Plio’s save the day for organizing t-shirts

I have written about Plio Shirt Organizers before a couple of years ago when I first discovered them, but I wanted to mention them again. They are a durable, sustainable tool that can help you with organizing t-shirts and tank tops.

I recently completed a Plio setup for a client. He had two entire drawers of t-shirts. One drawer was casual t-shirts and layering pieces; the other drawer was his tennis and workout t-shirts.

Step-by-step of how to use these great products:

1. Spread the t-shirt or tank top face down on a flat surface.

1. Place the Plio board centered on the back of the shirt; put the top of the board even with the top of the shirt. If you are folding a tank top, put the board level with the top of the straps.

1. Fold one side of the shirt and sleeve even with the side of the board. Smooth the shirt as you work; the smoothing keeps the shirt from becoming wrinkled in storage.

1. Fold the other side of the shirt even with the other side of the board.

1. Fold the bottom of the shirt up to the bottom edge of the board.

1. Now flip up the bottom crease of the board with the shirt wrapped around it.

1. One more flip along the final crease and your shirt is ready to store!

The final folded shirt is about 8 1/4" wide and 5 1/2" inches tall. This client had a built in drawer unit — here is the finished workout/tennis shirt drawer:

The folded shirts fit well in most bureau drawers. They also work in a lot of storage baskets — just select a basket that will hold one or two rows and it is a great solution for t-shirts.

Better than this anyway -

Another bonus of using these organizers to fold shirts is that it allows you to see at a glance what you have. It can aid in de-cluttering and downsizing a bloated t-shirt collection! When someone completes the organization and realizes they have 7 white t-shirts and 8 black ones, it makes it much easier to pare down the excess!

This might seem like an overly compulsive method to fold shirts, but it:

1. Keeps the shirts from becoming too wrinkled in storage;
2. As previously mentioned, keeps you from accumulating too many of one type of shirt as you can easily see what you have; and
3. Once you go through the effort to set up the drawer, is a fairly easy method to maintain. I have used these folders successfully on my own t-shirt collection for over two years. When I pull a shirt out to wear, I just leave the folded board in the drawer so it is easy to find and use again with clean t-shirts out of the laundry.

These products are available from Amazon.com or from Bed Bath & Beyond (the Beyond area!)

Sarah Campbell is a professional organizer in the city of Chicago. She specializes in decluttering, organizing, preparing for moves and unpacking and setting up after a move for households and small businesses. Contact her at Sarah@arrangelife.com for help with your organizing challenges!