A while back a reader asked me the best way to fold and organize jeans. I don’t know about you, but I’ve tried everything when it comes to folding and organizing my jeans. I’ve hung them in half over a hanger. I’ve hung them lengthwise from a pants hanger. I’ve folded and stacked them on a shelf in my closet. I’ve rolled them and stacked them on the same shelf in the closet. I’ve folded them in a dresser drawer. I was looking for the best way to neatly fold jeans (and to fold pants, too) and save space in my closet. Then I found how to fold jeans and organize them so that my closet stayed nice and neat.
Nothing was working for me. Hanging jeans takes up a lot of valuable real estate in your closet since jeans tend to be bulky. I particularly hated the stack of folded jeans. The pair I wanted to wear was never on the top. I had to do a whole dance to remove the pair I wanted from the stack and then return the stack to its neatly stacked position. Ugh. I’ve got a life to live and not enough time to play re-stack the jeans.
Then I realized that I could fold and file my jeans just like I do my t-shirts and linens. to organize them and save space. You know, fold jeans like a professional.
But before you start folding your jeans, take 10 minutes and follow these purging tips for jeans to find which jeans you should really keep, fold and organize.
How to Fold and Organize Jeans
I start by laying my jeans out flat.
Lay them out this way to prevent wearing crease line down the front and back of legs of the jeans.
Lay them out this way to prevent wearing crease line down the front and back of legs of the jeans.
Next, fold the jeans in half.
Again, do it this way to prevent wearing lines down the legs of your jeans.
Then fold the jeans in half by bringing the hem up to the waistband. Be sure to smooth out any large wrinkles.
And fold them in half one more time.
When your jeans are folded into this square, you can file them in a bin, box or basket. Place the jeans with the folded edge up to keep them neater. Filing your folded jeans like this makes them easier to access. 
Simply place the box of filed jeans on a closet shelf and you’ll be able to easily see and select the pair of jeans you want. No more wrestling with the stacked pile of jeans. This is the best way I’ve found to fold and organize jeans and to fold pants, too.
How to Fold Clothes & More
Holly says
Hi Susan – I’ve been looking forward to this post since you said you were working on it! Jeans are always the bain of my organizing existence. I’m a big roller. I roll everything. You are starting to convince me there are other ways… love the new ideas! Hugs, Holly
Cynthia Landrie says
Finally! An answer to all of those jeans hanging the the closet taking up space! This is the best idea ever! I need to reorganize my closet and get my pants in order!
Sharon Noble says
I am a retired military wife and I love your organizing ideas. They make so much sense. We moved 14 times in 22 years. Where were you when I needed you, Susan??? lol Enjoy your day and thank you.
Elisabeth says
With 8 children in a 1200 sf home, I may have found my new favorite website. THANK YOU! With teen boys… jeans have become the bane of my existence…
Mary says
Thanks for the jeans instruction
susan says
Hope you find it useful, Mary. Happy organizing.
Andrea Vaughan says
I have the smallest closet (and am sharing it with my boyfriend), so I’ve resorted to folding a good portion of my clothes. It never occurred to me that I could do jeans folding to save extra space, but I will certainly be trying this. Thanks for the tip!
susan says
I used to hang my jeans up, but now that I fold them I’m so much happier with how my closet works for me.
Amy says
Thank you for the information on folding jeans – which is something that I did not think that needed to know, but when I watched it, decided that this idea is better than the folded jeans in my dresser drawer! Thank you. And thank you for the party.
Stephanie says
Hi Susan, thank you for this article. I am looking for a box to fit my jeans in, do you have any recommendations? I really like the box you used in the pictures in this article, could you please tell me where you got it please? Thank you very much! Kind regards! 🙂
susan says
I’m so glad that you found the tips helpful, Stephanie. I made the box with a simple sewing tutorial. Do you sew? If so, I can send you a link to the tutorial. Otherwise, you can purchase bins and baskets at Target, Walmart, The Container Store and Bed, Bath and Beyond. You can also check my Amazon shop for products that I recommend. Let me know if you’d like the link.