To fold shorts to save space, shake or flap them a bit to remove the creases. Then, place them on a flat platform. Next, fold them in half and a bit from the crotch region, and then in half again. Finally, arrange them.
How to Fold Shorts to Save Space
Figuring out the right way to fold shorts might not seem essential, but it can save plenty of space in your cupboard or cabinet and you can make clever use of the remaining space.
Below, you can go through the steps involved in properly folding shorts to save space.
Clear Your Cupboard
You need to clear your cupboard first and foremost and gather all your shorts in one place so that you can fold each of them properly and then start rearranging them to ensure that you use the space as efficiently as possible.
Shake the Shorts
To begin folding the shorts, you must first give them a good shake or swing in the air while holding one side of them with both your hands.
This can be a good way to clear the shorts of some dust or particles while also getting rid of some of the big creases that might have formed due to previous folding or usage.
This is not an effective way to get rid of all the wrinkles present on your shorts. For instance, the smaller creases and wrinkles will not vanish if you beat the shorts in the air. For this, you will need to use an iron.
As a starting point, however, this step can prove to be effective enough.
Find A Smooth Surface
The next thing you should do is to find a smooth and flat surface to place your shorts.
This step is optional, considering that you can simply rely on your hands to support and hold the shorts in place while folding them.
However, finding a suitable surface can make the task much simpler for you as you’ll have a sturdy balance, allowing you to make better use of your hands. You can use an ironing board, a table or a flatbed.
Once you place the shorts on this surface, keep the front side up, smoothen them out a bit and make sure you button and zip them up properly so that these elements do not keep getting in the way while folding.
Fold in Half
You can now move on to making the first fold in your pair of shorts.
Take one sleeve of the shorts and fold it over the other so that the fold takes place from where the zipper is. Make sure you carry this step out as cleanly as possible, ensuring that the ends of all sides of the shorts are in uniform contact with each other.
This means not only the sleeves that the legs tend to emerge from, but also the sides and the top of the shorts.
You can also fold the shorts in reverse, keeping the back facing up and folding the sleeves together so that each back pocket meets the other.
Once you properly fold the shorts in half using the direction you prefer, press them down a bit to stabilize the fold even further. Run your hands along the length of the shorts to remove any creases or billows that may have formed.
Fold the Side
Now that the first fold is out of the way, you can move on to the next important but smaller fold. This is an optional step, so you can easily choose to skip it and still obtain a clean fold.
However, folding the shorts using this step can make the final folded version much more compact and cleaner, making it easier for you to store them without taking up too much space.
To make this fold, you should take that side of the folded shorts with the zip and the button and fold it inwards less than halfway through.
Do not fold it over to the other side since this will make the crotch part of the shorts jut out during the final fold.
Remove the Creases
Once you carry this process out, you can now give the shorts a bit of a press-down once again so that you can remove any other wrinkles that may have formed during the fold.
You should also take this time to connect all the edges properly if they ended up falling apart a bit during the previous fold that you carried out.
Smoothen the length of the shorts a bit more to ensure that they are ready for the next fold.
Fold in Half Again
The final fold you will need to carry out here is to fold the shorts in half once again.
Unlike the first time you folded them from one side to another, you should fold the shorts vertically up this time.
Take the ends of the leg sleeves and fold them up until they meet the waistline. You should do this carefully so that the two previous folds do not end up coming apart or becoming off-kilter.
Now that you have managed to do this, smoothen the shorts one final time and press them down to complete the process. Repeat each of these steps with all your shorts so that you can move on to arranging them.
Arrange and Stack
Once all your shorts are done, you can stack them on top of each other. Do not stack too many at once, as this will make them lose balance.
Determine how much space your cupboard has and how stable the pile stays with each additional pair of shorts you add.
You can also separate each pile based on the style, kind, the material and the color of your shorts so that you can then pick them out properly while also making the outcome look more organized.
Keep them all in your cupboard, one stack after the other. You will notice that this saves much more space than a simple single fold.
If you want to save even more space, you can place each pair of shorts vertically or with the sides pressing together, making it easier to pick them out when you need to.
Some Considerations
There are some considerations that you should keep in mind when it comes to how you fold your shorts. They are:
Material
An important consideration when it comes to folding your shorts is the material that they are made from.
For instance, shorts can be made from denim, cotton, linen, rayon, fleece, linen, satin, and several others.
Some of these materials, such as linen and cotton, are much more likely and quicker to crease up than others, such as denim.
For this reason, you will need to pay more attention to folding some materials over others, ensuring that you press down on them and smoothen them properly after each fold and at the end.
Size
The size of your shorts can also make a difference in how you fold them to save space.
If your shorts are extremely short, you can manage to fold them a couple of times, press them down, and be done with the process.
If your shorts are longer, you will need to carry out all the steps, sometimes even folding the shorts more than thrice and paying a bit more attention to how you fold them.
Do not skip the steps of smoothing your shorts down multiple times when dealing with longer shorts.
Other Folding Methods
Apart from the steps described above, you can also simply fold shorts by folding the sleeves to the side and then upwards, getting rid of the smaller side tuck.
Another way is to fold the sides and then roll them up to the waistline to save a ton of space. This is particularly useful if you need to pack your shorts into a bag or a cramped cupboard.
FAQs on How to Fold Shorts to Save Space
Is it better to fold or hang shorts?
This depends on how much space you have and what your cupboard is like, but folding shorts can certainly be a better idea since you can manage to fit more of them. For materials like linen and cotton, hanging them can be a better way to prevent creases.
Is file folding shorts a good idea?
File folding involves folding the sleeves and then the crotch area but folding the remaining length upwards using two folds instead of one. This can be a good idea for longer shorts, but not if they are too slippery.
