The Marie Kondo 'vertical fold' trick will transform your draws - and save you hundreds of pounds

Marie Kondo

Fed up of messy draws and never being able to find anything to wear? This folding trick will not only save space, but will also give you a bird's eye view of your wardrobe's contents, making choosing that morning outfit so much easier.

It doesn’t come as much of a surprise that a lot of people only wear 20 per cent of what is hanging in their wardrobes. But what is probably more shocking is the fact pretty much all of us have at least £200 worth of clothes in our closets that never get taken off the hanger, according to ITV stylist Mark Heyes.

Mark appeared on morning breakfast showLorraineto teach viewers how to adopt the latest craze in wardrobe organising - a special technique created by the popular Japanese decluttering expert Marie Kondo, called the ‘vertical fold’.

Read more:6 easy ways to organise your finances and make your money work harder

The new technique, which sees garments being folded an extra time to make them stand vertically, will help you save space and will let you see exactly what you have in your drawers - without any rummaging required.

Everything from jumpers, t-shirts, trousers and even scarves can be folded in this new way, and with everything organised neatly, stylist Mark revealed that this bird’s eye view of outfit options will save you precious time in the mornings.

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According to the fashion expert, Marie's folding technique is very simple once you have got the hang of it.

Starting with a simple t-shirt, Mark showed ITV presenter Lorraine how to fold a quarter of the left-hand side, including the sleeve, into the centre, and then do the same with the right side. So far, so good!

You then need to fold the bottom of the garment upwards, twice, making it into a square.

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But it is this additional step which will transform your wardrobe. He then folded the whole thing in half again, making it into a rectangle shape that could easily stand up alone. The clothing can then be stored in a draw side-by-side, leaving your closet looking neat and tidy.

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During the show, Mark also revealed that there's another of Marie’s organising hacks that could change how you hang clothes up too.

Decluttering guru Marie Kondo recommends starting with all your hangers facing the same way, and then when you wear something, hang it back up with the hanger facing the opposite way.

The idea is that in a few weeks you will be able to clearly see what clothes you don’t wear - and then you can decide whether to donate them or recycle them. Genius!

Right, we’re just off to get organised…

Amy Hunt

Amy Hunt is an experienced digital journalist specialising in homes, interiors and hobbies. She began her career working as the features assistant at woman&home magazine, before moving over to the digital side of the brand where she eventually became the Lifestyle Editor up until January 2022. Amy won the Digital Journalist of the Year award at the AOP Awards in 2019 for her work on womanandhome.com.