What is folding laundry?

I don't get it either, I'm never keen to double handle anything. I always fold each item as I take it off the line, dryer or airer.

People adding a job instead of just holding from dryer or line if it doesn’t need ironing.

When 3 DC were young I used to throw it in the basket as there wasn't time to sort it, Nowadays I dry tops on hangers and put straight back into wardrobes
Could you get each person a hamper and sort straight into that?

My items need folding a specific way to sit nicely in my drawers. So I retold them after a rough fold off the line.

Well we put clothes on the airer. Then in the morning you pat them down to see which are dry. We wear the dry clothes and the still drying clothes stay on the airer. Eventually the other clothes are dry but by then you need to hang up another load, so the half load gets scooped up and put somewhere because you also need to make breakfast or go to work. It’s usually just lay on top off each other not scrunched in a ball. It would take more effort to scrunch it up rather than just lay the clothes on top of each other. The remaining clothes will get folded and put away at some point along with remaining clothes from other washes.

USA here. I've used my iron twice in the past year. Single person and I have 10 loads of laundry per month. I do three loads one week and two loads the next. I fold as I soon as I take it out of the dryer. Some items are air dried.

Op you say you fold it as you take it off the line. This is what folding laundry means. So, you fold laundry too. Not sure what's confusing about it. I tend to use the term 'doing laundry' to describe the whole process of washing, drying, folding and if needed ironing and putting away.

I also don't understand how you'd fold standing up or outside?

I always have a big pile of folding to do, either it's been dragged in a hurry from the airer or come from the tumble dryer. It takes ages to fold properly too, I blame Marie bloody Kondo for that 😁

I don’t fold mine coming out of the dryer or off the line because then everyone’s would go in the basket folded and then end up getting unfolded in the sorting out into separate piles to go away.

I like the idea of one basket per person but I don’t get the logistics and space is an issue. Do you take all the baskets outside and drag them about the washing area filling them up, then carry them all to the bedrooms one by one?

What has WFH got to do with it? I go out to work every day and still manage to fold the laundry as I take it off the line/airer.

My washing machine is small so this weekend I have done about 6 loads, family of 4 and done 3 beds. My children are 2 and 4 and we go through multiple outfits a day.

While running round after small people folding doesn't happen. After bedtime everything gets folded and grouped by person and drawer so putting away will take minutes!

Simples!

When children are bigger I can just imagine taking clothes straight from line to drawer

Do you work from home? Or what time of day do you fold as you go?
Laundry here is often waiting in a basket to be folded.

I start the washing on a Saturday and it usually gets finished Sunday morning . All dirty laundry into big ikea bags and washed and dried according to type of clothing and temperature required. Dresses get hung on hangers and jumpers get put in the airing cupboard. I then sort and put away all clothing and change the beds on Sunday evening whilst watching something crap on the telly.

Maybe this explains the people whose clothes always desperately need ironing so they don’t look like (in their words in another thread) a ‘rag bag’.
I fold mine as they come off the line/airer. If you put them in an unfolded pile for any length of time they will all be creased.

I'm with you OP. Fold as I go. In fact one of my weird little pleasures is to stand in the garden at the end of a warm day folding the clothes off the line with the last of the sun on me. If its raining I shove them in the basket but fold straight after. Always fold out of dryer. I never need to iron.

Well right now I have a load of laundry in the tumble dryer that needs folding. It's all the kids uniform and underwear from the week, and I can't be bothered to do it 😆 I expect I will pull it all out in the morning, find everyone a set of uniform!

Same! I’d rather deal with it straight away than putting in a pile

I take it off the line or airer and fold it straight away. I fold it straight off the airer but if it's off the line I sling it over my shoulder and then fold it on the kitchen table. Although I once had a bee go down my top from slinging laundry over my shoulder so that's not a great idea.

Split the clothes into piles and then put them away in drawers/on hangers in the wardrobe.
^^

Do you fold them before putting in a drawer?? Or put in all scrunched up??

Laundry into washer

Laundry out of washer into dryer

Laundry out of dryer, folded immediately so no creases

Laundry put in drawers

I have three methods of dying; tumble, line and airer.

Regardless of which method is used, items have to be removed or taken off and put in their normal storage space such as drawers or wardrobes. Unless I sit on the floor in front of the tumble drier or bend over and cripple my back, the load is taken out and put on a surface and then folded before being put away. When things are taken off the line, I unpeg with one hand and use my other arm or hand to hold the items, they are then brought indoors and either folded, hung up and occasionally items go into the ironing basket. Stuff which has been dried on an airer is normally folded as each item comes off the airer and then put away.

If you are not folding items, what are you doing with them? Do you leave everyone’s washing tangled up together in the bottom of the tumble drier? Do you have a dumping basket for dried items and everyone wears creased clothes? Do family members not have their own clothes storage where it is normal for clothes to be hung or folded?

As for Time - takes perhaps 3 seconds to fold each item on average? So a line or load would take 1 minute in total?

I fold from line or dryer.

Haven't ironed anything for over 10 years.

You genuinely can't think of a situation where you don't have time to fold immediately? Like you've noticed on your way out the door for an appointment/bus/train that it's threatening rain so you've got time to take the washing in very quickly but no time to fold? I try to fold straight way but sometimes RL gets in the way and it has to wait for a while.

I usually pull all the clothes out of the tumble dryer and into a bag, take it upstairs where i dump it on the bed. Split the clothes into piles and then put them away in drawers/on hangers in the wardrobe.

I don't...fold or iron anything 🤷