Since the dawn of the industrial revolution, washing and drying clothes has become substantially easier. We’re no longer beating articles of clothing against rocks by the creek or fighting the elements to dry our clothes on lines. Modern-day machines and detergents have made the process relatively painless.
Folding seems to be the daunting endeavor that results in mountains of laundry in most homes. No one takes joy in this torturous chore. It’s as tedious and time-consuming as it was a hundred years ago. Washers and dryers have evolved but the archaic task of folding hasn’t progressed since cavemen started hoarding spare animal hides. I can see my ancient predecessors sighing heavily and wiping their protruding brow before tackling this ageless burden.
If you walked into my house, you might take one look around, notice the condition of my walls and furniture and possibly think differently of me as a person. Don’t get me wrong. My house is clean, but it’s broke in and almost never all the way picked up. You’d take note of the destruction, the toys, and chaos. One thing you won’t notice anywhere, however, is laundry.
As a mom of two mud-loving boys who play sports and a husband who works construction, we generate at least 1 to 2 loads of laundry every day of the year. Since my husband works six days a week, I do all the washing, drying, and folding. All I require of my family is that they put their dirty clothes in the laundry basket, a tall task apparently. The kids are also learning to put away their clean clothes.
Every morning, I drag the large basket of dirty clothes downstairs. If there’s enough for a load, I put it in the washer. I only have two baskets, one for clean and one for dirty. The goal is to keep both baskets empty. If they’re both full of clean clothes, I don’t start another load until everything in at least one basket is folded and put away. This is the key to staying caught up.
You’ve got to do whatever it takes to make folding less agonizing. Play music, take breaks to cry in another room, fold while you chat on the phone or watch your guilty pleasure on TV. Commit to getting it done before starting another load.
A few more laundry tips and tricks:
- I wash, dry, and put the bedding right back on the beds so I don’t have to fold any of it. I keep extra sheets and rotate every now and then. But I still haven’t mastered folding a fitted sheet, so this allows me to avoid this debasing task most of the year.
- Don’t bother starting a load if you’re not going to have time to get it in the dryer before bed. That way you’re not rewashing swampy smelling clothes. They’re better off sitting in a basket dirty and only getting washed once.
- Sort your laundry the easiest and most convenient way possible for your family. Some sort by color or delicacy of fabric. I sort by level of dirtiness. My husband’s work clothes get washed separately because I don’t want grease, mud, or diesel fuel mixed with my bras and the kids’ undies. I also don’t want to subject anything more delicate to the heavy-duty cycle. I haven’t mastered stain removal well enough for anyone in my family to own white clothing so we stick to stain disguising hues only, same as our carpet.
- If worse comes to worst, and laundry is threatening to bury you six feet under, you can bag it up and take it to the cleaners. They’ll wash, dry and fold it for you if it’s in your budget. This is honestly the best option if you have tons of ironing to do each week.
