Transforming the chaos in your sock and underwear drawer begins today. The key to a successful home organizing system is practicality, accessibility, and minimal maintenance. When consulting professional organizers about the optimal way to prevent sock and underwear drawers from becoming disorganized, a clear method surfaced. This technique, which fulfills all essential criteria, involves three steps: sort, fold, and assign zones. Interestingly, the conventional sock ball technique might be causing more harm than good.
According to Ryen Toft, owner of Simply Luxe Organizing, decluttering is an indispensable first step towards achieving drawer harmony. “Discard items you no longer use for the ‘what ifs.’ Keep only those you love and wear!” Once that’s done, progress to sorting.
Typically, a drawer is designated for a specific clothing type, like bras, underwear, or socks. However, Toft and Ashley Murphy, co-founder and CEO of the NEAT Method, recommend further sorting within each category. For socks, classify them into athletic, no-show, dress, comfortable (like fuzzy lounge socks), or specialty types like compression socks. For underwear, sort according to what you own: briefs, thongs, bras, sports bras, or shapewear.
While there is some flexibility here, the system hinges on your maintenance zeal. “Your underwear doesn’t need to mimic a store display,” asserts Murphy. Folding individual pieces may be impractical, so sorting by type, using drawer dividers or bins, might suffice. For those desiring a more aesthetic arrangement, Toft suggests folding into compact, vertical rectangles.
Our sock storage habits need a revamp. “Avoid pulling one sock over another; it hampers the elastic,” advises Murphy. Instead, keep socks flat and fold them in halves or thirds to fit drawer height. This way, they stand upright by type, aiding visibility and preserving shape.
Tools like adjustable drawer dividers are instrumental, especially for socks, as they delineate zones and maintain organization, according to Toft. Honeycomb organizers are also great for kids’ drawers or for maintaining low-effort order.
