What’s the best way to store sweaters? I’ve tried everything. I’ve found the best way to fold a sweater on a hanger and hang a sweater without hanger marks or shoulder bumps and without stretching or ruining them. Properly hanging a sweater provides better care for it. And hanging your sweaters makes them easy to see and access. Knowing how to hang sweaters is a quick, easy and free way to organize your closet that you can do today.
Properly storing sweaters in your closet or drawer can be challenging. Sweaters are bulking so that makes them difficult to neatly stack on a shelf. And their bulk means that you can only put a few in a drawer, which means you usually end up stuffing your sweaters into the drawer.
I prefer to hang my sweaters up so that I can see them all at one time. I find it unnecessarily frustrating in the morning to dig through a drawer or wrestle with a pile on a shelf just to find the sweater I want to wear that day. Hanging my sweaters in the closet makes life a little easier in the morning.
While I much prefer hanging a sweater on a hanger, I also don’t want to have those bat wing bumps that are created from the hanger if you hang the sweater up like a shirt. Have you ever had the shoulder bump problem from hanging up your sweaters? The bumps caused by the ends of the hanger stretching out the shoulders of your sweater creating strange triangular bumps on each shoulder. I’ve been hanging my sweaters this way for over 14 years and it works great. I am a big fan of hanging sweaters on a hanger because:
- It’s easy to quickly see my sweaters hanging in my closet rather than rummaging through a dark drawer.
- It’s quicker to grab a sweater from a hanger rather than rearrange the sweaters in a drawer just to get the one I want.
- I have more hanging room than drawer space.
- Hanging sweaters in the closet allows them to breathe (air out) better than being jam packed in a drawer.
- Once you know how to fold sweaters on a hanger, it’s quick to do.
How to Hang Sweaters
Simply fold your sweater in half with the sleeves together. Then place your hanger upside down on the sweater with the hook place in the armpit area.
Fold the body over the hanger.
Then fold the sleeve over the hanger.
Make sure the sweater is folded with the armpit of the sweater close to the neck of the hanger. Straighten out any wrinkles.
At first this folding may seem awkward, but after a couple of tries you’ll be folding sweaters on hangers with no problem at all.
To further organize my closet, I hang sweaters up with like colors grouped together (I use ROY G. BIV order for the colors, doesn’t everyone?). It’s so much easier to see all your sweaters and select the one you want to wear. No more piles of sweaters falling off the shelf or digging around in the drawer for the sweater you want that is at the bottom of the pile (of course). Everything is right there to see and access. Easy peasey.
It only takes seconds to hang your sweater on a hanger. Good news, huh? Now that you know how to hang up your sweaters, take about 5 to 10 minutes to hang your sweaters properly and straighten up your closet.
More tips to organize clothing:
Best Sweater Storage Ideas and Solutions
I’m a mom of 3, a veteran and military spouse. I’ve moved into 20+ homes all around the world. My passion is helping busy people make the space and time for what’s really important to them.
Anna M. says
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Organized Island says
I have never tried that method. Will have to check it out. I agree with you…life is better when organized isn’t it? A never-ending quest 🙂
Susan@Organized31 says
I love the way you put it, “a never-ending quest.” Fortunately, I enjoy the quest. 🙂
Courtney @it'sPrettyCheap says
great idea!! i ALSO do ROYGBIV in my closet–great minds think alike! 🙂
Lisa says
Interesting idea! Thanks for the tip!
Amanda @ Lord Lead Me On says
Thanks for sharing this!
Jessi @ Practically Functional says
What a smart idea! I always just have my sweaters folded up in my drawer, but this makes so much more sense! Thanks for sharing at The Fun In Functional!
Bonnie says
That’s really smart! I’m going to try it. It’s way better than leaving the sweaters all over floor, which is what I’ve been doing up until now. … Seriously, I’m not always that bad, but hanging them would be better.
Susan@Organized31 says
🙂 Confession – right now I have about 4 sweaters thrown on the floor of my closet. I was trying to find one to wear for this cold Halloween night.
Alli says
What a fabulous tip, can’t wait to give this a try!
Crystelle Boutique says
Great! Thanks for the tip!
hugs ~ Crystelle
Noelle says
thank you so much for sharing this. we just bought my husband a nice sweater, and I was so afraid of it getting stretched in the closet. perfect solution!
Jenn says
What an interesting way of hanging up a sweater. I’ll have to try it!
voguerka says
Hey! Great blog! I’m your new follower! I’m hanigign my sweater like you now!
Lindsay @Artsy-Fartsy Mama says
Good thinking!! Such a great idea 🙂
Thanks for sharing at Artsy Corner, hope to see you again this week!
Hope says
I bought a set of huggable hangers and they changed my life, literally. No more dread hanging laundry or making sense of it in my closet. They don’t leave marks on shoulders of clothes and are thin so they take up considerable amount less room. They also look stylish and make your closet look like a million bucks. Got mine from HSN. btw don’t buy the imitation, they are not as sturdy and the flocking will come off.
Lisa/Syncopated Mama says
I organize everything R G BIV, too! How fun. I’ve never heard of this way of hanging sweaters, but I might just have to try it, since I have a sweater-sized hanging section of my closet free and they’re all taking up so much space on closet shelves right now! Excited to have possibly found some extra storage for things around here!
Andrea Vaughan says
I have been wondering how to hang sweaters and this is so smart! This would definitely avoid the “hanger horns” that I frequently get on my sweaters in between uses. Thanks for the tip!
susan says
I hope this helps, Andrea. I love having my sweaters hanging so that I can easily see them without having to dig through drawers.
Cathy S. says
Thank goodness for your post! Those little bumps on each shoulder are annoying but I thought I would always have to live with them if I wanted to hang my sweaters. Your way to fold solves that problem! Thank you!
susan says
This should solve that problem, Cathy. I know I sure don’t need any extra bumps or wrinkles in my clothes. 😉 Hope it helps keep your sweaters neatly folded, too.
Wisteria says
Wow, will have to give this a try. Thanks for sharing your great idea.
susan says
Hanging sweaters really is a game changer, Wisteria. Hope you find it helpful, too.