How To Fold Baby Onesies for Convenient & Efficient Storage

Nothing can prepare you for the sheer joy, nervousness, excitement, love, and exhaustion that parenthood brings. It truly is a rollercoaster of emotions, coupled with new, wonderful memories and stories to last a lifetime. 

As a first-time parent, or parent to a newborn, you gradually start to realise how many tasks are involved in keeping you and your little one clean, safe, well fed, and well rested. Among them is the pile of dirty baby clothes that need to be washed and folded. This brings us to the topic of folding and caring for one of the most popular, comfortable, and loved types of baby clothing - onesies!

The goal is to fold and organise onesies in such a way that they are easy to retrieve for a tired parent. Although these infant baby suits are the easiest to clothe your baby with, they can also be the trickiest to fold and store. Nevertheless, through trial and error, we learned that it’s best to keep things simple. With that, here are two methods of folding onesies that will make your life easier, and your baby’s closet neater! 

#1: The Rolling Method

If you are organising your baby’s clothes in a drawer, one great option is rolling the onesie into a neat, tight roll that makes handling and storing them easy. This method can be used for short-sleeved or long-sleeved onesies. 

Here are the steps to follow:

Step 1

Lay the onesie face down on a flat surface, and gently smooth out wrinkles and creases. 

Step 2

Fold the onesie vertically (lengthwise) into half, and place one sleeve and one leg over the other, ensuring that the edges of the onesie line up. 

Step 3

Next, fold the sleeves onto the body/top of the onesie. Another option is to fold the onesie vertically (lengthwise) thrice by first bringing the sleeves, one at a time onto the middle section of the onesie, and then vertically folding that into half.

Step 4

Begin rolling the vertically folded onesie from the bottom or feet first, moving upwards. Make as tight a roll as you want or are able to; this will result in a compact roll that can be easily held in one hand. 

Step 5

The neat roll can then be placed standing upright or on its edge in the drawer with the rolled-up portion visible from a bird’s eye view. 

Benefits of the Rolling Method

• You will find this method helpful when you open the drawer and, at a glance, have a view of all the onesies in the drawer. 
• They can also be stored in shelved cupboards by lying them on their side, one on top of the other.
• They are compact and take up less space. 

When you are pressed for time, being able to dress your child quickly and easily can be really helpful. With the rolling method, you can just grab the onesie you need, leaving the others pretty much undisturbed. This method was made popular by Marie Kondo where she prioritised folding clothes so that they are all visible and easy to identify at a glance. 

#2: The Folding Method

This is a more traditional method of folding a onesie, and one that parents prefer when their primary storage space for baby clothes is a cupboard or closet with shelves. Similar to the rolling method, it can make for compact and neat organisation of baby onesies. 

Here’s what you need to do:

Step 1 - 3

Follow steps 1 to 3 from ‘The Rolling Method’ above (simply fold the onesie vertically or lengthwise into half).

Step 4

Fold your onesie in half horizontally by bringing the top collar part over to the bottom/toe ends. They should be lined up neatly before proceeding to fold the onesie horizontally into another half. 

Step 5

This rectangle can then be stacked one on top of the other on your shelves. If your shelves are narrow, you may need to add further folds to the onesie (depending on the length), making it an even smaller rectangle. 

The aim of folding is to create a small, compact rectangle or square which allows for neat stacking in your baby’s wardrobe; however, uneven stacking, or hastily pulling out a onesie can result in the whole pile toppling over. Therefore, we suggest locating the onesie you need first, then lifting the stack above it, and removing the item before placing the stack back down. 

Care and Maintenance for a Onesie

• Because a baby’s skin is soft and sensitive, onesies and baby clothes should be washed with a mild, hypoallergenic washing detergent, or laundry detergent for sensitive skin .
• Harsh cleaning chemicals should be avoided at all costs.
• For a natural fabric softener, add ½ cup of baking soda to your laundry load by simply dissolving the powder in water, and then adding it to the drum.
• To avoid shrinkages or stretching of your onesies, it is advisable to wash them on a cold, gentle cycle. The agitation and movements of washing machines can cause the fabric to shrink or stretch if you choose hot water and a regular cycle.
• If possible, wash your onesies in front loader machines as the agitator of the top loader can cause your onesies to stretch and pull. If you do use a top loader, we recommend placing the onesies in a mesh laundry bag to protect them. This will help keep your onesies from stretching or twisting during wash. 
• Turning your onesies inside out before the wash will help maintain the quality of the fabric, keeping it look newer for longer. 
• If possible, avoid drying baby onesies in a dryer. Line-dry them in a cool, well-ventilated space instead.

Handy Organisational Tips for Onesies

• To segregate the onesies in the drawer, sort them using a divider such as a piece of rectangular cardboard, or a store-bought drawer divider. These dividers can be placed across the breadth of the drawer, thus making smaller sections within the space. 
• Organise onesies by type, style, size, etc. For example, separate the zippered onesies from the buttoned ones; the winter wear from summer wear; the fancy from the everyday use, and so on and so forth.
• When hanging onesies on a baby clothes hanger, organise them by length and/or colour for easy identification.
• To stay organised from the start, get rid of the onesies that your baby has outgrown. This will reduce the number of clothes you have to organise whilst also making space for new, bigger-sized clothes that will surely be entering your baby’s wardrobe. 
• It can be difficult to stay on top of the mountains of clothes that you'll have as a new parent. A regular cleaning service can help you stay on top of the new baby clutter and organize your home and your baby's closet.

Rolling or folding your infant’s onesies might take a few tries before you have it down perfectly; but once you get the hang of it, you won’t have any trouble in organising and storing the clothes in a drawer or closet. Ultimately, you will be choosing a method that works well for you and your storage, thus making life a little more simple, and leaving you with more time to enjoy your precious baby!