There is something intensely satisfying about folding stuff. I particularly like folding things that would otherwise be untidy or irregular. I was very slightly concerned about my love of folding things, until I heard this benign fascination was part of what has been dubbed Obsessive Compulsive Order. People with OCO love order, and will spend a proportion of their time making their environment and their daily routine ordered in a way that enhances their feelings of peace and well-being. For some this means alphabetically arranging their book or CD shelves, for others it might be always storing their shoes in specially purchased transparent shoe boxes, or always eating tomatoes on toast on a Thursday. For me, more often than not, it involves folding.

Let me share a couple of examples of how folding can enhance and enrich your life.

1. A country pub on a summer afternoon. You have just finished your cheese and onion crisps. You put the empty packet on the wooden table, only to have it snatched away by the breeze. You attract glares from the litterati, who watch as you scramble to put a foot on it, only to have it puffed further away by another capricious gust. You chase it around the beer garden, undignified, irritated and feeling vaguely guilty even though you never drop litter.
All this could have been avoided, if you had taken a couple of seconds to fold the bag into a less aerodynamic shape. There is probably some scientific formula to explain the surface area to mass ratio at which crisp packets start to get blown away in the slightest breeze, but you don’t need to know that. All you need to do is fold it in half lengthwise, fold it again and tie a knot in the resulting strip.
The same simple procedure will keep chocolate wrappers, toffee papers etc from running amok in your life. (It will, unfortunately, also make it perfectly clear who ate most of the Quality Street, unless you can train your friends and family to do the same.)

Before: Wrapper mayhem waiting to happen

After: Panic averted

2. You have a friend visiting, who thinks you are a reasonably tidy individual. This friend asks to borrow a book. You offer a bag in which to carry it, but are mortified when a jumble of plastic bags spills out of the drawer in which you keep your stash. You try to select one bag and another twenty that are tangled up with it fall on the floor. Chaos reigns.

You could have avoided this trauma if only you had taken the time to fold your carrier bags. When your bags are neatly folded, they take up far less space, and you can always keep one or two in a pocket or handbag, ready for any or all bag requiring eventualities.

Before (left) and After (right) Which is better? An obvious no-brainer.

I could go on to give many examples, but you have probably already fallen into one of two camps: those who are staggered that anyone could actually give a flying stuff about such things, and those who find themselves drawn, moth-like, to the flame of folding things. The former may continue to read, and feel superior until they disappear under a pile of poorly folded underwear, or go off and have a cup of tea until the rest of us have finished this fascinating discussion.

Ever since I bought a Teach Yourself Origami book at the age of ten, I have enjoyed folding things. I have folded sweet wrappers and packets for years, and have always been a fan of the flat, folded sock pocket, but it was not until I broke my ankle a couple of years ago that I discovered a whole on-line compendium of folding techniques and opportunities. Confined to the sofa, I was browsing around on You Tube, idly looking for information on how to fold t-shirts à la Japonaise, when I found numerous instructional videos on how to fold everything from carrier bags to smoked halibut. Many of them appeared to be thinly veiled ploys to encourage people to buy a particular lady’s own brand of plastic boxes – yes, apparently, you do need an instructional video to show you how to put something in a box – but some were tried and proven ways to make inherently untidy objects neat and easy to store.

Why not make yourself a handy bag caddy from the bottom of a cereal box?

Since that day I can say, hand on heart, my life has changed. The rustling disarray of my bag drawer has become a peaceful haven of order. Neatly folded triangles in a variety of colours and sizes are arranged in rows, quietly waiting for the opportunity to serve. I always have one or two plastic bags in my pocket or handbag, ready to be used or passed to someone less prepared than me. My sprawling, undisciplined pants have been transformed into small rectangular packages. They hold themselves in shape, and line up neatly in rows in the drawer, alongside my flat and fabulous sock pockets. Having reflected,  I would venture to say that there are very few things that could not be improved by a little judicious folding. **

Few things compare to the thrill of a tidy underwear drawer

Today I happened upon a photo tutorial on folding fitted sheets. This was followed by a tip for storing bedding in such a way that pillowcases never get separated from their matching duvet covers and sheets. Of course, for many people, this would seem like the saddest thing in the world, but for me it was like Christmas come early. Having recently scrabbled around in my low level bedding storage, wishing that I could find the right sheets for the guest bedroom, I just know that this simple tip will save me angst and frustration in future.

I am sure that there will be those who would like to get into the folding versus rolling debate, but to those I would say that there is a whole big world out there, and that life is too short to worry about trivialities.

Finally, folding is a very simple way of getting rich quick. Try this simple experiment: Take a five pound note. Fold it in half lengthwise. Fold it again. Fold the first third of the length over. Fold half of this third back on itself. Press firmly along the fold lines. Finally, unfold your money and …

you’ll find it increases!

*Before we go any further, let me say that I was deeply moved by a recent documentary about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and would never wish to make fun of those whose lives are dominated by the condition. I do not see anything remotely funny in being in bondage to routine and so compulsive about order that it ruins your life.

**Books should not be folded. I read them Very Carefully Indeed, so as to avoid creasing the spines, and I would NEVER, EVER, turn the corner of the page over to mark where I had finished reading. This is vandalism of the highest order, and should not under any circumstances be countenanced. I may, at some point, produce a tutorial on how to make interesting bookmarks from everyday objects, or failing that, fascinating mnemonics to help you memorise page numbers.)