I tried Nate Berkus' hack for folding sweatpants and it finally fixed my dresser mess – with one simple tweak to keep everything in place better

Wooden closet, green chair, dresser.

I find organizing my home relaxing, but there is one spot that is always in chaos my clothes storage. Most notably, my bedroom dresser.

I am a sweatpants fanatic. If I am at home or in the gym, I am always in some form of sweatpants, leggings, or pajama bottoms. As a result, my dresser (and my under-bed storage, for that matter) is constantly jam-packed and overflowing with badly stored leg-wear. And it doesn't help that I have limited storage to fit it all in.

That's why I was keen to give Nate Berkus' hack for folding sweatpants a go to try and calm the chaos and found that there was a simple improvement I could make that made organizing a dresser a breeze.

Nate Berkus's hack for folding sweatpants

I am no stranger to file folding clothing. I still use it (most of the time) to organize folded tops and even some underwear, but it never really worked for my sweats and leggings. Mainly because there is a lot of fabric, and as Nate points out, that awkward gusset area that always stuck out.

Luckily, he had a simple fix.

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Because of this, my dresser was always a mess. So, I had to get to folding.

After (Image credit: Chiana Dickson / Future)

I took the opportunity to clean the drawers while taking everything out (Image credit: Chiana Dickson / Future)

Before: My dresser drawer was a constant overflowing mess (Image credit: Chiana Dickson / Future)

I know there are a lot of pieces, but decluttering my sweatpants was just not an option for me (Image credit: Chiana Dickson / Future)

I started by following Nate's advice to the letter:

1. Lay the sweats out, folded in half length ways on a flat surface
2. Fold in half again so the hems touch the waistband
3. Fold the sticking-out gusset inwards
4. Then, fold the sweatpants in thirds so you have a little brick

I started by laying out my sweatpants and folding in half length ways on a flat surface (Image credit: Chiana Dickson / Future)

I folded in half again so the hems touched the waist band and tucked the gusset in (Image credit: Chiana Dickson / Future)

While this folding method definitely works to fold clothes to save space, I knew that these might quickly start to come undone and look untidy again after I go rifling through to find the right garment when fumbling to get dressed on dark mornings before work. So, I started to experiment and found that two tiny adjustments would give me the perfect solution.

1. Start off the same way, with the sweatpants folded in half lengthwise on a flat surface. Then fold in half again.
2. Then, instead of folding the gusset in and on top of the folded sweatpants, I tucked it so that it nestled in between the layers of fabric.
3. When folding in thirds, I folded the top down first and held open the waistband
4. Then, I folded the bottom third up and tucked it into the waistband so the elastic held the parcel together

Folding the gusset in between the folded sweatpants keeps the folding tighter (Image credit: Chiana Dickson / Future)

It takes some tucking, but it makes the fold more secure (Image credit: Chiana Dickson / Future)

My finished folded up sweatpants (Image credit: Chiana Dickson / Future)

It also worked with my shorts... (Image credit: Chiana Dickson / Future)

...and my leggings (Image credit: Chiana Dickson / Future)

My tweak to the approach means each folded sweatpant brick will hold itself together even when I am pulling things beside it out to wear. It would also work really well when folding clothes for packing and I need to keep items together and neat for travel be it in a large suitcase or a weekend bag.

The best news? This trick also worked on my regular leggings, and even a pair of lounge shorts (although this brick was significantly smaller, so I have to keep it at the front of my dresser drawer to stop it getting lost at the back).

With the bricks folded, I could put everything away again.

After (Image credit: Chiana Dickson / Future)

The trick would work really well with some drawer dividers (one vital thing people with organized drawers always have) to keep the rows of folded items neat and orderly, especially when organizing deep drawers.

All prices correct at time of publication.

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Pinksheep Foldable Dresser Drawer Organizer

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If you want to ensue your folded items stay folded and perfectly neat, consider a drawer organizer with compartments that will keep you file folded garments completely uniform

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This is certainly a folding hack I am going to stick with when organizing my dresser and my under-bed storage ideas from now on. Now all I have to tackle is the messy pile of tops that need folding and putting back away in the drawer, too.