Tired Of Messy Dresser Drawers? A Pro Organizer Shares The Best Ways To Keep Them Tidy

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Entropy is the idea that most systems tend toward disorder over time. Did that sentence make you think about your dresser drawers? It's vexing that an organizational tool like a dresser can become a source of disorganization, in what seems like just days. But what steps can we take?

What's normally required to stave off entropy is energy. In this case, energy focused on better habits. Hunker spoke exclusively with Maria Baer, home organization expert and founder of The Baer Minimalist, about which habits would most help to make (and keep) our dresser drawers tidy. These habits, it turns out, start before you get to the dresser drawer. For example, Baer focuses some of her energy on having everything land only where it belongs. "So often, dressers are a large furniture piece within our rooms and can become a space for things to multiply and become disorganized," she says. "With each and every load of laundry you do, consider getting things folded and put away directly into the dresser rather than letting those piles grow on the chair or floor of your room."

Baer also offers advice about not putting things in drawers to begin with, saying, "Many of our clients do better with hanging the bulk of their clothing — even workout wear and t-shirts. She adds, "Open baskets can line closet shelves to hold undergarments so that you can dress from head to toe in one space." But perhaps the most important facet of not putting things in drawers is the act of editing what you have.

Using the word "editing," which implies intentionality, curation, and improvement, is preferable to simply "decluttering." When Hunker spoke exclusively with Baer Minimalist founder Maria Baer about organizing dresser drawers with more purpose, she told us that editing is the place to start. "We always recommend pulling everything out of your drawers and editing first," she explains. "This could mean pulling out items that are stained, overly worn, or those that just no longer fit your lifestyle."

This kind of editing can be an ongoing process, a periodic review, or both. "I think the most important thing is to find a refresh system that works for you," says Baer. "If you find yourself trying something on that no longer fits or that you just don't love, consider putting it in a basket that you can revisit later for donations. Sometimes we pull the same items over and over without ever wearing them, and those are great contenders for clearing space."

It can, of course, be upsetting to part with some clothing, even if we have no intention of ever wearing it again. To ease that discomfort, Baer points her home organization clients toward options like donating and repurposing clothing, as practically everything in your house is recyclable, including textiles. For clients in the Indianapolis area, where her company is located, Baer offers a donation guide that tells them where their old business attire, formal wear, maternity clothes, and everything else — including mismatched socks — can do the most good.

Collections of undifferentiated drawers don't always fit the way we need things to be sorted or accessed. In a way, it often makes sense to treat dresser drawers as little like dresser drawers as possible. Hunker spoke exclusively with home organization expert Maria Baer, who gave us a few tips about how to make dresser drawers work better for your needs. "Our go to product for drawers is always the expandable drawer dividers," Baer explains. She recommended the Lipper International Sliding Bamboo Dividers, but DIY drawer dividers help get things organized as well. "Dividers provide boundaries, and we thrive on boundaries." 

Another boundary-centered approach is to store items that belong together, like swimwear tops and bottoms, in plastic pouches that ensure they stay together and that they're easy to identify at a glance. For easy access, Baer advocates for a method of folding clothes that helps you find what you need. By file-folding everything, she says, "You can quickly see everything in the drawer at a glance, [which] is such a beneficial move (and really is no more time consuming than throwing everything in and digging around each day to find what you want)."

There are many types of dressers, and some may have helpful characteristics, like drawers of differing sizes. If you don't find yourself hanging everything or putting everything in baskets, the next step is to categorize your clothes in a way that makes sense with your dresser's drawers. "If you have really deep drawers, these are fantastic spaces to store bulkier items like sweatshirts, sweatpants, and jeans," Baer says, while "ultra-shallow drawers should be reserved for jewelry or undergarments."