7 Clothing Items You Should Always Hang (And 6 To Fold Instead)

Many people get hung up (pun intended) on how to organize their closets, but while having a neatly organized closet is nice, it’s not the most important consideration when it comes to your clothes. There’s another decision that can have a real impact on the lifespan of all your clothes, making it more important that any decision about sorting and organizing—it’s the decision of which of your clothes you’ll hang or fold.

Why Deciding Whether To Hang Or Fold Something Is So Important

A lot of us decide which clothes to hang or fold based on our preference, and while there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, it’s not the best way to protect your clothing. But if you want keep your clothes looking nice for as long as possible, one way to do that is by storing them the right way. And today’s post is all about doing just that! :-)

Today’s post will provide answers to that age-old clothing query: “Should I hang this in my closet or fold it and put it in my dresser?” We’ll go over 7 clothing items that are better to hang and 6 that are better to fold. If you’ve been meaning to do some closet decluttering and reorganizing, the lists below will help eliminate a lot of guesswork about where to put what!

Related: Want A More Functional Closet? Try These 6 Simple Solutions

7 Types Of Clothes You Should Hang In Your Closet

1. Dresses

For lightweight dresses, hang them with the help of the straps that are sewn into the back. If an extra-slippery dress is causing problems, criss-cross the straps over the top of the hanger to secure it. For heavy dresses and dresses made from delicate materials, hang them on padded hangers.

Related: This One Simple Hack Solves Every Problem With Collared Shirts

2. Light Sweaters & Cardigans

Hang sweaters and cardigans in your closet too. However, gravity can prove problematic in these situations, and you don’t want the sleeves of your favorite sweaters to get stretched out. That’s why I use the hang-fold method for my cardigans, which you can read about at the link below.

Read More: How To Hang Your Sweaters So They Won’t Get Stretched Out

3. Blouses

Hang collared blouses in your closet with the top button fastened to help preserve the shape of the collar. (This is particularly important when dealing with delicate materials like silk, satin, and lace.)

For blouses without collars, just make sure you aren’t accidentally stretching the neckline out when you hang them up. Inserting your hanger through the bottom of the blouse is a great way to avoid stretching.

If you have blouses that won’t stay on hangers, I have just the solution! Check out the post at the link below to learn three easy DIY methods for turning a plastic hanger into a non-slip hanger.

Read More: The Cheap And Easy Way To Make Any Hanger Non-Slip

4. Trousers & Dress Pants

Hang trousers, dress pants, and slacks from skirt hangers. It’s a great way to save space in your closet, and to avoid that annoying crease that often forms when you fold them over a hanger.

5. Jackets, Blazers, & Coats

Always hang outerwear like jackets, blazers, and sport coats. They’ll do fine on a standard plastic hanger, but ideally you’d hang them on a curved suit hanger. If dust is an issue in your closet, you may want to invest in a few shoulder covers to protect your nicest jackets and shirts.

6. Skirts

Hang skirts from skirt hangers, or from hanging straps if your skirt has them. You can also DIY a skirt hanger using a plastic hanger and a couple of clothespins or clips. Get all the details on that at the link below (look for #4 in the list.)

Read More: 8 Brilliant Closet Hacks That Will Actually Help You Get Organized

7. Scarves

The best way to keep your scarves nice is to hang them up in your closet. There are a lot of options for where to hang them, but it largely depends on how much space you have. If space isn’t an issue, just hang them over a regular plastic hanger. If you need a space-saving solution, try a scarf hanger with slots for multiple scarves.

6 Types Of Clothes You Should Fold

1. T-Shirts

Many t-shirts are a bit stretchy, and that can cause them to stretch out on a hanger. Instead, fold your t-shirts and store them on a shelf or in a drawer. Many people swear by Marie Kondo’s KonMari method because once your shirts are folded that way, you can stack them neatly upright in a drawer.

This method saves a significant amount of space and makes it so you can see all the shirts in your drawer at once. Learn how to fold shirts the KonMari way from this Elbow Room article.

Here’s my favorite way to fold a t-shirt FAST:

2. Heavy Knitwear

Although I hang my light sweaters and cardigans, I know you should always fold heavy knits and thick sweaters. That way you don’t have to worry about them getting stretched out like they often do when they’re hung on hangers.

If you only have long, open shelves in your closet and need a way to divide them up to make them more functional, install some simple closet dividers to keep your folded clothes more organized.

3. Bras & Underwear

Everyday bras and underwear are best stored in a drawer. (As for whether or not you should actually fold your underwear, that’s up to you! I always do, but I’ve heard from plenty of people who don’t see the point in doing it. To each their own!)

4. Socks

I admit that I’ve always been a sock roller, despite the fact that it’s not great for your socks. All that extra stretching you do while rolling them together can wear out the elastic, but folding them in half is a safe alternative that will extend the life of your socks.

5. Casual Pants

Fold your jeans, corduroys, khakis, and all your other casual pants and store them in a drawer or on a shelf.

6. Embellished Items

It’s a good idea to fold any of your clothes that are significantly embellished with sequins, beadwork, etc. These items tend to be heavy, so hanging them can distort their shape. For an added layer of protection for both the embellished items and the items around them, you may want to wrap embellished items in tissue paper before storing them.

Do you have a favorite tip or trick for storing your clothes?