Why is it when we have a pile of laundry waiting for us to fold, the task not only seems like it’s going to take forever, but we have to muster up all this motivation and energy to tackle folding clothes?

I sit there and my mind keeps circling around the fact that it needs to be done but I find other things to do instead of folding the clothes and putting them away. Whenever I get behind, it gets even harder to get the motivation!

 

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Laundry and folding clothes are just one of those daunting tasks that we don’t really want to do, but we have to. Because no one else is going to do it, right?!

If you feel like laundry is overwhelming to you, check out this post where I share 5 habits to help you stay on top of your laundry and your laundry routine.

Once, I’ve mustered up the energy and the motivation to fold my clothes, I have to get started right away or else I will find something else to do. It’s usually the last thing on my priority list because I would rather do ANYTHING else!

 

I usually listen to a podcast or Youtube video while I’m folding just to have something to listen to. But if I’m trying to just get through and get the job done, I won’t listen. I’ve found that I work faster when I’m completely concentrating on the one task alone.

My pile took just over 17 minutes to fold and put away. I think it was 17:31 to be exact.

Now, on to the tips!

 

Folding clothes tip #1

Once you have everything in a pile, I like to sort my piles by category and lay everything out so I know what I’m working with. Laying out shirts and pants also helps prevent them from getting wrinkled!

Categories that I use when I’m folding clothes are:

Jeans/pants/leggings

Clothes to hang

Shirts to fold

Socks

Tank tops

Underwear

Once they are sorted into their categories, I will start folding one category at a time until everything is folded and ready to put away. Except for socks. I will take the pile to the drawer where I will roll them up and put them away then.

 

Folding clothes tip #2

 

Try folding to file and not to pile. Ah! What do I mean by this?

I used to fold our clothes so that everything would lay flat. The problem with this method is that all the items are piled on top of each other and you have to dig to find the article of clothing you are looking for. This creates a huge mess in the drawer as you’re sifting through.

I started using the flipfold to help me with folding shirts. This not only makes the process so much faster, I love the fact that every shirt is the same size and they all look uniform.

Once, the shirt is folded in the flipfold, I fold it one more time in half. This allows the shirt to stand upright on its own inside the drawer.

You can also use this to fold pants!

I purchased my flipfold on HSN for $29.95 which included one original size and one junior size in pink. I don’t see that color anymore but they do have them in black, blue, green, and purple. While searching online, I found this FlipFold in aqua which is so pretty on the Container Store’s website. It’s originally 24.99 now on sale for 18.74 at the container store during their closet essentials sale.

When I put all these items away, everything is in a single layer in the drawer so I immediately see everything that I’m looking for at first glance. I don’t need to dig to find the piece of clothing I’m looking for.  This saves me a lot of time and energy!

 

Folding clothes tip #3

 

 

To make putting the items away a little faster, I have a one drawer or one section rule. Since all the clothes are folded and sorted into categories, I grab all the clothes that go into the same drawer or hanging section and put them away at the same time.

That way I don’t have to keep coming back to and re-opening the same drawer multiple times.

I also pull enough hangers at one time so everything that needs to be hung goes on the hanger at the same time as well.

 

Hopefully this has given you a little motivation to tackle your laundry! Time yourself too and see how long it takes to fold and put your clothes away!