What is folding laundry?

Agree 100% when I bring it off the line or (rarely now)out of tumble drier I put it straight on hangers of lay it down straight . So much so I hate my husband gringing it in because he crumples it. Then he moans if.I say anything-'O I can't even bring the washing in right '. But no he can't!

Yes it does. I do it like you.
Dh comes into the house with a basket crammed full and tips it onto the bed and folds. Meaning I end up having to iron my stuff he doesn't iron his. My way means I iron less.

I generally end up with folding piles when I've been using the washing line and have had to grab the washing in a massive hurry as rain threatens/starts.

Otherwise it gets folded as it comes off the airer which is still definitely a chore. I prefer to gave a table/ironing board available for this as I can spot loose stitches, stains and holes before the situation is critical...

We wash and dry laundry all week long to keep on top of the mountain. But the clean things get thrown into a clean hamper as they are dry - so anyone can rummage through if they need something during the week.

But at the weekend, DH or I (or both) throw the contents on the floor (once it's been swept), and fold everything while watching a movie. Then DH irons everything needing ironing on Sunday evenings, watching countryfile.

We both work FT and long hours, teen dd has a tonne of uniform and sports gear, we try and take advantage of dry days outdoors to line dry but folding is 1 too many chores midweek when we're just trying to get fed and watered and survive.

But done at a relaxed time while catching up on something else -or occasionally on a call on speakerphone - it's not really a MASSIVE chore.

I take clothes out of the dryer, and fold them vaguely. Ie T-shirts folded in half, trousers folded in 4.

But when I take her laundry upstairs to the correct place, I properly fold each item (Marie Kondo style).

I don’t count the first bit as “folding laundry” although I don’t scrunch it up in a big pile. But I count the final fold/roll as “folding laundry”

Totally with you OP. Makes no sense to have a folding session. Here's how it goes for me:

1. Wash clothes
2. Hang up clothes that can't be tumble dried. I do this mega-organised now, which means I hang up everyone's clothes in groups which saves me sorting them as I put them away once dry.
3. Tumble dry clothes that allow for it
4. Once dry, remove from; a) tumble drier, b) clothes airer or c) clothes hanger and either fold in a basket to stick in the sitting cupboard or put straight in the bedroom.

• I never iron unless it's for a wedding.
• If I leave the clothes hanging around they crease very quickly and would need ironing.
• If I sit on the floor in front of the tumble drier I can fold into 3 different piles (1 for each person) and this saves sorting it later.

I love it when a jumper or dress is drying on a hanger and so you just have to stick it straight in the wardrobe - cuts out the middle man.

Reminds me of the OHIO rule (only Handle It Once). Life is too short, people!

I just bung everything into drawers scrunched. No one's died.

1. Remove clothes from airer/dryer.

1. Fold and place into basket/piles for each person.

1. Carry basket upstairs dump it onto the bed.

1. Need the basket for something else and get distracted by kids/food/cooking/doorbell.

1. Go back to finish the job and find the kids have jumped on the bed/rifled through for a specific sock/knocked all piles on the floor.

1. Realise it's midnight with a 5am alarm then throw it all on the side to deal with it tomorrow

Rinse and repeat..

I stand corrected there are 3 types of people.

The third is my teenage DS who does EXACTLY this 🤣

Same OP - granted I have only ever had two people’s clothes etc to deal with, but it always comes out of the drier, into the basket to bring it in (I use a communal laundry) and gets put away immediately. If nothing else, I haven’t room to have it lying around. There’s no ironing, things just get folded or rolled into their drawers.

In my experience there are 2 kinds of people when it comes to laundry.

1. the shove it all into a basket/airing cupboard regardless of who it belongs to and deal with it (ie sort and fold) at a later date type.

2. the fold and sort by person as it comes off the line/airer/out of the dryer type.

One is vastly more efficient as it negates the need for either ironing or "double handling" and is therefore the superior method.

Person 1 & person 2 both live in the Frangipani house and drive each other up the wall

It's inefficient, but how some people work. Personally I scrunch, carry basket to near iron, Throw everything on the floor/ bed, sort out stuff which can be folded and put straight away, ball socks, nicks etc and put away, anything for ironing gets folded into the ironing box. I will iron if I have time, otherwise it's left folded ready for next time I'm doing a load of ironing (usually when there's something good I want to watch on tv as I multitask). I really wouldn't care if my 'to iron' pike was unfolded or my scrunched but almost ready to put away stuff didn't get folded, anything looking ropey gets a quick iron. Many people nowadays don't iron though.

It's only a problem if I give the butler a half day off 😂.

Sometimes I just grab everything off the line (though in a neat heap!) and ask someone else to fold it so I can get on with something else. Or just ask them to get it off the line - I would have to remind DH or DDs to also fold it though!

I fold twice. Yes Twice!!!

• washing on overnight to be ready in morning.
• as soon as it’s done, smooth it and fold it into the basket (because it’s damp this smooths it out and gets rid of creases) leave it while eat breakfast.
• then out onto line if nice, airer if not - no tumble dryer here. Very easy to put out as it’s all nicely folded.
• when dry it gets re folded and put in piles to be taken to the right wardrobe/drawers.

Doing it this way means we very rarely need to iron. All in all, the whole job is 10 mins (with breaks obviously) if I do it, 20 if DH does it (no idea why he takes so long!).

I really want one of those laundry folding things that sheldon form big band theory has. That would be ace lol

Ah, one of these faux bewilderment threads where the OP just can't imagine how anyone manages to not be quite as perfect as they [think they] are.

Lol. I actually love folding laundry 😂

I take the dry clothes from the airer, fold them and put them in the airing cupboard. The next day I get them out and sort into piles. The designer clothes don’t go in the airing cupboard as they’d get creased neither do work shirts that need ironing. These items go on hangers and I’m boring myself now…

Everything of mine is dried outside where possible (no dryer but have 2 spare rooms) and goes on hangers, except knickers, bras, socks tights, stockings. They get stuffed in the drawer rather than folded.

Oh I fold my baby’s clothes now because I know the drawers will stay tidy because I’m the only one using them 😂

ive given up folding for my step kids who are older because I fold so nicely, give it to them and they dump it on the floor right away or just wherever they are sitting then it falls over / the y sit on it etc 😂 so the step kids and I came to a
agreement I no longer fold their laundry lol

All these people saying they don't fold the laundry at all, just put it away.... What, you just stuff it into drawers how ?? Unfolded? Surely you don't just shove jeans and joggers etc into drawers without folding them. What about socks? Or do you all have wardrobes and hang everything up?

I am with you @Iwrote .

Best thing I ever did was get rid of the stupid basket.

I don't iron but I do treat washing well. It gets a good shake/stretch before I peg it. I bring it all in over my arm and fling it on the bed to avoid creasing.
Usually fold straight away but if I've had to grab it in for rain then being on the bed guarantees it has to be dealt with that day!

Hang it straight away or put into drawers. Of it's something that really needs ironing like a dress shirt then I still hang it. Otherwise I found I rewashed stuff because it was so creased after months at the bottom of the basket of doom

Dealing with a load at a time is the way to go

Everything comes out of the tumbler in one go, into a washing basket, then moved else-where to fold - I'm not standing on the freezing cold floor folding it onto the little surface above the tumbler when there's another load waiting to go in it anyway. That takes 30 seconds.

The folding takes the same amount of time to do whether I'm standing over the tumbler, or at the kitchen table, but there's a lot less bending up and down if I take it away, and more space for separate piles at the table.

When I used to dry outside/on an airer it was no more effort to fold it as I picked it off (unless it was starting to rain and I was just getting it in as quick as possible).

And I couldn't care less about creases TBH. Advantage of no uniform.

If you've got a load in the washing machine that's just finished, and a load in the dryer that's finished but you're busy or on the way out the door, it's easier to chuck it in the basket and worry about it later.