What is folding laundry?

[Iwrote]

I've seen this on a few threads, AIBU to not know what it means as a task? People talking about great piles of laundry that need to be folded?
I just fold mine when it gets fetched from the line / airer/ tumble dryer.
If it's for drawers it gets put away, of it's for ironing it gets hung up to wait.
I've never once in my life had a huge pile of laundry that wants folded, and can't understand how people do. Do they scrunch it in a ball when it comes on dry or suchlike?

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

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.

I stand corrected there are 3 types of people.

The third is my teenage DS who does EXACTLY this 🤣

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

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 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”

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 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...

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.

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!

I am confused... everyone except the bung it in a drawer brigade are folding their washing. There is the fold it as soon as it is dry & put it away people and the save it and do it in one hit people. The only thing that is different is the point at which you do it. It doesn't save time per se as the activity is still being done it is just a matter of timetabling. You can do lots of 2-10 minute bursts or spend half an hour or hour doing it. Unless there is a special time warp when you stand by the line / dryer that means that it is faster to fold the washing than if it is sat in a basket for a day.

I will say that doing it in one shot saves time on taking multiple journeys upstairs to put it all away. You can also do the 2 second shop fold on t-shirts if you have a flat surface.

Well there's two of us, I do two washes a week. They consist of 2/3 pairs of jeans, 4/5 tops, a couple of pairs of socks and a bra. Bedding and towels every other week. If I've been to an event there might be an extra dress or dry cleaning but that's pretty much it.

I wash things when they're dirty, not when they've been worn once.

I don't iron, I fold when things are dry off the line or from the dryer so there's no need. I don't actually mind ironing, I just don't have the time. I do make sure that the washing machine/ dryer aren't turned on unless I'm going to be there to hang it up or fold it as soon as it's finished though.

What's stopping you ? 😁

https://www.5poundstuff.com/products/unisex-folding-board-red-1s?variant=42500160061598&gclid=CjwKCAjwjMiiBhA4EiwAZe6jQ2mNFnoK7AjqEC0WW7Z_oa6sbGmv45Elexcd4CRFib56Nqhe0olpLxoCItcQAvD_BwE

My butler would resign if I expected him to do laundry, that's the house maids job 😱

Oh that’s great thank you. Now I know what I can get for my birthday 😂

I love folding but I hate ironing lol
i just wish I was faster 😆

Other than listing your laundry I’m not sure what point you’re making. Pointing out that other people wash things less frequently? Yes, I should have included that in my “things I can imagine and therefore don’t start threads failing to comprehend them” list.

You might have less total laundry, but perhaps unlike the OP you can imagine that other people have more/are dirtier and therefore wash more stuff, rather than starting a thread about how you are literally unable to comprehend that other people might do a task differently to you.

The rest of us tend to wash pants, for example, and wear more than one pair of socks a week. But you can always start your own smug thread about how you fail to understand that washing pants is a thing, I guess.

Cos folding as it comes off the line our out of the dryer takes ages. So I grab it and it goes in a bit tub which I take into the lounge and fold / put into piles while I watch TV.

People who fold each item as it comes off the line - where do you put it once folded? In a basket? On an outdoor table in a pile? Or do you have seperate baskets for seperate people? That sounds like a long time standing up in the garden and walking between baskets / table / piles / house.

I like my way.

Surely it's not that difficult to understand it takes longer to fold as you take stuff off the line and people might not have time? Laundry is the stuff I quickly squeeze in between other jobs. Last night I had 2 minutes to grab 3 loads off the line before I ran out the door.

Obviously if you have time it's better to fold as you go but that's rare for me during the week.

I agree. I didn't know this was a "thing"!

Take washing out of machine, stick on airer or hang it up to dry, fold when dry and put away eventually, or just wear it from the pile

Note the lack of ironing involved. If it needs ironing, I ain't buying!

Perhaps it's because I don't own a tumble dryer? Though last time I was on holiday and we had one, I took everything out of the dryer and folded it at the same time.

I fold items as I get them out of the dryer. If I put them straight in the basket from the dryer, then have to fold them later it feels like I’ve made two tasks out of one.

Yes - but, you are 'folding laundry'.

I take it off the line, fold it (which i class as folding laundry) and then it gets put away. Sometimes i do 4 loads a day (bedding, towels and clothes) so i would say - i'm folding laundry as that is what i am doing!!!

People can’t fold things whilst standing ? 😮
If I can fold a king size duvet cover that’s come off the line standing up then surely people can manage t-shirts etc.?