How to Properly Fold a Fitted Sheet

Everyone has their least favorite chore, and for many people, it's the seemingly impossible task of neatly folding a fitted sheet. It has round corners and elasticated straight sides that don't exactly make it easy, which is why scrunching it up in a ball and calling it a day is seriously tempting. The good news is, there's actually a simple way to properly fold a fitted sheet that is much easier and faster than you may think. Watch this step-by-step video tutorial and follow the detailed steps below —not only will you be a pro in no time, but you'll be left with extra storage space and a beautifully neat linen closet. Let's get started!

Before You Begin

Before you start folding your fitted sheet, make sure that it's clean and fully dry, as you don't want to fold a damp sheet and have it sit that way in your linen closet. Also make sure that you have a clean, flat, and spacious folding surface to work on—whether that's a table in your laundry room or the bed in your bedroom. This will make the folding process much easier. Now let's start folding...

1. Find the Corners

   The first step to properly folding a fitted sheet is finding the top two corners of the sheet and placing your hands inside each of them. Then, with one quick motion, flip it inside out.

2. Bring One Corner Over the Other

   Turn the sheet back around, find the two corners again and place one hand inside each corner. Bring the left corner over to the right corner so that they touch, then flip one corner over the other.

3. Straighten It Out

   Using your hands, go around and make sure that the seams line up and that there aren't any large creases so that you get a perfect fold.

4. Start on the Other End

   Slide your hand towards the other end of the fitted sheet and find another corner. Place your hand inside the pocket and bring it up to meet the corner that you're holding with your other hand.

5. Flip It Again

   Once you bring the corners together, repeat the same action that you did in Step 2 and flip one corner over the other. What you should end up with at this point is the elasticated parts of the fitted sheet forming a 90-degree angle or an L-shape.

6. Lay It Down

   At this point, lay the fitted sheet down with the folded parts facing up. This is why it's important to have a clean, flat surface such as a table or a bed to work on. Touch up any seams and corners so that everything lines up nicely and there aren't any major creases.

7. Fold It in Thirds

   Time to begin folding! Starting with the top two corners of the fitted sheet and working your way down, fold it into thirds. You'll begin to see how neat it looks and how similar the folding is to a classic flat sheet now that you've taken care of the rounded edges.

8. Fold It Again

   Now that you have folded the sheet in thirds, starting with the right side and working towards the left, fold the fitted sheet in thirds again, but this time horizontally. Flatten out the top, and you're done! The folded fitted sheet will look just like a folded flat sheet, which is the goal.

How to Store A Fitted Sheet

Now that you have learned how to properly fold a fitted sheet quickly and easily, store it in your linen closet to keep it clean and ready for use. It will be much easier to store this way because it'll take up much less space and be easier to stack. There are three different ways that you can store fitted sheets in your linen closet.

First, you can store everything in groups—stack all fitted sheets on one shelf and all flat sheets and pillowcases on another. The second way to store them is to keep your bedding sets together, meaning, stacking a folded flat sheet on top of your folded fitted sheet and topping it with the coordinating folded pillowcases. This way, you can easily grab the bedding set without having to search for each individual piece. If you want to go a step further—the third storage method is to place your folded fitted sheet and flat sheet one on top of the other. Place one of the folded pillowcases on top, then slide all three folded bedding items inside the second pillowcase and fold its overhang over, so that you have a nice, neat package. This keeps each bedding set in its own "bag" that can be stored on a linen closet shelf neatly and is easily accessible when needed.