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Has anyone figured out a clever system for distinguishing the size of a tablecloth when folded? Our dining room table is extendable with several leaves, so we have plain white tablecloths of three sizes. When the cloths are folded, they all look alike. So every time we entertain, we spend several minutes unfolding and re-folding until we find a tablecloth of the right size. An annoying waste of time.

Organizing them by shelf (in the closet) doesn't work because they invariably get moved around by whoever does the laundry that week. Personally I'd like to write a big "1", "2", or "3" on each cloth in indelible black marker, but my wife objects for some reason. :-)

Looking for a simple, out-of-the-box idea. Thanks.

DanB
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  • Have you tried clamping something on the fold which faces the closet front? Different colors of binder clips? Attaching a small pin with a picture? A safety pin with a color label dangling from it? – rumtscho Jan 25 '12 at 02:22
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    This isn't really a cooking question so much as a general storage question... a tablecloth isn't even a cooking accessory so much as an eating accessory. – Yamikuronue Jan 25 '12 at 13:38
  • Dan, questions here should pertain to cooking. Please see [this meta topic](http://meta.cooking.stackexchange.com/q/190/60). – hobodave Jan 25 '12 at 16:30
  • I had read the meta topic in advance and consider a table to be "cooking equipment." But we can reasonably disagree on this. No hard feelings. – DanB Jan 26 '12 at 01:16

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I would fold them into a different shape that reflects the size of the cloth. For example, if you were to do a flag fold, the smallest triangle should be the smallest table cloth.

Jacob G
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  • +1 on the clever idea of the flag fold and how the size of the triangle will be smaller. Although it will probably take longer to flag fold it each time. – Jay Jan 25 '12 at 14:31
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Weigh them. The heaviest is the largest cloth. N.B. this assumes they're all made of the same weight of cloth.

Do they have tags? Write 1, 2, and 3 (or S, M, and L) on the tag, and fold so the tag is accessible.

Keep them in the same order on the shelf.

Adam Jaskiewicz
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