You need to fold your fitted sheet carefully to create clean, neat lines. I like to take a few seconds to create sharp corners on my fitted sheet before I start folding it; you can use the corner seams to find the corner and flatten it out to achieve a more pronounced corner than you would normally get when folding fitted sheets.
You can do this method very quickly, but if you take a second to press the fabric and flatten it well at each step so that you get a defined line on the sides and less air (and loose fabric) in the middle, you’ll be closer to a perfect rectangle than if you just folded quickly. One editor even uses an iron to get her sheets to lay flat.
Also, be easy on yourself! Be mindful of the fabric of the sheets you’re folding. More structured sheets, like percale, can be a little easier to keep in place as you fold them, while softer sheets, like bamboo and synthetic nylon, can feel like you’re trying to water-wash a shape into a shape. Still, with a little patience you can achieve a fairly solid square shape—or square enough if you’re impatient and still have six more sets of sheets to fold, like I do.
Beyond the stack of shelves
Photography: Nena Farrell
If you still hate the look of your sheets no matter how you fold them, you may want to try storage bags or containers for your sheets. These are useful for storing sheets under the bed if your home doesn’t have a linen closet, or for storing sheets that aren’t being used this season.
You can also keep the sheet storage bag, but not all sheets come with storage bags, and some storage bags are clearly designed only to hold machine-pressed sheets inside. (Though I love Quince’s sheet storage bag.) You can also replicate this experience by stuffing all of your sheets into a single pillowcase, which is an easy way to keep them all together. But they won’t stay folded neatly in either bag.
The best storage for sheets
The best sheet organizer is $2. I’m serious. I added three of these Ikea storage bags to an order and was surprised by how much I love them. They’re the perfect size for two sets of thick flannel sheets, or you can fit three sets of lighter bamboo or cotton sheets.
Most people I asked said they have about three sets of sheets, so a bag is a good size if you have two sheets to store and one to put on the bed. And they cost $2! Buy a dozen of them for your entire house. Or buy six and spend just $12! They’re a little too small for a soft comforter or pillow, but they could hold a single blanket.
Large space to store sheets or blankets
The Company Store’s storage bags are lovely and come in a ton of sizes, so you can pick one up for your sheets, pillows, or duvets. I easily fit four sets of my bulkier linen sheets inside it and have a bit of room to spare (though not enough for a fifth set), and I’ve also used it to store a duvet. I like that it opens from the side to the middle so I can see most of the bag without moving the components around, and it has a little space for labels so I can write down what kind of sheets or bedding are inside.
The Container Store makes a similar bag that is a little cheaper: the Underbed Zipper Storage Bag ($25)—I liked it for sheets too, but the company store’s material was a little better, and I like that I can get multiple sizes for different rooms, but that all the storage bags match. They both have handles and spaces for labels, and can fit larger bedding.
Storage to skip
I used vacuum storage bags for my sheets when I moved, but I will never use them again. Why? All of my sheets smelled horrible like plastic coming out of the vacuum bags. They were all clean before I put them in the bag, but I wanted to wash each set before sleeping on them again. Plus, vacuum bags can be surprisingly heavy and end up in weird, unwieldy shapes after sucking out all the air. Pick up a fun storage bag instead, I beg you!