Care for a newborn infant is only the first of many concerns for new parents. It’s easy for parents to overlook the basics, like knowing the proper way to fold their baby’s onesies, sleepers, and pants. Although it may seem like a minor thing, keeping your baby’s drawers clean and organized may do wonders for your sanity, especially in the beginning.
Tutorials on How to Fold Baby Clothes
When it comes to folding infant clothes, there are two main techniques: the conventional method and the KonMari method (aka file folding). The conventional approach involves piling folded garments inside a drawer; the KonMari method, popularized by Marie Kondo (author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up), emphasizes visibility.
In your opinion, which is superior? Doran, a mother of five, thinks there’s no comparison. When I had three little children under the age of five, no matter how neatly I folded their clothes, they would end up in a heap in the drawers the next day. She says, “It took forever to find the clothes I wanted for each kid, and it took almost as long to put away neatly folded things because I had to reorganize the drawers first.”
“Yes, I know it seems dramatic, but learning the KonMari folding method changed my life. I was able to quickly and simply locate what I needed, as well as quickly and readily acquire coordinating clothing items for my children. What’s so great about it? Doran notes that the drawers have remained in their previously arranged fashion.
The KonMari folding method not only keeps you tidy, but it also helps you save a ton of room in your home. I just needed one dresser drawer for all of my fifth child’s clothing.
Doran folds all baby things using the KonMari method except for coats and dresses, which she prefers to hang. Dilbeck concurs, yet she, too, tucks her jeans in (more on this method below).
What the KonMari Folding Method Requires of a Baby Onesie?
This technique can be used on either short- or long-sleeved onesies. Once you’re done, you may “file” the onesie by standing it on its end in the drawer. This way, you can easily identify which onesie is which.
- If the onesie has any wrinkles, straighten them out by laying it flat.
- Vertically, sleeve-to-sleeve, fold the onesie in half.
- Arms should be folded in and placed on top of the torso.
- The onesie should be folded in half horizontally, buttons facing the collar.
- Once again, fold the onesie in half horizontally to make quarters.
- It may take some practice until you master the technique, but once you do, everything will go swimmingly. Carefully stack the folded onesies in the drawer.
An Explanation of the “KonMari Method” for Folding a Baby Sleeper
If your sleeper is too bulky to fold in fourths (like a winter fleece one), try rolling it up instead.
- Position the sleeper face down on a flat surface and iron out any wrinkles.
- The garment should be folded in half vertically, from the bottom up, from the sleeves to the thighs.
- Arrange the arms so that they rest flat on top of the torso by folding them in.
- Horizontally, foot to collar.
- Refold the paper in half horizontally (if you can).
- Baby Pants: The Art of Folding (Two Methods)
- The KonMari method can also be used to fold baby shorts and pants. On the other hand, Dilbeck suggests the tuck method if your baby’s pants are so jam-packed in the drawer that a few unfold every time you pull one out (which can also be used for baby shirts). Folded pants can be stored in a drawer just as easily using the tuck approach as they can using the KonMari method.
Folding Baby Pants the KonMari Way
- Flatten the trousers and press out any wrinkles.
- Cut them in half lengthwise, shin to shin.
- Make a horizontal fold from your ankles to your waist.
- Refold the paper in half horizontally (so the pants are in fourths).
- Methods for Tucking Pants When Folding
- Flatten the jeans out and press out any wrinkles.
- Lie on your back and fold your legs in toward each other so that the soles of your feet touch.
- Just like you would when you put on cufflinks, fold the pants up at the ankles.
- Fold the pants in half from the waist end, then in half again, so that the two ends meet.
- Folded edge tucked into top opening at ankle, seam smoothed out.