How to Organize and Store Pants: Jeans, Loungewear, & More

Download Article

Keep your closet tidy with these folding and storage tips for pants

Co-authored by Keith Bartolomei and Raven Minyard, BA

Last Updated: July 10, 2024 Fact Checked

Download Article

• Organizing Pants
|
• Folding & Storing Different Types of Pants
|
• Video
|
• Expert Q&A
|
• Tips

|Show more |Show less

If you keep pants in your closet, you might find that it's hard to easily spot the ones you're looking for, especially if you're in a hurry. Luckily, there are lots of ways to organize your pants so they're easy to find! In this article, we’ll teach you all the best ways to organize pants in your closet, including which pairs to fold or hang, plus expert decluttering tips from organization expert and certified KonMari consultant Keith Bartolomei.

Best Ways to Store Pants & Jeans

Organize your pants by type—hang dress pants or any pants made of a delicate fabric, and fold jeans, casual pants, and shorts. Keep the pants you wear most often in an easily accessible place, store off-season items in a separate bin, and sort the rest of your pants by color and pattern.

Steps

Section 1 of 2:

How to Organize Pants

Download Article

1. 1
   Separate all the pants you want to donate or toss. Clean out your closet and gather all of your pants in one space. Look at each pair carefully to make sure there aren’t any holes or other types of damage. If you’re not sure whether a pair still fits, try them on to see if they’re comfortable. Separate pants you no longer want from the pants you intend to keep.

   • Consider donating pants that are still in good shape to friends, family members, or organizations like Goodwill, the Salvation Army, or your local thrift store.
   • Bartolomei says that “sorting is great. When you look at a space, it can just be overwhelming because it's very cluttered. I recommend that you break down your belongings into categories, and instead of looking at your space in terms of location, take stock of all the items you have. This way, you understand how much storage is required.”
2. 2
   Keep your favorite pants in easy to reach areas. Store pants you wear daily or weekly in an accessible, visible area, and tuck pants that are only worn on special occasions deeper in the closet. As you’re sorting your pants, make a pile for the pairs that you wear most often so you can store them in the front of your closet or at the top of your drawers.
   Advertisement
3. 3
   Store seasonal pants in storage containers. Switch out your clothing each season. Winter slacks, fleece pants, or holiday leggings don’t need to be stored with linen pants and capris that are for warmer months. Keep pants in your closet that you can wear during the current season, and switch these out when the weather gets warmer or colder and it’s time for the others.

   • For example, keep winter pants in an airtight storage container labeled “winter clothing” so you can easily swap out the spring and summer pants for these when it’s time.
4. 4
   Organize by color or pattern to see all of your options. Color-coding makes your closet look really tidy. If you have lots of colorful pairs of pants, arrange them by color or pattern to easily find the section you want. For example, you might have 3 sections: 1 for neutral-colored work pants, 1 for pastel and bright-colored pants, and 1 for patterned pants. This way, you won’t have to dig through as many pairs when you’re in a rush!

   • If you have many different patterned pairs of pants, try separating them into smaller sections by clumping polka dot pants together, striped pants together, and so on.
5. 5
   Use a pants organizer to save space. Pants organizers come in lots of different shapes and sizes. In general, though, they all offer a rack to hang several pairs of pants on, saving space in your closet. Fold the pants in half by placing one leg over the other leg, and fold the pair of pants over each peg of the rack.

   • Purchase a pants organizer that goes on the door to your closet or buy one that extends from the wall.
   • Drawer organizers are another option. They typically have collapsible dividers to separate your jeans and keep them easily accessible. Plus, your pants are less likely to become wrinkled or damaged in an organizer.
   

   Marie Kondo, Cleaning & Organization Expert

   Smart storage can upgrade your space. "Clutter is caused by a failure to return things to where they belong. Therefore, storage should reduce the effort needed to put things away, not the effort needed to get them out."
6. 6
   Arrange jeans from darkest to lightest. Start with the lightest shade going to the darkest shade, or go the opposite direction and start with the darkest going to the lightest. This way, you know exactly where to look to find the specific pair you’re looking for.

   • For example, hang your jeans in the closet with white jeans at the far left and black jeans on the far right, or fold your jeans with the darkest shade on the bottom and the lightest shade on the top.
7. 7
   Tidy your closet every few weeks. If you’re worried your closet will become messy again, develop an organizing and cleaning routine to hold yourself accountable. If you have a habit of just throwing things in your closet, take some time to sort through everything and make sure it’s where it belongs. This way, things won’t be so overwhelming the next time you do a major overhaul of your wardrobe!

   • Bartolomei suggests decluttering and organizing your closet “like it's the last time you're ever going to do it. That way, you can move forward with an intention” and organize in a more thorough way.
Advertisement

Section 2 of 2:

How to Fold & Store Different Types of Pants

Download Article

1. 1
   Hang dress pants and delicate fabrics. Pants hangers prevent wrinkles and are easily accessible. If you own dress pants or any pants made of delicate fabric, it’s important to hang them rather than fold them so they keep their shape. Hang similar styles together to make it easy to go through them when you’re looking for something to wear.

   • Buy pants hangers at your local home goods store, big box store, or online.
   • Bartolomei says, “When it comes to the storing, focus on making items easy to put away rather than easy to access. If your items aren't easy to put away, you won't put them away. The way to make things easy to put them away is to limit the number of steps.”
   • For example, according to Bartolomei’s suggestion, hanging pants is easier than storing them in a container with a lid because hanging the pants only requires opening the closet and putting the pants on the rack, whereas you’d have to open the closet, get the storage container, open the lid, etc.
2. 2
   Fold jeans and casual pants. Folding prevents creasing and allows you to stack your pants. Place one pant leg over the other to fold the pants in half vertically. Then, fold the pair of pants in half horizontally twice to create a square. Stack each pair of folded pants on top of one another neatly on a shelf so you can see what all you have.

   • Avoid stacking too many pairs of pants on top of one another or the stack could fall over. 4-6 pairs of pants is a good limit.
   • This method also works well for workout gear!
3. 3
   Fold matching pajama and loungewear sets together. This way, you won’t have to dig through all your drawers when you’re trying to find something comfy to wear! Start by folding the pants in half vertically by placing one leg over the other, then folding horizontally into thirds. Fold the arms of the top in toward the center of the shirt, then place the pants on top. Roll the shirt up to store them together.
4. 4
   File-fold pants to store them in a drawer. Store folded pants vertically so you don’t have to dig. Fold your pants into a square just like you would if you were stacking them on top of one another on a shelf. When you’ve created a stack of pants, place the stack on its side in the drawer so that each pair of pants is visible, just like file folders. When folded correctly, each pair should be able to stand vertically on its own.

   • File-folding your pants only works if the entire width of the drawer is filled. This could be because your pants take up the width of the drawer, or because you fill the extra space with something else.
   • Storing your pants vertically instead of stacking them horizontally will make them easier to see and access.
   • Bartolomei says file-folding works for any clothes, not just pants. “Fold everything into a rectangle and make sure it stands up. That way, when you open your drawer, you can see what you have. This method doesn't take any more time than folding your clothes so they rest on top of each other. Just flip them over and then you're good to go.”
5. 5
   Stack shorts in drawers or on a shelf. Fold shorts in half vertically to save closet space. Because shorts are small, they’re easy to tuck away in drawers, on a shelf, or in a basket. This allows you to save your pants hangers for the pairs that really need them. Plus, stacking your shorts allows you to easily move them into a storage bin when the weather cools down.
6. 6
   Roll up leggings and lightweight pants. Rolling is a great way to save space if your pants are thin. Fold the pants or leggings in half by placing one pant leg over the other, and begin rolling them up, starting at the waist. Place the rolled-up pants in a storage bin, basket, crate, or other container placed in your closet.

   • Place the rolled-up pants close to one another in the storage box so they don’t come unraveled.
   • Label the bin or storage container so you know what's in each one without having to open it.
   • Your pants may get a little wrinkled like this, so this method works best for casual pants.
   • If your pants are made of a thicker material, like denim, you’ll probably save more space simply by folding them.
7. 7
   Fold pants in half to store them on regular hangers. Align a pair of pants so that one leg is folded on top of the other. Pull the pants through the hanger and lay the pants over the bar so the legs hang evenly on each side of the bar. While this may not always be a preferred method for storing pants, it works in a pinch if you’re out of pants hangers or don’t have drawer space.

   • Balancing the pair of pants prevents them from accidentally slipping off.
   • This method typically works well for pants made of wool, silk, or linen, as hanging them by their belt loops may cause them to stretch.
8. 8
   Hang pants on pegs for a decorative look. Install pegs in your closet or mount a coat rack on the wall using nails. Hang a pair of pants on a peg using the belt loop. This is a convenient way to hang pants and it makes it super easy to see which pants you have available. This method works best if you have a lot of wall space in your closet. If you don’t, there’s a chance it could make your closet look more cluttered.

   • Install the pegs or hang the coat rack high enough on the wall so your pants aren’t dragging on the floor.
Advertisement

Expert Q&A

Search

Add New Question

• Question

  Is it better to fold or hang jeans?

  

  Keith Bartolomei
  Professional Organizer & Certified KonMari Consultant

  Keith Bartolomei is a Professional Organizer who runs his own consulting business called Zen Habitat based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Keith is a member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO), and is a Certified KonMari Consultant. He has over six years of organizational experience and has been trained in the art of tidying, including being trained by author of The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo, and her team. He has been voted as one of the Best Home Organizers in San Francisco by Expertise in 2018 and 2019.

  

  Keith Bartolomei

  Professional Organizer & Certified KonMari Consultant

  Expert Answer

  Both folding and hanging your jeans can work. If you fold your jeans, file fold them and store them in a drawer vertically instead of stacking them horizontally. This will make it easier to see all your jeans and remove them from the drawer when you want to wear them.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 5 Helpful 8

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Advertisement

Video

Tips

• By organizing your closet and storing your pants appropriately, your garments likely won’t experience as much wear and tear.
  Thanks

  Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Maintaining your closet’s organization will allow you to choose an outfit more quickly, which may reduce stress when it comes to getting ready.
  Thanks

  Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Name

Please provide your name and last initial

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

Advertisement