How to Fold Pants & Shorts

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How to Fold Pants & Shorts

There are two truths I have learned when it comes to organizing:

1.) It feels good when our space is organized.

2.) It feels good when we like the way we look.

This second truth may not seem like it relates to organizing but I assure you it does. The way I see it, if you have a perfectly organized clothing closet but you don’t actually wear the clothes because they don’t fit or are no longer your style….what’s the point of an organized closet? A truly organized closet not only visually looks good but also reflects your current style with what fits and what you actually love to wear and see in your space. More on that later.

Whether you are wearing jeans, pants or shorts this season, we’ve got you covered with our folding tips here!

No matter your shelf or drawer space, these folds are our go to favorites.

For a step by step video tutorial of all of our favorite folds, check out our folding tutorial video below!
*Pro Tip - For all pant and short folds, tuck in the seat of the pants toward the middle of the leg to create a tidy fold.

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Closet Organization Tips from the Pros

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As the seasons change there is always a desire to get control of the ever evolving clothing closet.  Styles change, bodies change and if this past year and a half has taught us anything...needs certainly change too!  Whether you swap out your seasonal clothing or just need a closet refresh this blog post is for you.

I’m sharing some of our go to tips when it comes to closet organization over on THE ZHUSH today.  Take a look!

Happy Organizing!

Emily








Pantry Organization Ideas from the Pros

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After a year of pandemic living, you may feel like your pantry needs a little refresh.  Well, friend, you are not alone. Between stocking up at the store, trying new recipes and cooking at home more our pantries are working harder than ever! 

I’m sharing some of our go to tips when it comes to tackling even the most dire of pandemic pantries over on The Zhush today.  Take a peek!

Happy Organizing!!
Emily


Sweater Folding

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Sweaters stacked neatly by color and fabric

Sweaters stacked neatly by color and fabric

We are so happy that it’s finally sweater weather! It’s time to bring out your coziest clothes, and showcase them in your closet. We are excited to share some of our favorite sweater folds with you. Whether you have shallow shelves, deep shelves, or drawer storage for your sweaters, these folds will inspire you to keep your closet organized!

Here are some tips for all sweater organizing, no matter what fold you need:

  1. Assess whether its best to fold or hang your sweaters. Not all sweaters can be hung, but hanging light weight sweaters will help free up some shelf space.

  2. Place the front of the garment facing the floor when folding.

  3. If necessary, use a shelf divider like this from The Container Store to keep your tall stacks from falling over.

For a step by step video tutorial of all of our favorite folds, check out our sweater folding video tutorial below!

KNIT SWEATER

Sweaters that are light knit can either be hung or folded based on your preference. Whenever there is adequate shelf space, we love to fold the sweaters and organize them in same fabric stacks. You can further organize the stacks by color, sorting the darker sweaters on the bottom and lightest on top.

This particular fold works for shelf storage or as a file fold in a drawer. For even more shallow drawers, add one more fold over.

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THICK KNIT SWEATER

Thick knit sweaters are best stored folded on a shelf, as hanging them may lead to the fabric being stretched. This fold can work well on a shelf or as a file fold.

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CARDIGAN

Cardigans can be folded or hung depending on the weight of the garment, as well as the amount of available shelf or hanging space. This specific fold demonstrates how to fold a cardigan for a standard 12” shelf, and can also be used to store in a drawer as a file fold.

Always button up your cardigans to help keep your fold tidy!

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HOODIE

Hoodies can seem daunting to fold, but we have two favorite folds when it comes to taming these bulky garments. The fold demonstrated below is the most common one we use, which involves tucking the hood into the center of the garment. For another hoodie fold with some flare, be sure to check out our sweater folding video!

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If you need help figuring out which method would work best for your household, our team can help!

Emily & the NEXT LEVEL Team

Written by: Emily & Tricia

CREATING SPACE FOR AT-HOME LEARNING

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CREATING SPACE FOR AT-HOME LEARNING

As I prep for the 2020-2021 school year, like most parents I have more questions than answers. It looks like my children along with many others will be starting the school year with the “Hybrid Plan” which means they will be in school 2 days per week and at home doing distance learning 3 days per week. I don’t really understand how their day will be set up while they are at school or at home, who their teachers will be or if they will have friends in their classes. I also don’t know how long this will all be going on for. Frankly, there’s just a whole lot of uncertainly surrounding this upcoming year. For a peek at how my family managed distance learning in the Spring, you can read about it here.

Despite the uncertainly of it all, I am choosing to look at all the positives and focus on what we can control for our upcoming school year. For our family, that means creating a plan and space for at-home learning that fosters success for our children as well as two at-home working parents.

As with all things parenting, at-home learning is not for the faint of heart. I won’t pretend any of this is easy or perfect. I am also sharing this from the perspective of a working parent with flexible hours with children 5 and 8 years old who do not have special needs. This will look very different in each family’s home based on their own children’s ages, needs, parents’/caregivers’ schedules, house set up and too many other factors to mention. No matter your circumstance, I hope you can find at least one or two of these tips helpful as you set up your own at-home learning space for your family.

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FINDING NORMALCY FOR MY KIDS WHEN THINGS AREN'T NORMAL

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FINDING NORMALCY FOR MY KIDS WHEN THINGS AREN'T NORMAL

Thanks to COVID-19 things aren’t “normal”. My family, probably like yours, is home. That’s not normal. My husband is usually at work in an office building. I am usually all over the state working in client’s homes with my team. My kids are usually at school and at dance and hanging with their beloved babysitter in the afternoons. Not anymore. We are all home and it looks like that is our reality for a while.

After the initial shock of it all, came acceptance and a certain feeling of a challenge posed before me that I had no choice but to accept. I was no longer a full-time working mom but now a very part-time working mom and full-time homeschooler to a kindergartener and second grader. Ever the organizer, I needed to figure out what this was going to look like. It was immediately obvious to me that I needed to keep things as normal as possible for my kids (and also for myself) to cope during this unprecedented time.

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