It’s time to get dressed. It’s a cold day, you’ve just showered, and the first stop is the underwear drawer. Then it hits you. You see a drawer or drawers full of underwear, sometimes so full the drawer can’t be closed. Different colors and fabrics are sticking out of the drawer in all directions while you stand there, shivering, trying to find something to wear. If this scenario sounds familiar then you need to organize your underwear drawer.

The first step is to dump out the drawer containing your underwear onto a bed. It’ll be quite a pile but don’t worry as there will be a method to attack this madness. Whether you’re a man or woman, think about categories and which piece of fabric fits best into a particular category. Some category ideas might include boxers, briefs, panties and sports bras.

One way to begin organizing is to examine each piece of clothing. Try it on. Does it still fit? Is it something that can be worn in the future? If not throw it out. Whittle down to what you actually use. The next step is to separate garments into two categories, work and non-work. For men these categories might blur and not take much thought but women might have more sub-categories such as work and non work bras, full coverage underwear, boy-cut styles, or thongs depending on the degree of coverage and the look that’s needed. Organizing by color is also another popular way to go.

Have different boxes and containers for different types of underwear. G-strings could be in one container while boxer briefs are in another. You may want to line the containers first with self-adhesive tape. Lining a container protects soft fabrics and increases their longevity. Remove the lids to the containers and place the entire container in the drawer.
Containers come in all types as well. If you’d like to place all undergarments of one type together in one container then that is a fine solution. Also available, however, are drawer separator options that allow you to actually place one piece of underwear in its own cubicle area. Some are spring-loaded which will enable you to conserve more space than ever by helping you minimize the space per garment.

How you place the garments in these containers is up to you. Folding is an option. This can keep your garments in good shape and increase your available space. To save space consider storing underwear one layer deep. This is also helpful in minimizing the time it takes to search for something you want. Bras can be folded one cup into another while certain very sensitive pieces, like delicate lingerie, might need to actually be hung up so details like lace won’t get damaged. If folding or hanging is not for you and too tedious, there’s nothing wrong with simply rolling your underwear into a ball and throwing them into the containers.

There are endless ways to organize an underwear drawer. As personal as underwear is, so are the ways they can be organized. No matter how you do it, just keep in mind that you’ll want easy access to what you’ll need.