Sorting T-Shirts by KOMUnews, on Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/komunews/6252410211/Have you seen this T-Shirt Folder thing? I just stumbled across it last week and have been sitting here shaking my head ever since.

I admit that I do like a nicely folded T-shirt as much as the next person, but… really?

Ten bucks (or more!) for a bendy foldy gizmo to help you fold a T-shirt into a nice neat precise stackable rectangle?

Help me out here, people. I need someone to explain this to me.

Oh, not the T-shirt folding process in general. I got that down. And I can see how the folder gadget works (nice diagram, guys!) – no, that’s not the issue.

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B&E Home Essential (TM) - Clothes T-Shirts Folder Organizer / Assisting Folding Board
B&E Home Essential (TM) – Clothes T-Shirts Folder Organizer / Assisting Folding Board

It’s the why that’s a little, um, obscure.

I mean, in the big scheme of things, as long as you’re making a token effort to fold your clean T-shirts to put away, instead of wadding them up and stuffing them into the back of your sock drawer – and then complaining about the wrinkles when you pull one out to put on – does it really matter if the exact measurements of the folded T-shirts are a millimeter or so off from the next one in the pile?

Now, don’t get me wrong.

I’m certainly not casting aspersions on anyone who take a genuine pleasure in seeing a symmetrical and tidy multi-colored stack of T-shirts on the shelf of their closet organizer. We all have our small pleasures in life (for me, it’s a spice rack arranged by colour), and that’s just great.

No, I’m thinking of the time it takes out of a busy day, just to get out a gadget that’s specially made for folding T-shirts and fiddling about with it, when you could just hold up the shirt, flip in the sides, lay it down and fold top to bottom – done!

And it’s not like there’s just one Super-Fast-Speedy Magic T-Shirts Folder and Clothes Organizer thingummie to choose from, either … there’s a whole raft of variations on the shirt-folding gadget idea, different sizes and colours and sources…

But maybe I’m just missing something here.
Any thoughts, friends?

This Post Has 9 Comments

  1. Connor Harley

    Ow. That’s a new thing for me. T-shirt folder? This may be efficient for me as I am not very talented when it comes to folding shirts. They look like crap if I try to. lol.

  2. sue

    Hi there,i have 2 admit 2 owning 1 of these gr8 gadgets.
    Reason for buying 1, weellll 2 teenage sons,they liked their t-shirts folded this way & when i asked them 2 fold their own laundry they replied “but mum u fold soo good & i just can’t fold as good” YEAH RIGHT!!! I got the last laugh & it only cost £12.99 well worth it. When they left 2 live with their ladies,i gave the girls the heads up,the boys still moan about it 7yrs later. LOL
    Sue

  3. Caroline

    This gadget was originally made for retail, almost any store that has nicely folded t-shirts has one of these in some shape or form. For example: How do they have nicely folded shirts in malls when they have 17yr old boys working?! This thingy! Honestly…I wouldn’t mind having one. They are quick and simple…and would aid in my perfectionism…I’ll just hide it behind the couch. :D

    1. Domestik Goddess

      Hide it behind the couch – too funny! :)

  4. Kathryn

    Have to agree with it being for people with OCD that require perfection in their t-shirt folding, but if you have ever worked retail and had to fold t-shirts for a display, a gadget like this would have come in very handy.

  5. Domestik Goddess

    Ah ha, The Big Bang Theory! Well, it makes a teensy bit more sense why this thing even exists… and no doubt the world is full of Sheldons. Or maybe not exactly *full* but there are undoubtedly others out there in the Sheldon ballpark, who would be deeply gratified by having their T-shirts all symmetrically folded. Nice to have that cleared up!

    Next question, though – why are there so many different shirt folders on the market? You’d think one, maybe two (different sizes) would be pretty much all that’s required, no?

    It is a curious world, with no end of wonders in it!

  6. maggie

    @Lindsey — until I saw this post, I thought this was a gadget invented solely for Sheldon on Big Bang Theory to use! Somewhat disturbing that it’s a real device with multiple variations.

    Most heavy travelers will tell you that the best way to pack garments for least amount of wrinkles and greatest volume per container is ROLL them up. If you fold back the sleeves on your t-shirts and roll them into tight tubes starting at the neck, they’ll be wrinkle-free when unrolled… and that drawer full of tubes will look so cool and organized!

  7. Rob O.

    Just for the sake of fitting them neatly into a drawer, all of my white undershirt t-shirts are folded. Sadly, I’m not as proficient or neat as this:

    http://youtu.be/b5AWQ5aBjgE

  8. Lindsey

    I only know what it is because of Sheldon on the Big Bang Theory. I think it is for people with ridiculous OCD. MY hubby folds his shirts like that without the gizmo, so if I wanted ridiculously folded shirts, I’d just make him do the laundry. (HA! Yea right.)

    Here’s sheldon using it –
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Twh-oF6VHUo

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