How To Fold Shorts When Packing For Your Last-Minute Summer Vacation

Odds are, no matter how organized you want to be, the night before a vacation usually involves simply throwing sandals, swimsuits, and gauzy dresses haphazardly into your suitcase and trying to squeeze it shut with all your potentially necessary items inside. But, there’s a better way. While folding every. single. item. may seem daunting, finding out the right way to do it can make it much easier. For a summer trip, start in the most obvious place: how to fold shorts.

As a staple of your warm-weather travel wardrobe, you want to make sure that you arrive at your destination with your clothes wrinkle-free so you can hit the pool immediately. For the simplest way to correctly fold your favorite shorts, you’ll want to start with the most basic option. Fold them in half so that the two sides face each other with the zipper on the inside and the butt pockets facing outwards. Then, comes the one tricky part: remember to fold in the extra triangle of material so that there’s no excess fabric out of line. Lastly, fold the shorts in half so that they’re compact and that the bottoms line up with the waistband. You can choose to roll them as an alternative option to save space, but generally folding in half will help ensure they stay flat and don’t wrinkle unnecessarily.

One thing worth keeping in mind: not every pair of shorts is created equally. Denim shorts and sporty exercise styles are easiest to fold and pack, but some more fashion-forward choices like a paper-bag waist short or a pair of leather culottes may need a little bit of practice to get right. Make sure you’re folding them on a flat surface and have loosed any cinched waists as much as possible so that the shorts lay flat. And, when in doubt, you may want to remember to bring along a steamer just in case any pesky wrinkles persist.

Below, find a few methods for folding shorts that will come in handy.

The video above gives a simple explanation based on the KonMarie method, a style of organizing championed by Marie Kondo that focuses on appreciating the clothes that you have and caring for them in the best way possible.

To fold spandex shorts, try the video above which breaks down how to get them down to a small square employing some of the same tips as the Konmari video.

The TikTok video above includes three clever ways for folding your shorts that you may want to practice a few times ahead of your next trip. One method even exemplifies how to fold them in a way that allows you to tuck them into themselves, meaning they’ll stay in the same shape no matter how jostled your luggage might get.