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I remember when Kiddo was about three months old, and my husband was folding the laundry. The bed was covered with a mountain of tiny onesies and itty-bitty sleepers, with her adorable teeny-weeny socks scattered everywhere like little rainbow-colored cloth snowballs.
The task at hand: folding one of her sleepers (it was yellow with happy teddy bears all over it). The result of his attempt? A mangled pile of fabric that made those smiling bears, somehow, look quite sad. Actually, they looked depressed. How he managed that, I’m not sure. He spotted me staring at him. All he could do was shrug.
He’s not alone. I know many new moms and dads who are perplexed on the best way to fold all of the items in their baby’s new wardrobe, let alone that near-impossible-to-fold fitted crib sheet (confession: I can barely fold my full-size fitted sheet). It should be a chapter in those baby books, but it’s not. Never fear! We have your step-by-step guide on folding and storing all of those baby clothes and bedding.
Fitted crib sheets
Folding this piece of bedding is a toughie for almost everyone I know. Crib size or king size, these sheets are a pain to fold, let alone have your finished product turn out to be a semi-recognizable shape. The folding pros tell us to forget the “hand in corner method” with the tiny crib sheet. Instead, lay it on a flat surface, with the finished side down. With the elastic edges facing up at you, arrange the fabric so the perimeter is relatively neat. Then just take two corners and bring them to the other two, folding it in half. Smooth it out, and then repeat the folding until it is a size to fit wherever you are storing it. The trick to this: keep smoothing after each fold.
Footed sleepers
This was the piece of Kiddo’s clothing that was the hardest for me to fold, but once I got the hang of it, I grooved right along. Lay the sleeper face down, and fold the sleeves onto the back of it. Then fold the legs up, almost past the seat part. Then, fold the whole sleeper in half. It should now be in a decent rectangle or square shape.
Shirts and bodysuits
Part of the issue with folding these garments is that they are just so small. Again, place it front down and bring in the sleeves, so they are lying on the back of the bodysuit. Fold it “up,” bringing the bottom to the middle of the garment, and then fold “up” again to the top of the bodysuit.
Pants
This one is pretty easy. Fold the pants length-wise, so that one leg is on top of the other. Then just fold it in half. Done!
Socks
Yes, stores sell those little clips to keep those pairs together, but I never found them very helpful. Simply place one sock inside the other and make a little ball. Not only is it simple, they can be used as playthings for Baby, too.
Storage Tips
Now, when placing the folded clothes in those drawers or bins, you may want to rethink the usual one on top of another stack. Instead, place the folded shirts and onesies into the drawer like files, so you can see all of them, not just the ones on top of the pile. This “filing method” is much easier, and helps you to be sure are using all of those clothes, not just the same few over and over again.
What types of baby clothes give you the most folding woes?
Image© iStock.com/truembie