How to keep your clothes apart

Short answer: Use a drawer each, a basket colour each, or a small mark at the neck. Any one of the three methods is enough to keep clothes from getting mixed up. Pick the one that suits your daily life, and stick with it.

A drawer each is easiest

The separation happens by itself when clothes are put away. When each person has their own drawers, there is never any doubt where a top goes, and it is easy to spot if something has landed in the wrong place. It needs no special habit, only that the drawers are divided from the start and both keep to their own. See women's most popular.

Basket colour works during washing

With two baskets, the clothes are already divided when the machine is emptied. If you wash separately, a basket in its own colour keeps clothes apart all the way from laundry to drawer. It is especially handy when both have lots of clothes in the same colours and sizes that are otherwise easy to confuse. See bamboo hoodie for women.

A small mark does the rest

A dot of fabric marker at the neck tells identical pieces apart. It is the most precise method, because the mark goes everywhere with the piece, even through a shared wash. Choose a colour or a letter each, and put it in the same spot every time. Then it takes a second to see whose black T-shirt it is. See women's bamboo joggers.

Folding is the critical moment

Most mix ups happen when the laundry is folded. That is when both people's clothes are in one pile, and it is easy to put a top on the wrong stack. So sort into two stacks straight away as you fold. That way the mistake is caught before it reaches the drawer.

Identical basics are the hardest

It is rarely the colourful clothes that get mixed up. It is the identical black, white and grey basics that both people own several of. This is exactly where a small mark helps most. Most people can tell the rest of their wardrobe apart without help, because cut and colour differ.

Keep the mark discreet

A mark at the neck should not show from the outside. Put it inside, on the care label or in the seam, and use a marker made for fabric. Test it on a small spot first. A discreet mark lasts through many washes and does not change how the clothes look when worn.

Sort out what is already mixed

If clothes are already mixed up, take half an hour and go through the drawers together. Lay everything out and divide it while you are both there. Mark the pieces that look alike straight away. Then you start again with a clear split, and the method holds better from then on.

One method is enough

It is tempting to use all three methods at once, but it is rarely needed. Choose the one that fits best, and use it every time. If you wash together, the mark is often best. If you wash separately, two baskets are enough. The drawers take care of the rest once the laundry is folded.

Frequently asked questions

How do you keep two people's clothes apart

With a drawer each, a basket each or a small mark at the neck. One of the three methods is enough in practice, as long as it is used every time.

What works best when clothes look alike

A small mark. A dot of fabric marker at the neck is enough to tell two identical black T-shirts apart, even after a shared wash.

When do clothes usually get mixed up

When folding. That is when both people's clothes lie together, and a fixed split into two stacks solves it straight away, before anything reaches the drawer.