It might seem silly to bother learning a specific method for folding towels, but I think there’s plenty of good reasons to do so! First and foremost, it can make a surprisingly big difference in how tidy your linen closet looks. (And who wouldn’t want to see neat stacks of uniformly-folded towels every time they open their linen closet?)
And neat stacks of towels aren’t just nice to look at—they’ll actually make better use of your storage space too. When you can stack things like towels neatly and efficiently, you can store more items around them without the area looking too cluttered.
In order to help us all enjoy the benefits of nicely folded towels, today I’ll be sharing my preferred methods for folding towels, including washcloths, hand towels, and bath towels. These might work perfectly for you as-is, or you may need to tweak them slightly depending on the size of the storage area or container where you store your towels.
But either way, I hope these methods prove useful as useful to you as they have been for me! And may your neatly folded towels bring you a measure of peace and happiness in these crazy times. :-)
The Best Ways To Fold Your Towels Neatly
How To Fold A Washcloth
- Lay the washcloth out on a flat surface and fold it in half.
- From there, fold the towel into thirds.
How To Fold A Hand Towel
- Lay the hand towel out on a flat surface with the longer side facing towards you.
- Fold the towel into thirds by folding the bottom third up and the top third down.
- From there, fold the towel into thirds again by folding the left and right edges in towards the center.
How To Fold A Bath Towel
- Lay the bath towel out on a flat surface with the longer side facing towards you.
- Fold the towel into thirds by folding the bottom third up and the top third down.
- From there, fold the towel in half.
- Fold the towel in half again the same way.
Wasn’t that easy? While there isn’t really a wrong way to fold a towel, it never hurts to use methods like these that are quick, easy, and look great on your shelf! :-)
More Folding Tips & Tricks
- Check out this post to learn how to fold everything from chip bags to underwear!
- Dress up your dining table with these quick and easy napkin folds.
- Wow your friends and family by mastering the art of folding a fitted sheet. (Spoiler alert: it’s easier than you think!)
Do you have any tips or tricks for keeping your linens tidy or organized?
I roll my facecloths and keep them in an attractive basket in the bathroom. That way, if anyone needs to use one, including guests, there’s always a fresh cloth available and visible. Plus, it’s a lovely “decoration” in the bathroom.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What a great idea, Jessica. Thanks for sharing this with us. :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.love your folding ideas i was having problems with the tshirt?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Jille, thanx for the demo. i see some things never change. over 70 yrs ago, my mom taught me to fold bath towels just as u do.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I fold mine in half, twice, this leaves me with a long, narrow strip; this I fold in three and tuck one third into the open third.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This results in a neat parcel that, even if the stack of towels falls out of the linen closet, they don’t unfold,
It looks to me like the pile on the left takes up less room, or am I looking at it backwards?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I agree. I think you should fold them so that they fit in your specific space not according to how someone else thinks they should be folded.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I put my towels in a cloth bin because my linen closet is small. I live in a mobile home and everything is small.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I, too, have folded my towels this way for years. I am also a ‘collector’ of pillowcases. The same method for folding towels works for pillowcases, but I put the pair together when flat, then fold as a single item. It really helps keeping the pairs together, and you can better see what you have.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.amen, when I pull out a pillowcase(s) folded together, they come out as one …………………….
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I was taught to fold the towels so that when they were unfolded they were the way they needed to be to put on the towel rod; in other words, fold them the long way first into thirds and go from there.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.That’s what I’ve been doing for years. Saves time in the long run.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Learned this from Martha Stewart 25-30 years ago. It works, and I’ve even had guests ask how I fold my towels.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’ve always folded my towels this way. It does make your linen closet more organized. One problem I have with your stack is, they are not 100% uniform. I’m a stickler for that!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Pj Jones
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What I like about every one of OGT post is it gives me a new perspective about something I either didn’t know or didn’t view in a new way. All are very helpful whether I apply them or not.
Considering all towels are not uniform in size and I have a small space to keep my bath items, today’s post makes sense.
Wow are you the towel police!?
Uniformity is a preference point for you – don’t try to force it on everyone else or tear our wonderful host Jillee down. You can always not view this website content.We accept your apology.
Be well.
Wow, powerful stuff! Think Carol was just saying if you go to the trouble of folding towels neatly, why ‘spoil’ the look of your otherwise neat linen closet by not going the whole hog and stacking them all the same way? Seems like a bit of a contradiction in methodology. I agree with Carol (always stack my folded towels and sheets facing the same way) and don’t think she was ‘tearing Jillee down’ or ‘enforcing’ anything on anyone, just expressing her angle on the tidy linen cupboard notion. No more ‘towel police’ than Jillee really, just trying to add a helpful point of view?
This is awesome. I’ve been folding my towels incorrectly forever.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I got a great hint from my German aunt. She rolls them.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Towels take up less space & I put a rubber band around them so they stay in place.
It must be a German thing because my German SIL does the same thing!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVOVrPeB9vw
Had to find the video at youtube.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Can’t see your page, Jillee. A huge beauty rest ad covers it as soon as I get here w/no x to close it.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.connie, You might need to add an ad blocker to stop those pop ups. You can find these in your add ons under the ‘settings’ menu on your web browser. I use one called, “adBlock Plus’
Please log in or create a free account to comment.https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/adblock-plus-free-ad-bloc/cfhdojbkjhnklbpkdaibdccddilifddb
I use AdBlock Plus on Firefox. It is awesome! Go to Tools, click on Add-ons, then type AdBlock Plus into the search bar, click add to Firefox. Some sites, particularly news sites, will tell you to disable you adblocker in order to view their page. I simply click the ABP logo in my task bar and tell it to enable on this page.
Jillee,
You are so right about how pretty towels are when they are folded properly! I used to be a maniac for perfectly-folded towels. But after many years of marriage to a quality assurance expert who can make sure every single product coming off a high-speed production line looks identical and exactly to specifications, but still can’t fold a simple bath towel the same way twice (even from the same load), and has never folded it the way I want, I finally “threw in the towel.” Add in 5 kids and I knew I’d either have to fold and refold towels like a live-in, OCD bathroom attendant or find another way.
Here’s my “other way”: I don’t fold the bath towels anymore. At all. Ever. Instead of having a set of perfectly matched, perfectly folded, fluffy towels on the linen shelf, we each have a totally different, fluffy *beach* towel that hangs on a hook. Every couple days, I gather the towels for the wash and when they’re done, I skip the folding and just hang them right back on each person’s hook. Not a single one of them matches another and not a single one of them matches the rest of the decor of the bathroom. But every single one of them “matches” us and I love it that way.
I still keep several perfectly-folded, regular bath towels for any guests that might stay, but otherwise, it’s no folding for me.
Just had to share that.
Heather
Please log in or create a free account to comment.P.S. I love, love, LOVE your blog!
Heather,
you sound like a wonderful mix of realist with a positive outlook. I think your solution is great!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Heather,
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I know your response is old but thank you! We have a similar system and people think I’m weird. Everyone has their own color towel and a hook on the back of their bedroom door. I’ve found that towels dry faster if they’re not in our tiny, steamy bathroom. It also saves space in there and utilizes wasted space behind the door. I do have two sets though. Every few days, I gather up all the towels and throw them down to be washed. I pull out the clean set and put them out. Accomplishes a few things: towels dry so they can be used more than once and not smell mildewy (less laundry) and nobody is rummaging in the closet for a fresh towel so I can fold them nicely. The second set means I don’t have to wash towels on that very day. No one has to drip dry if I get sidetracked!
Also, the last person to shower each day sprays the tub with homemade shower ‘cleaner’ and wipes down the sink and toilet with a half sheet of paper towel. Once a week someone (usually me but sometimes my husband) deep cleans the bathroom. We’ve had up to six sharing one small bathroom and when everyone pitches in, the load doesn’t fall to just one person! Thanks for sharing! And you’re right . . . Jillee’s blog is great!
Heather, I love you all the way from NYC! You made me laugh out loud!
I get you, your hands full with a husband who does quality assurance and five children, I would be ready to fold myself and slide in a shelf somewhere. You pick your battles and towels is not on the firing line for you- I hear you! But I love that you still treat your guest to the nicely folded towel!
All the best to you and family!!!
Regards, PJ
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I love this, but… Where do I get the fancy towels at a convenient cost? Does anyone have any suggestions?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I found some on Amazon and they r pima towels and 2 sets are 19.99! I bought.all.white so they r all matching now and got it all done for 40.00! They are awesome towels as well. Very good quality.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I refolded all my towels last night (we did a load of towels, so it seemed like a good time to pull them all out). But now they don't fit into the teeny space we have for them! Crud. But even though I kind of jammed them in there, they still look super nice. Until I pulled one out this morning and they all came crashing down. HA! :)
-Nicole
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