Abstract:
A method for folding and organizing clothes is disclosed. Clothing is placed on the top surface of a securing strap. The article of clothing is rolled up into a substantially cylindrical shape. The user engages the securing strap and causes the securing strap to wrap around the clothing and securely maintain the clothing in an organized roll.

Description:
PRIORITY 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/990,752, filed May 9, 2014 and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/633,678 filed Feb. 27, 2015. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    This invention pertains to a method for organizing clothing utilizing a securing strap. 
       BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
       [0003]    Clothing is a common part of everyday society. Individuals like to look nice and have a clean appearance for others when in public. A large part of looking clean is having clean clothes. After clothes are washed they are stored for later wear. Often some clothes-such as shirts, dresses, and skirts- are hung on hangers to prevent the clothes from wrinkling Other times some clothes are folded and stored in stacks in a dresser or wardrobe. However, over time, the clothes stored in a dresser often become disorganized and unfolded, causes them to become disheveled. This occurs even more frequently when the clothes are for children and the children put clothes away and retrieve them from the dresser. Therefore, what is needed is a system and method for storing clothes in a dresser which preserves the organization of the clothes and prevents unfolding and disheveling of the clothes when disturbed by a user. 
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
       [0004]    The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosed innovation. This summary is not an extensive overview, and it is not intended to identify key/critical elements or to delineate the scope thereof. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later. 
         [0005]    The invention is directed toward a method of organizing clothes comprising rolling an article of clothing into a substantial cylindrical shape, wrapping one or more securing straps around the circumference of the cylindrical shape of the article of clothing, and securing the article of clothing in the substantially cylindrical shape with the one or more securing straps. The one or more securing straps have a first configuration and a second configuration. In the first configuration, the one or more securing straps is substantially planar along the length of the one or more securing straps and has a substantially curved shape along the width of the one or more securing straps. In the second configuration the one or more securing straps is substantially spiral along the length of the one or more securing straps and has a substantially planar shape along the width of the one or more securing straps. The one or more securing straps maintain the article of clothing in a substantially cylindrical shape when the one or more securing straps are in the second configuration. 
         [0006]    In another embodiment, the method further comprises folding the article of clothing into a substantially rectangular shape prior to rolling into a substantially cylindrical shape. In another embodiment, the method may further comprise removably securing the one or more securing straps to itself utilizing a securing means, removably securing the one or more securing straps to the article of clothing utilizing a securing means, removably securing the one or more securing straps to another securing strap utilizing a securing means, or any combination of the three. 
         [0007]    The invention is also directed toward a method for organizing clothes comprising placing an article of clothing on top of one or more securing straps, ensuring the one or more securing straps are in the first configuration, rolling the article of clothing longitudinally from one end, and applying enough pressure to the one or more securing straps to cause the one or more securing straps to transition into the second configuration, causing the one or more securing straps to wrap around the outer circumference of the article of clothing. In this method the longitudinal axis of the article of clothing is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the one or more securing straps. The securing straps utilized in this method are identical to the securing straps specified above. 
         [0008]    In another embodiment of this method, the method further comprises folding the article of clothing into a substantially rectangular shape prior to rolling into a substantially cylindrical shape. In another embodiment, the method may further comprise removably securing the one or more securing straps to itself utilizing a securing means, removably securing the one or more securing straps to the article of clothing utilizing a securing means, removably securing the one or more securing straps to another securing strap utilizing a securing means, or any combination of the three. 
         [0009]    Still other embodiments of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following description wherein there is shown and described the embodiments of this invention, simply by way of illustration of the best modes suited to carry out the invention. As it will be realized, the invention is capable of other different embodiments and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious aspects all without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the drawing and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    Various exemplary embodiments of this invention will be described in detail, wherein like reference numerals refer to identical or similar components, with reference to the following figures, wherein: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is a plan view of an article of clothing; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a plan view of an article of clothing; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an article of clothing being rolled; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a rolled article of clothing being secured with the securing strap; 
           [0015]      FIG. 5A  is a perspective view of the securing strap; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5B  is an end view of the securing strap; 
           [0017]      FIG. 6A  is a side view of the securing strap; 
           [0018]      FIG. 6B  is an end view of the securing strap; 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a rolled article of clothing being secured with the securing strap; 
           [0020]      FIG. 8  is a side view of a rolled article of clothing being secured with the securing strap. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0021]    The claimed subject matter is now described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. It may be evident, however, that the claimed subject matter may be practiced with or without any combination of these specific details, without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention and the claims. 
         [0022]    The invention is directed toward a method of securing clothing for storage while not in use. Referring to  FIG. 1 , a standard clothing article  10  and securing strap  20  is displayed. The clothing article  10  has a longitudinal central line  15  which permits the user to fold the clothing article  10  in half. The securing strap  20  is positioned underneath the clothing article  10 . The clothing article  10  may be any type of clothing, such as a shirt, pants, shorts, socks, underwear, dress, coat, or overcoat. The method comprises rolling the clothing article  10  into a substantially cylindrical shape and securing the clothing article  10  with a securing strap  20 . 
         [0023]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , in the preferred embodiment, the user folds the clothing article  10  in half along the longitudinal central line  15  of the of the clothing article  10  to ensure compactness of the clothing article  10 . Referring to  FIG. 3 , the user then folds in any sleeves or other outlying material to place the clothing article  10  in a substantially rectangular shape. The user then rolls the clothing article  10  into a substantially cylindrical shape by starting on one side of the rectangular shape and rolling toward the opposite side of the rectangular shape. The end of the securing strap  20  is rolled into the layers of the clothing article  10 . In another embodiment, the clothing article  10  is rolled into a substantially cylindrical shape first and then the securing strap  20  is positioned around the outer circumference of the rolled clothing article  10 . Referring to  FIG. 4 , the process ends when the clothing article  10  is formed into a substantially cylindrical shape and the securing strap  20  is wrapped around the outer circumference of the rolled clothing article  10 . 
         [0024]    Referring to  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B , the preferred embodiment of the securing strap  20  is displayed. In the preferred embodiment the securing strap  20  is self-locking strap more commonly known as a “snap-bracelet”. In the preferred embodiment the securing strap  20  has a first configuration and a second configuration. As shown in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , the first configuration of the securing strap  20  is displayed. In the first configuration, the securing strap  20  is substantially planar along the length of the securing strap  20 , as displayed in  FIG. 5A . The securing strap  20  also has a substantially curved shape along the width of the securing strap  20 , as displayed in  FIG. 5B .  FIGS. 6A and 6B  display the second configuration of the securing strap  20 . In the second configuration, the securing strap  20  is substantially spiral along the length of the securing strap  20  as shown in  FIG. 6A . As shown in  FIG. 6B , the securing strap  20  has a substantially planar shape along the width of the securing strap  20  in the second configuration. 
         [0025]    The securing strap  20  may then be fastened to itself or the clothing to firmly secure the clothing in a tight cylindrical shape for storage. The securing strap  20  starts in the first configuration. The user places the securing strap  20  against the clothing article  10 . The user places the securing strap  20  in a tangential position to the circumference of the cylindrical shape of the clothing article  10 . 
         [0026]    The user compresses the securing strap  20 , causing a middle section to distend. The compression causes the securing strap  20  to change from the first configuration to the second configuration. The spiral shape of the second configuration causes the securing strap  20  to automatically wrap around the outer circumference of the clothing article  10 . The securing strap  20  maintains its second configuration, holding the clothing article  10  tightly in a rolled cylindrical shape. Referring to  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 8 , the end result of the method is that the clothing article  10  is tightly bound around the outer circumference by the securing strap  20  to form a substantially cylindrical clothing unit. 
         [0027]    The clothing unit may be easily stored within a dresser drawer or on a shelf with other clothing units. Preferably the clothing units can be set parallel to each other. To wear an item a user removes the clothing unit from the storage, removes the securing strap  20 , and unrolls the clothing. 
         [0028]    There may be several different embodiments of the method. In one embodiment the securing strap  20  may further have a means for securing the securing strap to itself or to the clothing. The securing means may consist of hook and loop tape, a snap, a button, a fastener, a hook and eye, a buckle, a zipper or any other means for removably securing two components together. Therefore, after securing the clothing article  10  with the securing strap  20 , the user uses the securing means to removably secure the securing strap  20  to itself or to the clothing article  10 . In other embodiments the securing means may permit the user to connect the securing strap  20  of one unit of clothing to the securing strap of a second unit of clothing. 
         [0029]    The securing strap  20  can be constructed out of any type of flexible material, such as metal, plastic or fabric or a combination of said materials. In other embodiments, the securing strap  20  is not a “snap bracelet” type of securing strap  20  but is instead completely flexible, such as a string, a ribbon, or a band of fabric. 
         [0030]    In another embodiment of the method, the user can place multiple securing straps  20  onto a single clothing article  10 . 
         [0031]    What has been described above includes examples of the claimed subject matter. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the claimed subject matter, but one of ordinary skill in the art can recognize that many further combinations and permutations of such matter are possible. Accordingly, the claimed subject matter is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.