How to Fold Towels to Save Space: 8 Genius Tricks for Bathrooms and Closets

Uniformly folded towels can make your bathroom look better – and they’ll also save you a ton of space in your closets. But how you fold them depends upon your personal style as well as where you’re storing the towels and how much space you have. “Throwing a crumpled towel into a closet or basket will take up much more space (and look sloppier) than having a neatly folded towel stored in an organized way,” says expert cleaner Juliet Tenaglia, CEO of Bella Cleaning, Inc., one of the most successful cleaning businesses on Long Island, NY. Here, how to fold towels to save space (8 different ways!) and have your linen closet or bathroom shelves looking tidy and visitor-ready every day.

How to fold towels to save space: 8 genius ways

1. The spa fold

“The spa or roll fold is all about rolling the towel tightly for snug storage,” says Carrie Ypma an expert organizer and founder of Clutter Keeper. And using it can give your bathroom a luxe look – especially if you’re displaying your towels on an open shelf or in a basket. Because towels are tightly rolled with the end tucked inside for security, this fold also works great for beach towels and saves space inside your beach bag.

Version 1:

1. Lay the towel out on a flat surface, using your hands to smooth out any wrinkles.
2. Fold the back corner of the towel in to make a triangle shape, and then fold the towel in half – almost like making a paper airplane – and line up the ends.
3. Flip the towel over, once again removing any wrinkles, and then roll the towel tightly from the bottom, squared end up towards the triangle-shaped end.
4. Take the triangle-shaped end and tuck it into the edge of the rolled towel.

Version 2:

1. Lay the towel out on a flat surface, once again using your hands to smooth out any wrinkles, and then fold the towel in half, so that you’re working with a square.
2. Fold the left and right sides of the towel in so that one side overlaps the other. Then flip the towel over, once again smoothly out any wrinkles.
3. Fold the bottom pointed end up toward the center of the towel, and then roll the towel from bottom to top until you can’t roll any longer.
4. Take the remaining exterior pointed end and tuck it tightly into the fold in the middle of the towel.

See social media content creator Colleen Salpini of Cleaning Is My Cardio demonstrate both spa folds in this video:

2. The hotel fold/the tri-fold

1. Lay your towel out horizontally on a flat surface.
2. Grasp the bottom of the towel and fold it up lengthwise, two-thirds of the way up the towel.
3. Take the top end of the towel and fold it down to meet the fold you just created.
4. Take one end of the towel and fold it into the center, and then take the other end and do the same, leaving a small gap between the two sides.
5. Fold the towel in half.

See a demonstration on how to fold towels to save space in the classic hotel fold in the eHow video below:

3. The french fold

A French fold is good for saving space when you have large towels you want to stack. “It’s chic and space-efficient,” says Ypma. Because it’s great for larger towels, this one will also work for any beach towels you want to store.

1. Start with your towel spread out horizontally on a flat surface.
2. Fold about one quarter of the towel over onto itself, producing a double fold on one side.
3. Fold the rest of the towel over to meet the folded edge.
4. Fold the towel in half, so you’re left with one long rectangular shape.
5. Fold the towel in thirds to finish up.

 See how to fold towels to save space using the French fold in action in the video from Betsy Tate below:

4. A hanging towel

Want to impress house guests with a beautifully folded hanging towel you can even store small soaps or lotions in? Try a folded hanging towel. “This is great for hanging hand towels and is a fancy option to include a washcloth accent as well,” says Tenaglia. And it works for large towels, too!

1. Lay your bath towel out on a flat surface with the tag at the bottom of the towel and facing up.
2. Grasp the bottom ends of the towel and fold up about one eighth of the way up the towel, and then turn the towel over, smoothing out any wrinkles and preserving the fold you just created.
3. Keeping the towel lengthwise, take one side of the towel and fold it to the middle. Then take the other side of the towel and fold it over the first folded side, tucking the second fold into the pocket of the first fold.
4. Turn the towel back over and fold it in half. You’ll be left with a folded towel you can hang on a bar, and you’ll be able to tuck a cute surprise inside the fold!

See a hanging towel fold in the TikTok from user @isabellasloft below:

@isabellasloft

How to fold your towel like a hotel 🤍 #homedecor #bathroomdecor #bathroomdecorideas

♬ love nwantinti (ah ah ah) – CKay

5. The narrow fold

This common towel fold is quick and efficient and can be done without using a flat surface or even laying the towel out. “It’s good for shelving that has a shallow depth,” says Tenaglia, and it can be used for folding wash cloths and hand towels as well.

1. Hold your towel up vertically, and fold top to bottom – in half.
2. Then fold in half again, creating a vertical fold.
3. Next, either fold in half again – top to bottom – or fold in thirds, bringing the top to the middle and then the bottom to the middle.

See this method on action in the video from Mrs. Schick below:

7. The triangle fold

Triangle folded towels have a small footprint that saves lots of space in a linen closet and looks great placed on an open shelf as well. They can even be lined up on their flat side, with the pointed side facing up.

1. Lay your towel out horizontally, and then fold into thirds lengthwise, making a long strip of towel.
2. Beginning at one end, fold a section of the towel down to form a triangle along one side.
3. Repeat step 2 numerous times until reaching the end of the towel.
4. Finally, tuck the end piece under the last fold to complete the triangular shape.

See this and nine other folds in this video from The Organization Station:

8. The KonMari Fold

“The KonMari method is fantastic for drawers or baskets,” says Ypma. It’s a super-simple fold, and allows towels, wash cloths and hand towels to be stored flat or on their sides.

1. Lay your towel out horizontally on a flat surface, and then fold one side over to the other, halving the towel.
2. Next, fold the towel again, so you have one even, long rectangle.
3. Fold the towel in half, and then fold the towel in half again, leaving yourself with four folded layers of towel.

See Andrea Jean Cleaning & Home Hacks demonstrate this method here:

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For more organization tips, click through the links below!

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