How to Fold Pajamas and Organize Them
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Originally published April 15, 2013 and updated May 8, 2023.
Learn how to fold pajamas with these quick and easy steps I’ve been using for years. This tutorial works for the top and bottom folded separately or together as a set. It works to fold the pajamas for adults and children, so you only need this one technique.
As a professional organizer, I know that your pajama drawer may seem like the least of your organizing worries. But once in a while we need to tackle an easy organizing job for immediate gratification. And this one is it. Follow these easy tips on folding pajamas and organize them in just minutes.
I like to tackle chores and tasks while watching a movie or favorite TV show so that it doesn’t seem so much like a chore. I call this couch potato organizing. In the span of one 30 minute show you can easily fold pajamas and organize one drawer of pajamas.
All you need to do is grab your entire pajama drawer, turn on your favorite TV show, sit down and let’s get to work. These tips work for children’s sleepwear and adult-sized sleepwear, too.
How to Fold Pajamas
Sort out any pj’s that don’t fit, are damaged, are stained or you don’t love. Put those to the side. Later you can go through and separate out the clothes to donate.
This pajama folding technique that I’ve been using for years is similar to the Marie Kondo method. It works well for all sizes of pajamas and also for folding sets or individual items.
We’ll start with the steps for folding a set together and then we’ll talk about folding pieces separately.
How to fold a pajama set?
Let’s start with a pajama set.
Step one
Lay the pants out and smooth out wrinkles.
Step Two
Fold them in half with one leg on top of the other. Line up the waistband and the edge of the legs.
Step Three
Then fold the pants in half so that the hem of the pant legs meets the waist band. Set the pants to the side.
Step Four
Grab the pajama top. Lay the shirt out flat and smooth any wrinkles out of the fabric.
Step FIve
Fold one arm into the center and about 1/4 of the shirt.
Step Six
Then fold the other arm and the other 1/4 of the shirt in.
Step Seven
Fold the top of the shirt to line up with the bottom so that the shirt is folded in half.
Step Eight
Place the folded shirt on top of the folded pants.
Step Nine
Take the waist band side of the pants and fold them in 1/3 of the way.
Step Ten
Then fold it again so that it makes a neat roll.
Now the pjs are folded together in a neat compact roll. You won’t lose the top from the pants in the drawer. No digging through the drawer to find 2 pieces that match.
Hack
When you make the final fold, you can tuck the bundle into the waistband so the bundle says wrapped together in a bundle. This is a great idea for children’s pajamas to keep everything folded neatly in the dresser.
To Store
Simply file the pajama sets in your drawer so that the folded side is up. Keeping the neat, folded side up makes sure they’re neat looking. You can easily see everything you have and your drawer will stay neatly organized.
My son prefers to have his pants folded separately from his shirts. We’ve been folding and filing his pajamas for 6 years (since he was 7 years old). My son is responsible for putting his clean clothes away in his drawer and he’s been able to keep his drawer this neat all the time. Really. It works.
Knowing how to fold pajamas and organizing them by filing keeps your drawers neatly organized. You’ll also be surprised by how much more room you’ll have by filing instead of stacking.
Now you’ve been able to organize your pajama drawer during the time it took for you to watch your favorite TV show. So you weren’t wasting time watching TV, you were working. Want to watch another show? Go put this drawer away and grab another one on the commercial. Hurry.
How to Fold Pajamas Tutorial
Simple steps to fold pajamas neatly
Materials
- Pajama Set or Individual top or bottoms
Tools
- Flat clean surface, like a table or bed
Instructions
- Lay out the pj pants flat.
- Fold them in half lengthwise with one leg on top of the other.
- Fold the pants in half by bring the hem of the pants up to the waistband. Set the pants aside.
- Lay the pajama top out flat.
- Fold one sleeve towards the center with about 1/4 of the shirt.
- Fold the other sleeve in the same way.
- Fold the shirt in half bringing the top of the next up to the bottom of the hem.
- Place the pj top on the folded pants.
- Fold the waistband one-third of the way towards the center.
- Fold the pants the rest of the way into a comact bundle.
Notes
Each pajama piece can be folded separately with these steps.
This tutorial works for children's pj's. If the clothes are for young children, you may just fold them in half rather than thirds in the last two steps.
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Looking for More Clothes Folding Ideas?
- How to Fold Clothes and More – Knowing how to fold clothes properly to keep them neat and organized makes all the difference in reducing stress and mess. These tips on how to fold clothes and how to fold linens are field-tested in my family of five.
- How to Fold Jeans – Learn how to fold & organize jeans like a professional to save space & make your drawer or closet tidy. Works for pants, too.
- How to Fold a Sweatshirt – A simple tutorial for the best way to fold a sweatshirt so that it stays neatly organized in a closet or drawer. Works for all sizes.
FAQs About Folding Pajamas
See the images above.
1. Lay the pants out and smooth out wrinkles.
2 Fold them in half with one leg on top of the other. Line up the waistband and the edge of the legs.
3. Fold the pants in half so that the hem of the pant legs meets the waist band.
4. Then fold the pants in thirds by bringing the waistband to the middle and folding it again to the hem of the pants legs.
See the images above for folding pajama pants.
1. Lay the shorts out on a flat surface. Line up the edges of the waistband and the short legs.
2. Fold the shorts in half, bringing one leg on top of the other.
3. Fold the shorts in half or in thirds so they’ll fit in your drawer, depending on the size of the shorts, by bringing the waistband towards the hem of the legs of the shorts.
If the pajamas are a 2-piece set, use the same steps above except in Step 5 and 6 you can fold the shirt in half and then fold the sleeves in. For steps 9 and 10, you can simply fold the bundle in half rather than in thirds.
If the pajamas are a one-piece:
1. Lay the pajamas out flat on a clean surface, with the legs to the right.
2. Fold one side of the pajamas across the middle, so that one sleeve meets the opposite sleeve and the legs line up, with one on top of the other, also.
3. Next, fold the bottom of the pajamas up towards the top, so that the feet or hem of the legs are now on top of the rest of the garment.
4. Fold the sleeves inwards, so that they are laying flat against the rest of the pajamas.
5. Finally, fold the pajamas in half, bringing the top of the garment down to meet the bottom.
6. You can fold the bundle in half again to make a smaller bundle.
Use the same steps above except in Step 5 and 6 you can fold the shirt in half and then fold the sleeves in. For steps 9 and 10, you can simply fold the bundle in half rather than in thirds.
1. Start by laying the pajamas out flat on a clean surface, with the feet facing to your right and the neck facing to the left.
2. Fold one side of the pajamas across the middle, so that one sleeve meets the opposite sleeve and one leg lays on top of the other leg. Line up the the edges of each.
3. Next, fold the bottom of the pajamas up towards the top, so that the feet are now on top of the rest of the garment.
4. Fold the sleeves inwards, so that they are laying flat against the rest of the pajamas.
5. Finally, fold the pajamas in half, bringing the top of the garment down to meet the bottom.
6. You can now fold the bundle in thirds or in half so that it fits filed in your drawer.
Tip – If the footie pajamas have a hood, you can either fold it down before beginning the folding process or fold it up and tuck it into the folded garment.
See all my best clothes folding and organizing tutorials in the table below. You can scroll through the table and look for ideas or search for specific ideas with the magnifying glass in the upper right-hand corner (on desktop). Click on the topic and then click through the specific article.
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.
Great idea!! Thanks 🙂
Thanks, Crystal. I always appreciate your sweet comments.
This is a great idea! Never knew there was a good way to fold PJ’s. I usually just shove them in a drawer!
Thanks for linking up to the In and Out of the Kitchen link party! You are great!
Cynthia
There will be a pj drawer inspection, so they’d better be nicely folded and filed. 😉
Hi Susan, I think I had to refold and restack the girls clothes in their dresser drawers a few times a week because they like to pull items out and shove them back in again. (they are four and five years old) About two weeks ago, I started filing their clothes and I’ve found their drawers stay tidy longer than when they were stacked. I love this way of organizing their clothes. And yes there seems to be more room too.
Darlene, isn’t it amazing, that filing tee’s and pj’s makes such a difference in keeping everything nice and neat? I’m glad that it’s working well for you. If it helps my 10-year old son keep his clothes neat, then it really must work :).
Meanwhile, over here in Israel, I don’t have drawers – I have closets with cavernous shelves. They hold a lot and it is hard to find anything. If you can think of a way to put away clothing on a shelf that is about 2 1/2 feet wide and a foot and a half deep (take your time!) I’d be grateful. Right now I manage by having stacks of different types of clothing and taking what is on top… 🙂
Judith, I’m dreaming of a “business trip” to come help with your shelves. 🙂 But now you’ve got me thinking. Stay tuned for some ideas I have cooking to help in your shelf situation.
Boxes covered in wallpaper or contact paper to make ‘drawers’ and then use the file method? You can even make your own boxes to fit the space if necessary. How much space between shelves? That would also be an issue.
Narrow boxes covered in wallpaper or contact paper – made to fit the space if necessary and you’re crafty – then use the ‘filing system’? I would suggest tailoring the box width to the clothes. You could get several on one shelf. Depending on how much room there is between the shelves you might want to make two rows. That would necessitate picking up one and setting it somewhere while you get stuff from the bottom box, but there are trade-offs for about everything, I suppose. Good luck! Hope this gets you to thinking of a solution.
You won me over with couch potato, great idea, I fold my washing in front of the tv 🙂
Now this sounds like fun!
Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week; I hope you’ll join us again! Cheers,Kathy Shea MorminoThe Chicken Chick
Now THAT is organized– wow, nicely done! PJs can get to be such a mess…Visiting from The Chicken Chick’s linky party today.Smiles, Suz@ MaytagnMom in N.W. Illinois
I’m a new follower.
Love your blog and all of your organization tips. <
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Khloe
Great idea…. now I’ve gotta tackle my Tshirt gown drawer….lol… but at least I know what to do with it now.
Thanks
Love this idea…but…. now I have to redo my t-shirt gown drawer!! But at least I think I’ll have more room.
Thanks
I roll my pants. Shirts are out-door ready too so not kept with pants.
Many of my friends roll their clothing, towels, etc. I’ve found that there are folders and there are rollers. I won’t hold it against you, Wolfie. 🙂
Just found your blog today (and subscribed) and you have so much practical information. I just love it.
Thanks, Pat. I try to focus on simple ideas that busy people can really accomplish and be proud of. Enjoy.
Thank you for your helpful suggestions……..One question though How do you get grown children (girls) to take their “stuff”? The girls are over 30 years old and they want to store childhood, high school and college stuff in my attic! ( it is overflowing! )
I hear you, Tica! I’ve been working with my own teen and 20-something children. One thing that has worked well is when they’re home we pull out one tub or category and have a walk down memory lane party. We pull everything out and relive the memories and have a great time. As we go through it they choose what they want to keep. I’ve given them a 2 year timeframe. If they don’t take those items they choose to keep in that time, I’m going to donate it.