly roll the pants up toward the waistband, starting at the hem. Once the roll reaches the waistband, flip the waistband back out and over the roll to secure the jeans. Note that while this method is compact and won’t come undone, it may crease your jeans.

Rose roll your jeans to make sure they don’t unfold. Lay the jeans flat and fold one leg over the other. Then, fold the top leg straight out to the side halfway up the leg. Roll the jeans down from the waistband, all the way to the bottom leg’s hem, then invert the protruding leg over the rolled jeans to secure them. Like the ranger roll, this creates a secure and tidy bundle, but may crease your jeans.

Storing Folded Jeans

Alternate waistbands when stacking your jeans to save space. The waistband of jeans are usually thicker than the other parts, making a stack of jeans tilted and uneven. Prevent this by alternating the position of the waistband between the left and right sides of the stack.

File your jeans in a drawer or basket for easy access. Organization expert Ashley Moon says to “stand them up [in your drawer] so you can see them all at a glance,” rather than stacking them vertically. This makes them easy to browse and retrieve without messing up your other folded jeans. Organizing expert Ashley Moon says she stores her clothes according to “the dimensions of my dresser and the type of clothes I have in them.” Use whatever system works best for your space.

Store your jeans on hangers to keep them in a closet. Attach your jeans to clip hangers to store them in the closet. If your hangers don’t have clips, drape the jeans over the hanger at their center point. This lets you easily sort through them on a rack. Or, clip them by the hem to let gravity pull the heavier waistband down, further reducing wrinkles.

Sort your jeans by color, material, or cut. If you own many pairs of jeans, sort them into separate stacks for easier selection. Consider arranging them by style of cut (e.g. bell bottoms, tight jeans, and loose jeans) to make the neatest stacks. Or sort them by color, pattern, or frequency of use. Consider using shelf dividers to keep different categories of jeans separate in the same container.