Who Folds Their Laundry Anyways

Let’s talk about laundry efficiency.

Photo by chrissie kremer on Unsplash

Why do people have such a hard time finishing laundry? Not just the folding and putting away, but leaving wet clothes in the washer for days. Clean clothes not folded, and folded clothes not put away.

For many people it is not the “finishing” of laundry that is overwhelming. Rather it is the obstacle of starting laundry.

To begin, laundry is not a task. Task implies a singular event. Rather laundry is a project. I know this can be said for many households where laundry is done one day a week and it takes all day. It is ongoing and never ceases.

The project of doing laundry can be broken up into smaller tasks.

• collecting our laundry from the various places we (and our children, and our spouses who sometimes act like children) drop or toss them.
• remembering what special tasks (pre-treating stains, removing accessories, securing drawstrings) must be performed.
• sorting laundry by color and/or temperature (or just throwing it all in one load, who cares about colors and whites). For me this means taking all the belts off my husbands pants and removing the crayons from my sons pockets.
• washing (but the actual labor is done by the machine).
• transferring the laundry to the dryer, making sure to remove any items that must be line-dried or hung over sweater racks or otherwise given extra attention.
• drying (again, done by the machine. Usually have to start it at least twice to dry an entire load).
• removing laundry from the dryer in a timely manner so that wrinkles don’t set in. (Not one to care about wrinkles, throw it in the dyer with a damp towel and you got yourself a steamed outfit).
• folding laundry (clothing, bedding, towels, etc.) and hanging clothing (This is the devil of laundry, I now have to fold it? I prefer to put it back into a “clean basket” and pull from that for the week).
• putting it all away (this rarely happens).

You would think that these tasks would flow one to another. Wrong. We get distracted during the process of laundry. Our favorite show comes on, we get wine drunk and forget what laundry even is.

How can we be more efficient when it comes to laundry?

1. Pick days and times you will do laundry. Currently we lack timely triggers to start laundry. The laundry process can be taken in small chunks throughout the day or week. Start collecting laundry while your kids are at piano. Sort them while they are taking a bath. Fold during your favorite after dinner t.v. show. Create your own timely triggers for accomplishing the gruesome task.
2. Find ways to make laundry less unpleasant. We can relate to this. We drag our feet, constantly complaining about laundry. What a pain it is in our lives. However, it really is not that bad. Yes we know it requires a lot of steps as mentioned above, but surprisingly we can make doing laundry a relaxing task. Organize your laundry room for maximum efficiency. Everyone loves a new clothes rack, or a new set of hangers. I thrive off of getting new products to make my house better. New soap? Yes ma’am I am about to do all the laundry. Create a space where you will want to sit and do laundry.
3. Don’t feel obligated to do it all yourself. We resent that we are doing all the work! Delegate, delegate, delegate. Get your kids involved in sorting colors or collecting their clothes. Involve your partner. “You wash, I’ll dry” scenario.
4. Declutter. You cannot fold and put away your laundry if there is no space for it. It is incredibly satisfying to declutter your house. Let alone donate clothes to a thrift store or charity. The process of laundry might feel so overwhelming because you have too many clothes.
5. Find what motivates you. As mentioned above, I thrive off new products for the house. For my laundry room it can be anything from new soap, to new hangers, to a new wall painting. All of a sudden I get a “new” something and I am immediately motivated to finish any task. Your motivation can be organized closets, with your clothes by color. It could be the satisfaction that the family has plenty of clean clothes for the week.

Laundry is a project. One that can take a lot of time for people. One that many complain about. But it has to be done. So make it fun, get everyone involved. Create a space that motivates you to wash and dry those clothes. You will soon see that laundry is an easily achievable project with the right steps in place.