Fold Underwear to Save Space (Expert Explains)

Underwear folding expert Tor from ‘Small Space Organizing‘ will teach you the fastest and easiest ways to fold your undergarments. In this article, you will find step-by-step instructions to find the folds that suit you the best, as well as videos if you’re interested in seeing a visual demonstration as well.

The file-fold is the easiest way to fold your undies and works for both men’s, and women’s underwear with the exception of g-strings and really small thongs. Below are step-by-step instructions.

1. Lay flat with front up.
2. Fold in one third of the way from both sides toward the middle.
3. From the top, fold a third of the underwear down past the middle.
4. Fold the bottom up one third of the way to meet the top.
5. Stack vertically.

A practical demonstration can be found at the timestamp 2:57 in the first video below.

While this folding method is effective and easy to learn, there is another method that will save a lot more space than the file-fold.

Fold Men's Underwear to Save Space (Boxers, Boxer-Briefs, and Briefs)

How to Roll Underwear

Rolling underwear takes up a lot less space than file-folding it. There are a few basic steps you need to practice in order to learn the roll, so practice the roll a few times until you get a tight roll:

1. Lay flat, front facing up
2. Flip top inside out, about two inches
3. Fold both sides of underwear in a third way in
4. Roll the underwear from the bottom up
5. Lift up the boxers and flip the band over the roll

Fold Men's Underwear to Save Space (Boxers, Boxer-Briefs, and Briefs)

In the illustration below you can see each of the steps that need to be performed to tightly roll a pair of boxer briefs more visually.

This roll is similar to some of the folds we will use for shorts in the next article.

How to Fold Plus Size Underwear

Generally, you can find plus-size underwear the same way you fold regular-size underwear. There are however a few things to keep in mind if you want the large undies to fit in the same organizing system as the smaller pairs.

When folding in the sides of the biggest pairs of underwear you can do a double fold, meaning you fold it over twice, instead of the single one you do on each side on the smaller pairs. This is however only necessary for the very largest of your underwear.

For boxer briefs and boxers I recommend using the technique above, and for panties and briefs you can use this method if you want to save space in your dresser:

1. Lay briefs flat with the front facing up
2. Roll the elastic band from the top half way down the briefs
3. Fold both sides of the roll back in thirds
4. Flip the lower part of the underwear under the roll over tho the other side
5. Pull open the new pocket you created by the elastic
6. Gently place the all of the lower part inside
7. Roll the elastic back up to it’s original possition

Folding Women's Underwear to Save Space (Briefs, Thongs, Strings, and Boxer Briefs)

How to Fold Thongs

We are going to go ahead and fold thongs the same way as we did for the briefs with a slight modification at the start. Due to their size, it is slightly more difficult to fold thongs and small panties, but you will quickly get the hang of it.

Follow the steps below and practice until you get the hang of it:

1. Lay the thong flat with the back facing up
2. Roll the elastic band from the top half way down the thong
3. Fold both sides of the roll back in thirds
4. Flip the lower part of the thong under the roll over tho the other side
5. Pull open the pocket you have made by the elastic
6. Place the lower part inside the pocket
7. Roll the elastic back up to it’s original possition

Below you will find an illustration of the fold, but you can also watch the video at 1:11 for a demonstration of this fold.

Folding Women's Underwear to Save Space (Briefs, Thongs, Strings, and Boxer Briefs)

If you want a really simple way to fold your very thinnest thongs like strings or similar, I recommend checking out the video at timestamp 7:01, as they can be very difficult to fold in the manner described above.

I also have a guide on how to fold g-strings, sports bras, underwire/padded bras, and more for you ladies. Feel free to check it out next.

Here is a free printable cheat sheet you can use to practice your folding.

I recommend that you check out my premium folding guide here if you want to learn to fold all your clothes to save space. This cheat sheet is the tip of the iceberg. Inside the course, you will get step-by-step guidance to reorganize your wardrobe.

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