Wait, what? A laundry hack that changed my life?
Let me tell you something. When you have a family of five, that’s a heck of a lot of laundry. So yes, any kind of a laundry hack or fabulous Well, duh! moment that saves you either time, or money, can change your life.
Here’s the background.
I don’t like doing laundry. But, we recently remodeled our kids’ bathroom, bringing our washer and dryer upstairs next to the bathtub. And now, I’m in love with laundry. Toting heavy baskets upstairs and downstairs on one hip, with a wine glass in the other hand, is tiresome. And, you could spill your wine.
But creating an upstairs laundry isn’t the laundry hack that changed my life.
If I self-diagnose why I didn’t enjoy laundry before, it’s probably because our clothes were so wrinkly coming out of the dryer. Even if I tried getting them into the basket right away, I never seemed to instantly start folding or hanging. The laundry basket would just sit. Sometimes, for days … Tell me I’m not alone!
And let’s not even get into how the husband (on very rare occasions when I ask him to help with laundry) pulls a bunch of clothes into the basket, SQUISHES THEM DOWN to put more on top. Um, hello?!
The “Well, duh!” laundry hack moment.
I started to fold the laundry as it comes out of the dryer, straight into the clothes basket.
Well, duh!
Does everyone who owns a washer and dryer already do this, and I’m the last one to consider what an absolute laundry game changer this is?!
- No more laundry basket sitting with unfolded clothes.
- No more procrastinating because folding laundry is such a chore.
- No. More. Wrinkles.
Even better? Sometimes it works out that I’m sorting by family member as I fold and place into the basket(s). That’s double the time saved. Score, and score.
Don’t believe me that this makes a difference? Just read the comments below, from more than a hundred readers who were inspired to share their own laundry hacks.
Stocking Up
As I’m enjoying laundry again, in my new space, we also have plenty of cabinet space above our washer and dryer to hold a nice stockpile of household staples. I never like to run out of items that we use every day. I’m a bit of a control freak about having things written on the shopping list as we’re running low. “WRITE IT ON THE LIST!” I politely demand of my family
Everyone seems to have an opinion on where to get the best price on staples like paper towels, laundry detergent and even toothpaste. Super-sized discount stores, grocery stores with really good sales, wholesale clubs … there’s not one right answer. It truly depends on the week.
And one way to stock up and save is by checking Ibotta and for available coupons before doing your shopping, because you just might save on things you need to buy week after week:
In addition to having a low cost-per-use by buying larger package sizes for things like toilet paper, paper towels and dish soap, I received $10.25 cash back on my purchases with these Ibotta offers (no longer available):
Are you into organizing? Check out how I organized my medicine cabinet with Cricut Joy:
And here’s my latest DIY, How to Hang String Lights on a Deck!
I love sharing ways to spend less, so families can do more! My passions are cooking, late night TV and being amused by my witty husband and three kids.
It makes a huge difference, doesn’t it? My mom always did this. In part because she went to a laundromat and was trying to get done quickly, but also because nothing wrinkles as much. 🙂
Hi Linda! It does make a difference! That’s why it was a total “well, duh!” realization, why hadn’t I tried this before.
I have done this already, for years. Never did like the look of the clothing that comes out of the dryer and gets dumped into a basket. AND some people go to the basket, get their clothes out and put them on no matter how wrinkled they are! NO! NO! NOT GOOD!
I have been folding my laundry out of the dryer for years!! I HATE ironing! When I fold my pants for hanging, I smooth the legs and this results in a crease which makes the pants looked ironed!! Of course you don’t have to make creases! I usually just throw my towels and washcloths and socks and underwear in the basket to fold later!! That stuff never needs ironing I’m my opinion!!!
i do my laundry in basement and there no space in tiny laundry room to fold clothes
I have been the laundry master in our home since my wife went to work after our youngest daughter left the nest. I quickly recognized the problem with folding clothes after putting them into a basket from the dryer. So I began using this procedure. When the dryer has stopped, I start it in refresh mode. After 2 minutes, I remove the clothes one by one. I start with pants and then shirts that are to be put on wood hangers (no wire or plastic). Then I remove outside wearables which need folding. As only underwear and socks are left, I turn off the dryer and fold as I take them out. Tell clothes come out with little or no wrinkles so no ironing is required. I have been doing this for over 20 years and it works.
Great tip folding the groups of clothes one by one while keeping them tumbling . I’m trying this out today 😉
Been doing that for years. Glad you figured it out and are passing it on. On the Walmart stuff do you use your Walmart savings catcher account to reap more savings?
Hi Nina, yes I do use the Walmart Savings Catcher! It helps so much if I forget coupons or don’t have time to price match.
An old lady told me about this when I was first married at age 20. So now I have been doing it for 42 years!
I had always done this too because as kids we went to the laundry mat with Mom to do the laundry. AND NOW, I have a even more fabulous hack that I started when my kids were little. As a family of 6, that’s a lot of little socks. I would keep a small bowl of safety pins in each child’s room and have them pin their socks together before putting them in the dirty laundry. You can wash and dry them pinned together because the pins are stainless steel and will not rust. Then they do not get eaten by the dryer and the kids put them in their drawer with the pins still in. When they wear them, they take out the pins and put in the bowl for next time. This saved me TONS of time mating little socks.
What a fabulous idea🤗 Curious though, do the safety pins ever snag the socks?
I learned the saftey pin truck from a blind lady. But she used diaper pins, which are kind of obsolete now but I order them on line. Saved time and eliminates sorting socks. Regular safety pins can unlock and cause a problem in you washing machine and dryer
Hey, I dont use a dryer but folding wet clothes and leaving for 10 minute before hanging saves me bunch of time because I dont need to Iron my clothes. Been doing this for years and I cant imagine doing it differently 🥳
This is a huge help, but I go 1 step further, I’ve been doing this 30+years, nowadays theres alot more options, if u can stack w/d put dryer on top, if not I’ve taken 2×12′ & plywood to at least raise dryer, I’ve always had top load washers. I’ve always done this bc I was born w/1 leg 2 &1/2″ longer & wasnt corrected as a child it kills my hips but as my 2 whi thought it was dumb, girls moved out they immediately said mom how do we do that thing w/the w/d.
From Europe everything gets ironed that goes in the washer dryer so no life hack here
I fold my towels and stack.sort by size, folds in one direction on the stack, keeps linen closet organized, same with sheet sets. (I separate bathroom/bed linens in pile and kitchen separate so I further sort by room that laundry will go to, saves a lot of steps. Before having Steam refresh on my dryer, I used a damp washcloth tossed in the dryer for 5 minutes and waited nearby there is always something else that needs to be done) if I didn’t get clothes out of the dryer promptly. It is also nice to have one of those hangers with lots of clips to hang small items to air dry, and keeps items with elastic from wearing out before their time (I.E. Underwear, keep socks together. (The washer or pixies still might get one sock along the way, but I swear the dryer eat only one of a pair. I saw the dryer balls in your picture and I find they do speed of the drying process and helps keep some things from getting tangled together.
I’m not the same Connie from above, but I do the same thing. My biggest problem is leaving them in the washer. I hear the dryer stop and go on the fold, separate and hang. I do hang some wearing clothes to dry and it may look tacky but it makes them last longer.
Set a timer if you do not have a buzzer that washer is finished. Do not turn timer off until by washing machine. Set delay start if you need more time at the end. I set a delay start so finished when I get back from grocery store and walk pass the washing machine
I’ve been doing this for a while, my kids called me the washing nazi because I was so fussy, just wanted a way to make the job easier, thank you for passing on the tips, it’s comforting to know people all over the world do much the same things as I do here in Australia, I don’t have a dryer it’s a little to warm here so there isn’t the need, however I’m always looking for ideas and good products, one of which I found some years ago and you more than likely have it in the states, it takes years to get new things here, the product I’m referring to are: Colour Catchers, you put one of the pieces of fabric in each wash and they stop the colours running into each other, they are a great way to save on water, also if you are short on time and can’t sought the clothes just throw them in all together and clothes stay the colour the way you bought them.
You can go to the web site http://www.colourcatcher.com.au they are made in Ireland by a company called Steric
I buy them in my local supermarket Woolworths or Coles . When you use them over time you cannot believe the colours that come out of old garments and ones you thought were colour fast. They cost about $6.00 au for 15 sheets. Worth a try. Regards Caroline
In place of new color guard products that prevent clothes from bleeding onto each other, we use 1 cup of salt Instead. It’s always on hand and no extra cost. This is what was used before the chemical age; works every time!
also so clothes are wrinkle free after the dryer cycle, we add a 1/2 cup white vinegar into the rinse dispenser! Another old but true Tip!
I’m all for chemical-free tips – thanks for the tip about salt for keeping colors from bleeding. I’ll have to try that!
love this and going to try it soon
Wow! I’ve learned something. I didn’t realize that white vinegar would help keep clothes wrinkle free. Also would help kill any soap left in the clothes!
Thanks been looking for this for sometimes now.
Color castchers are amazing. I send to college with every laundry kit. Helps get through that very rough first semester.
I have used also. The ones I have are from “ shout”. & I believed eve say. Color catchers too. Your right throw them in & done you see the color that ran even on the sheet i’ Ve bought them just in supermarket
I also enjoyed your post. I also can’t bend over to take things out of Dryer one by one. But my solution to that is as someone said– wash smaller loads. I have a small hamper so when it is full I divide clothes into lights and darks. And wash two loads. The only other loads are white socks I wash separately when I get two weeks worth and my sheets are also,done as a separate load. Being 74 years old and only two of us I can do this small loads system. I ( unlike many of you) enjoy ironing. It is a good excuse to watch a daytime show while ironing. All sheets, pillowcases and my husbands/my shirts are all ironed. No matter how few wrinkles are present. My husband is a very neat man and always puts away his folded and ironed clothes as soon as he happens to go into the bedroom. I’m lucky in that regard.
Wish I was your next door neighbor. I could get the clothes out and you could do the ironing.
Thank you Marilyn! I think my mom secretly enjoys ironing – I remember always hearing her talk to herself while she ironed my dad’s shirts! 🙂
I find ironing great! Ironing is when you can think about all that’s going on, or listen to the radio without interruptions. I also find I can do all ironing for one member of the family at a time and get satisfaction. Love the time to myself!
If you have a wrinkled shirt or pants, put them in the dryer with a damp wash cloth for about five minutes. Wrinkles no more!
That’s your genius hack?
How else would you do it?
Hi Bonnie, I actually titled it the “well, duh” hack. Because it was one of those why-didn’t-I-think-of-this-before tips. How else would you do it? Throw the clean laundry out of the dryer into a clothes basket and it sits for a couple days, wrinkling. It’s ok that you think it’s no big deal – there are many that found it helpful. Merry Christmas!
I don’t know why I didn’t think of this either lol..I used to fold my clothes straight from the dryer at the laundry mat because I hate ironing. Plus the tall tables were really convenient and I got it done and over with. Now they get dumped in a basket and sometimes sit for days. So, I appreciate your “well, duh” hack.. And I’m sure my husband will too 😊
Thank you Fawn!
By the way have you ever thrown in tennis balls in the dryer that also helps with the wrinkles enough that I can put them in the laundry basket and take them upstairs to fold and there are not wrinkles, they also sell plastic dryer balls at BB&B.
I throw about 5 ice cubes in the dryer, put it on wrinkle free setting. The heat melts the ice cubes and the wrinkles are gone in about 5 minutes.
I’ve always folded our clothes right out of the dryer. Especially at the laundamat. I thought everybody did it this way.
Yes I have always done this because of laundry mat in younger days also. Now just to get kids to put it away. If no vinegar u can use pinesole u know the one to clean and disinfect floors. Works great.
Pine sol in the laundry? I have used white vinegar for a while, it helps keep clothes from loosing color too (helps new clothes lock in the color so it doesn’t wash out) as well as killing germs and I use it instead of softener in the rinse but I never knew it was helping to prevent wrinkles.
Pine sol the pine not lemon.. removes the toughest cigarette smoke odours… it was like night and day when we cleaned out our life long smoking moms apartment and washed all her clothes at the laundromat .. she has been smoke free for. One year 🙌🏼👍🏼❤️
Great job mom! Thx to kids for removing the smell!
Yes, I have done this, also. And, as you are folding the clothes, you put everyone’s clothes in sreperate piles. Then each child knows that his/her laundry is right here in their pile by the dryer, or you can have a basket for each family member, label their name on it, too, if you’d like, and they can come get their laundry and put it away themselves. Works great at our house. Just another tip, in case you haven’t thought about this time saving tip.
So did mine plus hang up everything as it came out. That is why so many older homes have clothes bars between cabinets over the washer and dryer. I do this as well. Easier to put away and sort.
Hi every one. Ive been folding my washing too and does save a lot of time in ironing etc… But to complement this I’d like to share another hack. Get individual baskets, not too big not too small, and label them with family names. When you fold the clothes put them in their respective backets and then each person can take their own basket and put their own daundry away, NEATLY! Cx
I actually started doing this a while when my children were in elementary school. I bring all empty hangers to the laundry area and hang clothes to put away in closet. I hang everything by outfits for my children . It helped the closet organize. It helps the children dress themselves easier. Thanks Linda
As well as folding straight from the dryer, I open the door, yank out an item to fold or hang while it’s still tumbling, close the door and restart it so the rest of the laundry keeps moving. No wrinkles! I also have a tension bar installed near the dryer so I can grab a hanger. Getting those items onto a hanger quickly helps, too.
OMG Jane, I do the same thing! Mostly for my husband’s pants. I double-hate ironing. When our washer & dryer was downstairs we had a rod above, but no space now that we’ve moved the laundry upstairs. Still pondering a hack for hangers… 😉
You could use one large heavy duty hanger on a hook and hang a few items on it. I use one in my closet to hold my tank tops. Hook the shoulders through a shower curtain ring and then on the hanger.
I have been folding my clothes as they come out of the dryer for a few years now. I had a AH HA moment about this very thing a few years ago. SOMETIMES THINGS ARE RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF US AND WE FINALLY STUMBLE ON TO SOLUTION. ABOUT NEEDING A HANGING RACK FOR LAUNDRY. IF YOU HAVE ROOM NEXT TO THE WASHER AND DRYER. PUT UP A LARGE STURDY TOWEL BAR. MY WASHER & DRYER ARE IN MY LARGE BATHROOM & THIS IS WHAT I USE FOR HANGING MY CLOTHES STRAIGHT OUT OF THE DRYER. I HATE TO IRONING ALSO.
Thank you so much for your comment, Belinda! I couldn’t agree more, sometimes things are right there in front of us and we stumble onto a solution!
My laundry room is in my bedroom. Yes I have a finished basement and I love it. Now as to your laundry is done in the bathroom use the shower curtain rod if you have one to hang the clothing there for the time being.non dry clothing do the same or use a rack. I love having the laundry in my room. I love the scent of the downy . I am currently clearing a shelving unit to put everyone’s folded clothing on. We are a family of 6.
I put an expandable tension shower rod over my washer/dryer to hang my items as I take them from the dryer. So easy to use and to organize before I distribute to individual closets.
Humm I have 2 “v” shaped pieces of wood on opposite walls in the corner and a curtin rod that I can place in those “v’s” when I doing laundry. Let’s me hang in a small area.
Hang your hangers from your shower rod. I loved your idea. I’ve been doing this for years. Thanks for posting.
If you still haven’t figured out a solution, you could hang them on the shower rod , at least until you’re done doing laundry and then move them when you switch rooms or when someone needs to shower.
I do this also.
I do this as well…fold hang in laundry room…plus getting some things out early so others dry faster. Socks I throw in a basket to sort.
That is what I do. People think I am crazy but I don’t like wrinkled clothes and this saves me from ironing!!
I love having my tension bar hanging above my washer and dryer too. I keep my hangers on it and don’t have to hunt for hangers. So easy to grab and hang clothes as they’re warm from the dryer!
If they sit too long you can throw a handful of ice in the dryer and put them on wrinkle release cycle. It takes the wrinkles out put there by sitting in the dryer.
Isn’t that a lot of bending? I’m reasonably fit and youngish but I can’t imagine bending over and sticking my head in the dryer 30 times per load! Just my opinion but I’ll keep the laundry couch?
You are too funny! I suppose I didn’t think of it as exercise, bonus!! 🙂
Me either Heidi! I have a really bad arthritic back and certainly have to be careful bending over lest I stay in that position for several days because I can’t straighten back up, lol! I use the back of my sofa to sort by family member and hang the items that go to the closets while I’m there. No bending over this way.
I have a table in my laundry room. I fold as things come out of the dryer and stack in piles according to drawers in the dressers. Then stack back in the baskets for delivery to the bedroom to be put away.
With four kids I always folded out of the dryer or even off the clothesline into the baskets I can fold towels standing up. Also I had two small baskets,one for girls and one for boys and a treat was given to see who could bring back the empty basket first. Now with grown children I sit in front of the TV and we just take the piles to the room, but Still miss my washing days even with cloth diapers. Thanks for letting me share!
I definitely need to involve my kids more, love that you turned it into a game when yours were younger!
Better yet, get rid of the laundry baskets altogether. I fold or hang clothes directly from the dryer and put them away immediately. Even if you fold them and put them in a basket, they still get wrinkled. Plus nobody ever wants to empty the basket so they just stir around and kill all your hard work! It helps to have a hanging rod in your laundry room stocked with plenty of hangers. I also hang most of our shirts so this is the best option for me. For the most part, the only stuff that gets folded and put in drawers are pants, PJs, socks and underwear.
I don’t have a laundry basket anymore.
Freedom!! 🙂
We have 4 kids, so folding laundry directly out of the dryer is the only way to go! Another time saver for me: I put the laundry in the washer sorted by person; which is pretty easy to do if each person has their own basket in their room to put their dirty clothes in. Then, when the load is done is the dryer, it all goes folded in the same basket to be returned to their room. This has also been a great way to transition teaching my kids how to do their own laundry.
I use separate laundry baskets for each person in their own room, plus smaller boxes for each person above the washer and dryer. All who can do their own laundry must. All the remaining clothes I fold directly out of the dryer and put in the personal boxes. Then the individuals have to put their own stuff away when the boxes are full. “In the drawers, not on the floors!” (Some just dress in the laundry room pulling stuff out of their personal boxes.) I also use a tension rod and hangers. So all the work for me happens in one location.
I have always folded from the dryer (except when washing at a laundrymat. There are still some things that do need to be ironed though.
I like to hang all of the clothes except for underwear, socks, lingerie and pajamas. All other clothes get hung immediately. Then I either hand the bunches of hangers off to the person the clothes belong to or just hang them in their closet if they aren’t home. No wrinkles, no ironing. Simple.
Do what works! I hang all our laundry and since the nice big bathroom is next to the laundry room I decided just to make the laundry room our closet. Clothes get hung up and put away straight out of the dryer.
Great tip. I have been doing it for years also. However now that I’m a little older I take all clothes out to a basket and fold right away. It makes for less work in my opinion. I do love doing laundry but if I can save a little time and my own sanity any hack works. I have a small closet in my laundry room next to the dryer so it’s super easy to hang all clothes that needs to be hung right out of the dryer. Then my kids come and get their clothes and take to their respective closets. Win win.
I fold out of the dryer too, have for years.
BTW…a good ap for grocery list is called OUT OF MILK. You build a master list as you use it and is very helpful especially for things you don’t use often. You have a lot of other features with it also.
Thanks for the tip about the grocery list app! I’ll have to check it out.
One thing I have learned but haven’t gotten my husband or adult son to do, is don’t put so much in the washer. If you have too many clothes in the wash they are more wrinkled coming out of the dryer as they don’t have as much room to “expand” and get rid of wrinkles. I would prefer to do one extra wash than to iron anything. Irons are for sewing only. Also did you know that if you put a dry towel in the dryer (only if you have room) the other clothes will dry faster. Towel absorbs some of the wetness from the other items allowing them to dry faster. Towel is never as wet as the things from washer, so it doesn’t take very long to dry itself.
Maybe if you spent less time blogging about nothing you would be able to get your laundry done. This was a waste of my time.
And apparently you think insulting someone’s blog post is an excellent use of your precious time. ?
Couldn’t have said it better myself, Andrea. 🙂 What I do love about this post is not the stellar, mind-blowing idea (which I said from the beginning it wasn’t), it’s the community of commenters! I’ve loved reading through each and (almost) every one of them to see what kind of system works for others.
Agreed. I don’t fold laundry out of the dryer but I’m going to try it thanks to you, plus I picked up a few other tips in the comments. Susan’s nasty one at the end was completely uncalled for. I can count the number of times I’ve commented on any blog on one hand, and I felt compelled to say something to her. How obnoxious. I wonder if she feels like every blogger should know exactly what she already does or doesn’t know, and cater just to her. Maybe she forgot to fill out her Internet Personalization Form. Ha.
Thank you.
Really?
to Susan: You are a picklepuss. Every one has to take a break now and then; and the computer is mine.
“Picklepuss”….hahahahaha…my new favorite word’
Folding clothes is a given but Ironing is in the past. Haven’t any of you ever heard of WRINKLE RELEASE? Put the clothes on, sprritz the wrinkled areas and stretch the fabric a bit and Wrinkles,are GONE.Magic! You usually can buy at the dollar store or check Pintrest and make your own!
I should look into the DIY version, nice tip! 🙂
Yes! And you can also get by with spritzing with water. I’ve never really compared them. I’m cheap and just use water. Hang up the item, spritz and shake it. Voilà.
Most likely the reason I don’t own a laundry basket to dumb dry laundry into – no one in our house has ever been able to dump clean laundry and leave it anywhere. Laundry is sorted already by our laundry baskets in the bedrooms as we bought from either Sam’s Club (least expensive) or Container Store the 3 compartment on wheel sorters for laundry (whites/lights, dark, towels and then my husband has a hanging bag on the back of the walk in closet door for the dry cleaning. When clean laundry is ready in the dryer it comes out while still warm and is folded and put away but my true confession is about 15 years ago almost everything is on hangers so it is so simple to put clothes away. Once the children were teenagers they are/where told to get their laundry from dryer and put it away also – if I cleaned and put in the dryer they can get out and put away. Also here is a real MONEY SAVER: I only use 1/2 cup baking soda, 1/2 cup oxi clean and 1 cup of white vinegar in my wash and for clothes, blankets and sheets fabric softener and/or the new fabric boosters that you put a cap full in the wash. TOWELS – Never any fabric softener but a 2nd rinse and they are so soft and last and no color fading. Nothing needed in dryer and my clothes last forever and are really clean and smell great!
I live in a small apartment with my washer and dryer in my bathroom. My dryer sits on top op the washer with some kind of drawer shelf in between. Everybody told me buying that was an unnecessary luxury but it is the most underrated thing! It gives me a place to fold my laundry when I pull it right out of the dryer! If you’re in a situation like me, it is definitely worth looking into it!!
I hate laundry. I hate it. I hate it. Laundry for seven sucks. I started making my three older boys do their own. If they are smart enough to operate tablets, x-boxes and smart phones, they are smart enough to operate a washer and dryer. If they want wrinkly clothes, they can have them! Mine stay nice and neat! 🙂
So it seems that many commenters already do this…. so I wanted to let you know that I never thought about this before… so thank you for mentioning! Even if you just help me, I appreciate your suggestion! 🙂 Have a great day.
That is so sweet of you, Alesha! Have a great weekend!
I’ve always strived to do it this way. Sometimes I’m too crunched for time and I can’t fold/hang the load before I need to leave the house. When that happens, I yank all the stuff that shouldn’t have wrinkles out of the dryer and lay each one flat in a pile on top of the washer. All the other stuff like socks and towels stays in the dryer. When I get back, I fold/hang the stuff I laid flat earlier, and it’s not all wrinkled from sitting in the dryer.
I have been doing this for a while, however, sometimes I don’t have time. I have a No Iron trick that I use. I hang the clothes on a hanger that I’m wearing the next day, for pants: use a hanger that clips the waist, I use a spray bottle with only water, spray clothes then use fingers to pull the wrinkles out and stretch a little, works great for clothes that tend to shrink slightly. I hang on a hook off the door or I have a clothes line in my laundry that I hang on. Adding fabric softener can work but only if you use it up in a few days, it tends to go rancid. I rarely iron! This forces me to get my clothes ready for the next day the night before, so I’m not spending time in the morning picking out clothes.
My “well duh!” moment was after talking to a friend about one of her friends systems (she has 5 kids). Each kid is color coded from underwear and socks to cups and laundry baskets. With onky 2 kids, myself, I felt color coding wasn’t necessary, especially since we have a boy and a girl, but the baskets…now we were on to something! I decided each one of us gets our own basket with our names on them and the kids got to color/decorate theirs. I keep all the laundry sorted by person and do laundry by person. My daughter, who is 6 and my husband are responsible for putting their own clothes away. Their dirty laundry doesn’t get washed until the clean stuff is put away and the dirty stuff in their basket in the closet. My son is a year and a half, so I put his, mine and his cloth diapers away myself. I also reward myself with tv. Our laundry is in the basement, so I get tv time while I’m folding! So far it’s worked great for me! Plus, I picked 2 laundry days a week, so I don’t feel like thats the only thing I’m doing all week long. Maybe not a system that works for everyone, but I absolutely love it!
Wow that is quite the organized friend, color coding even underwear LOL! I supposed you’d have to be with 5 kiddos! 🙂
We had to redo the basement due to a flood and installed 3 open cabinets with pull out closer rod next to the dryer. I have 3 boys 2 1/2 years apart. 1 closet is for pants, 1 for short sleeved shirts and 1 for long sleeved shirts. Above the pull out closet are 3 sheves ea. For shorts, undershirts, boxers, breifs, sweatshirts, sweaters, etc. Across from the washer&dryer is a folding counter atop of old kitchen cupboards that hold laundry soap, etc. Two baskets that hold white or black socks. They match their own socks, take their own clothes to their own rooms if they want but usually they get dressed and undressed right in the laundry room! No more arguments anout one having the other ones clothes in their closet or that i gave their favorite shirt to their brother. Its the one great thing that came out of a flooded basement! It was the contractors idea of the pullout closets and shelves in the laundry room!
I feel your pain … our basement also flooded when we first moved here, on Easter morning no less!
Hi out there to all of you who commented about laundry, etc.
I have folded laundry right out of the dryer for many years – approximately 30+ from my quick count!! I find that doing so makes the wrinkles never happen and makes me feel good about completing the job just right…. I also do a special process on my personal laundry and delicates that I wear for work and other important events by only drying them slightly which allows some of the wettness or moisture to remain in the item and take a warm to hot iron and press that particular item(s) and hang it on a hanger(s) right away after pressing them so they are pristine to wear right out of the closet. I also use a fabric finish on my dressy button up shirts and pencil legged pants. This really works well for me because I wear a lot of cottons and linens as well as flowy type shirts and blouses that look great after a quick hot iron pressing. My adult daughter owns a hand held upright steamer that she uses on all her clothes which really seems to be great to get the wrinkles out of her delicates and dressy work clothes very quickly & nicely, yet the steamer doesn’t give the nice crisp seam lines in the sleeves or creases in the pant legs that I prefer or like!! I sure hope this will inspire others to to laundry with a renewed sense of joy!
Really, secretly “I DO” enjoy doing my laundry so that makes me probably pretty unusual !!! It just thrills me to go to my closet, when in a hurry to dress, and have many nicely pressed items to choose from of already ironed clothing and the ability to put together and choose clean freshl ready outfits to start my day with ease and comfort. It is all taken care of in advance because of a little previous care and effort.
Many happy laundry & homemaking days for all of you…..
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment, Jay Jay! And, I would love to own an upright steamer. Last time I used one was when I worked in a clothing store back in college!
I finally had my aha moment when I realized if I tried to deal with laundry anywhere but their final destination room I would fail to put them away…so now I empty the warm laundry from the dryer…take the clothes right to the room it belongs in…dump it on the bed (I sort laundry by person)…give each warm piece a flick/shake and fold/hang and put away immediately…because I do this while the clothes are still warm…no wrinkles!!!…and no baskets of clean laundry to trip over ?
Having been a laundromat lady for a few years until we paid a fortune to have our appliances hooked up (we had to run an extra gas line, electrical lines, etc) , I forced myself to fold and/or hang immediately. For the last three years (thankfully) we have our appliances right in our home (no more hauling dirty clothes there and clean clothes back). The laundromat experience created a habit for me that I haven’t changed. Formerly, I would toss things into the laundry basket and then after dinner, dishwasher, kids baths, etc. I’d fold and hang while watching an hour of TV before bed. It’s true that many things would require a quick touch up with an iron to remove wrinkles, but that created just another job for Saturday afternoon. It’s so much better this way. I’ve even developed the habit of taking each load as its folded and hung to the appropriate room for it’s owner to hang or put away. In truth, we don’t even need the laundry basket anymore, our hampers are on wheels, so that solves that problem! Friends of ours went a step ahead with a laundry chute right in their upstairs hallway, but they still have to haul the clean clothes back upstairs.
Have twin girls and although they are fraternal they where each other’s clothes so I cannot separate… They are 14 and going to college in four years so they need to learn. I do the clothes but they have to put away. Soon they will need to learn to actually do laundry and cook. They are so involved in sports, Church and AP classes, i try to help as much as i can. Now, I do put dh and mine away. Lol.
When my husband brought home front loading machines, I found as I got older, folding laundry was becoming a back pain. I took the small office typing chair into the laundry room and sit as the clothes move from washer to dryer to laundry basket. No more bending to peer inside. It is also handy for rummaging through the shelves in my upright freezer.
I read this entire article and I still don’t see what the solution is to what makes doing laundry easier and faster. All I see is items you bought like bathroom tissue and paper towels and different items….. I’m I missing something?
Hi Lisa, thanks for your comment! The sponsored information is at the bottom which you mention. My “well, duh” tip that never occurred to me until recently is folding the clothes as they come out of the dryer. It saves time because I don’t have to iron, and saves me the frustration of laundry sitting in a basket, wrinkling, because I was too busy (or lazy) to fold it. Totally fine if it doesn’t resonate with you! I’m loving reading each and every comment, everyone’s sharing what works for them.
Want to save even more time…each child has their own dirties basket in there room. I pull out the whites (not usually very many so a week of the whole families whites equal a load) and through each child’s dirties in one load. NO MORE SORTING!!! I even have separate baskets for my husband and I. Whites, towels and sheets are 3 more loads and because our washer and dryer are the largest no commercial ones you can buy, I am down to 8 loads a week for a family of 5 with 3 teenagers! P.S. basketball and Lacrosee seasons add an extra small load or 2. I don’t want that funk waiting all week to get washed. Yuck!!!
Seems like you are on a different page. This blog was about folding clothes right out of the dryer. I saw no mention of paper towels or TP.
I’m a mommy of four, five when you count the hubs, and I’m “hacking” my life right now. Laundry is one of those things that plagues my family as well and so here is my new idea (forgive me if everyone else already knows and does this): each person gets a day of the week for their laundry. Im lucky to have the newer model of machines that only uses the amount of water it needs which is good for the smaller loads. Having everyone have their own day allows me to avoid sorting- which is one which leads to my demise. So, when it’s Jaelyn’s day, her clothes go from her room right back to her room- NO SORTING!
I’ll see how this goes but folding into the basket is now part of that plan!
Annie
Don’t you sort by color or heavy soil and delicates? When my 4 children were little, I could do a load of jeans, a load of pink and red clothes, a load of white, a load of yellow and a load of blue. (Green went in with blue).
I think she means she doesn’t have to sort by child, because each child’s laundry is done on her or his own day, not necessarily that she doesn’t further sort by colors. I can get by with lights in one load, darks in another, and I don’t have to separate colors (too much at least).
I love laundry. It is a “production / labour job”, although under valued by most.
Look at ways to be productive, create a schedule & a work station – envision your own business (& your ceo) lol
Be thrifty & precise. Design your space like a business that is valuable & in demand.
Do laundry daily (best hours where I live after 7pm).
Have ONLY what you need )ahm no baskets (those with children have volunteers that might be able to get school hours in for graduation if they need them)
Seperate your colours and garments- wash /soak like wise together.
Do not over indulge in clothing ( or be a laundry shopper aka because its easier to buy new)
If you need to have a pail like grandma did to soak whites- easy on chemicals, use old fashioned stain remover remedies.
Build a platform to raise machines so you can save your spine for old age. Fold the clothes like you discovered asap out of dryer on to table close by & waist high.
Stack “customers” laundry on table/
Call volunteer/customer to pick up their wash and fold laundry.
Get a Demi-john or see through large bottle collect money from pockets.
Treat employees & volunteers randomly from donated funds ( like a casino win 😉
Yes!!! If you leave $100 in your clothes because you failed to check them, you have donated your funds.
Because you are doing laundry daily in the evening & having “customers/volunteers ( kids, husband etc) carry their stuff to you – clothes & towels etc you dont need to waste $ on baskets.
Have a linen closet/area in the laundry room ( 2 sheet sets per bed, guest pillows & towels)
Weekends are for all whites from everyone & that have been soaked
Also, for making beds with fresh crisp sheets for sunday night sleep
Have lavender spray ( do not cheat and use in dryer sheets) if not allergic for those if your into that sorta thing.
Make dryer mice- look them up, works like dry towel in the dryer & reuseable.
Dawn remedies work, great grandma’s work, hang on line sunshine works & is great for linens. Spend $ on good linens (highest thread count you can afford, buy white linen and bedding, accent with accents- this is why hotels look & feel so awesome ;).
*
Oh yes and since it will become effortless you will have more free time.
Side note; dishes go directly in dishwasher as you no longer are using them. This includes as you cook before you sit at a table to enjoy your family time and those volunteer customers clear the table like grandma, Mom and you do – after everyone has finished dinner “WE” bring our plates scrape & place in dishwasher- turn it on ( even if its highest hydro time) you bought it because it is energy efficient, use it. Unload- before bed while you set the table for this thing called breakfast & the love you have for the most important people in your life- your family & guests/friends 🙂
It is possible, you must be the ceo of your life, house/business and cherish moments. So endulge & create 🙂 women unite hahaha!
I wear an uniform to work and have lounge wear for home (sorry marie kondo but it works for me). My uniforms and lounge wear are worn all day long so they go into hampers. When I’m putting the laundry away I make sure everything is hung up right side out. My regular going out or shopping clothes are usually only worn for a couple hours. If they appear and smell clean when I get home I hang them back up in the closet inside out. I know that the inside out items have been worn once already. The next time I wear them I throw them in the hamper when I get home. This saves me a tremendous amount of time and money. Another benefit is it helps me not repeat outfits too often. I was like why am I throwing this in the hamper when I literally only wore it for a 30min shopping run.
Oh, I envy people who are so organized. I have never been, and at age 74 probably never will be. Did you know, though, that Sunshine actually kills germs. My Mom would dry the grandkids diapers on the line and my Sis-in-law would get so mad because the diapers weren’t as soft as from the dryer, but my nieces and nephews diaper rash cleared up fast! You can hang on line and then toss on air or fluff setting to soften. I love, love, love the smell of air dried sheets and pillowcases.
I live in New Zealand & very rarely use the dryer. Like you Susan I was bought up to hang dry the washing outside in the sun & wind.
Oh my gosh! I thought my husband was the only one who smashed everything down in the basket! Because piling clothes into a basked is OBVIOUSLY the hard part here.
LOL! Twins separated at birth?! 😉
lol, I did not know this was a hack. I’ve been folding my clothes once they come out of the dryer since grade school.
We have five kids, so I get laundry hacks being important.
Laundry pro tip:
Have two hampers per person – one for lights, one for darks.
When the hamper is full, wash it.
NO. MORE. SORTING!
Fold into laundry basket, deliver to bedroom of correct person or leave on dryer for them to retrieve.
I shove load after load in the same basket, then I toss the basket in my closet and shut the door. I just give those yoga pants a good snap in the morning. No wrinkles! Huge time saver!
my spirit animal…
I try to fold as soon as the dryer beeps. But sometimes I forget or I’m busy and can’t get to the dryer. I found that if I wet a washcloth, throw it into the dryer with the dried/wrinkled clothes and put the dryer cycle on again, it creates the steam and de-wrinkles the clothes! =)
Checkout21 is a good alternative to Ibotta. And growing up, mom insisted we fold clothes straight out of the dryer, and kept hangers in the laundry room for stuff to be hung up.
I’ve always folded my clothes as I take them out…..and things that get hung get put right on a hanger and onto a rolling hanging clothes rack. It makes me crazy that I can’t get my wife to do it….the clothes are unwearable any other way…….( I only iron when I really have to)…
My washer and dryer are right off my kitchen. I take it from the dryer to our dining table and fold it. I sort it by where everyone sits. You want to eat supper, you gotta put away the laundry. I put hanging clothes on hangers, then drape over the appropriate chair.
Love this idea. Don’t you hate the commercial where the teenager dyes her hair purple, leaves a mess in the sink, then MOM has to clean it up! I’d buy the product if they showed the teenager cleaning it up! ([So easy even a teen can use it!) I should have been on Madison Ave.)
I was taught this hack when I learned to do laundry. It does make getting the task done easier. Love the idea of the sorter hampers in each bedroom….of course I’d have to get the kids to put their clothes in a hamper rather than on the floor to work!!!
If it is something i plan on hanging i lay it out on top of the dryer, the heat from the dryer takes any remaining wrinkles, My business shirts even my t-shirts come out crisp. Then when im done i fold it over and carry the stack to whichever closet it goes to.
Great tip thanks Amanda!
I do the same thing! Directly out of the machine and either folded or ready to hang! This made me think of a couple of other hacks that made my laundry life so much better: Firstly – matching socks is over rated, I just buy all the same kind now and then I don’t have to match them. Secondly – I figured out there was SO much more I could hang if I organized and rearranged my closet (even my nice jeans!) The only thing I fold now are my yoga pants and my “working the yard” jeans, saved myself a ton of time!
I do similar, but do kids laundry on one day and then mine/husband another day. Since we have 2 boys and they share a room I’m only going into one closet which helps, get things put away.
I got this tip from “Flylady” to fold and hang right away. I have my laundry basket to fold what is needed straight from the dryer, My hangers are wood for shirts/jackets but fat plastic ones for pants and then there is no danger of a crease at the knees. i also have a spray bottle of warm water so as I hang shirts or whatever that may have a very small wrinkle in them, I spray it right way, pull/straighten the fabric to make sure all the pockets and plackets and hem is even and neat and hang for a bit before taking to the closet. Makes all this stuff fun no matter how busy you are.
We built a custom home three years ago. We built the master closet big enough to have the washer and dryer in it, and a stack of 5 shelves that each hold a labeled laundry basket. When we take off dirty clothes we put them in the appropriate laundry basket, so laundry is already sorted when I’m ready to do a load. Then I take the clothes out of the dryer and hang them up or fold and put in a drawer or on a shelf in the closet. Laundry is finished in a snap! It’s been the best thing we did when we built our home.
That’s awesome to have a space large enough for a laundry basket on every shelf!
As a working mother, I trained all three of my children to come to the dryer when it dings. Then all four of us would fold clothes straight from the dryer. Even a two year can match socks. All three are now adults and two out of three fold straight from the dryer.
I do my laundry at a laundrymat. I bringer ample Ikea clothes hangers (the really cheap, yet durable flat ones, they take up less space on my arm and hands when carrying them out) and hang everything immediately, leaving only undergarments and towels to be folded. I then hang them from the convenient handles above the door windows.
Also, for sake of convenience, if you have wifi in your home and enjoy Amazon shopping. They have nifty buttons that you can order for $5 a piece (with $5 off first purchase, if I recall correctly) that allow you to push the button to reorder household essentials like laundry soaps and stuff. No need for a list. Just press a button when low on inventory.
I put my knit shirts and pants/Capris in the dryer f or about 10 minutes and then shake out and hang to dry. I have found my clothes last longer a look nicer. I got the idea from a t-shirt salesman.
Sometimes I can’t get to the dryer to fold until well after the clothes have cooled off in a wrinkled clump inside. My “refresh” hack is to throw two ice cubes into the dryer and turn it on. It creates steam, which helps get the wrinkles back out, and when I can’t hear the clanging anymore, I know they have melted and that its time to fold.
Yes, ice or a wet towel work well. I like that with the ice you can hear when the ice is gone. I thought when those steamer washers or dryers (whatever they were) came out that that was silly. Why not just use something damp to freshen up your clothes?
I have always folded out of the dryer….I never understood why people would pack unfolded clothes, towels, or whatever in a basket…but I analyze cleaning more than most since I am a bit OCD…lol.
This laundry hack doesn’t work for me. Me washer and dryer are in the garage. It’s either too hot or too cold!
I have used my clothes line for years in a similar fashion. I hang my clothes out (saves $ on the electric bill) & fold them as I am taking them off the clothes line (works great for matching socks!). If it is something to hang in the closet, I take my hangers with me & sort by family member. Once I’m inside, they get hung on their bedroom doors to be hung up in their closets.
To add my experience, (im 70), you dont need to buy some chemical spray! Just use your basic dollar store spray mister on wrinkles.lay the item on the flat surface and spray. Use hand heat to smooth. Then hang.
Btw, train all the herd to put hanger in the laundry basket when they pull something out!
No hanger gathering needed! t
I pull all my clothes out of the dryer loosely then take them into another room to fold immediately or hand up. this is the only reason I bought a dryer when I was ill and couldn’t stand for long to do my ironing. I still have to iron some things but not much. It seems strange that not everyone knows this, I’m glad you realised. A boy I used to work with didn’t do it and all his clothes were wrinkled, he didn’t care lol.
I do my laundry by taking each piece out as the dryer stops laying it flat on dryer door or top of washer then either fold item or put on hanger this way there are no wrinkles Works good
Because I am conscious of dirty clothes germs, I prefer to line a tall, round hamper with a kitchen trash bag. Then, when dirty clothes are removed, I can reuse trash bag for kitchen trash. I do not want to put clean laundry back into a dirty bag or hamper. I can reline hamper with a new, clean bag & put any clean clothes that are not put onto hangers into the hamper as it goes back into the bedroom. This also applies for when I used to go to the laundromat. I would take dirty clothes there in trash bags, then bring clean trash bags to put the clean clothes in to take home with me.
I use wool dryer balls. They fluff your clothes, reduce static, wrinkles and drying time. You need to use at least 3 (I use 5). Check out Pinterest on how to make your own. I use lavender essential oil on them and my laundry comes out soft and smells great. No more need for fabric softener! Towels come out more absorbent, too. Wool dryer balls also seem to remove more lint from your clothing.
I hate laundry! ! But if I could get the folding out of the dryer habit going, it might not be so bad. Fact is, right now there are a few piles of clean laundry in my bedroom. The way we get the wrinkles out is to get a wash cloth wet and put it and the wrinkled items we want to wear in the dryer for about 10 minutes.
That is probably making our utility bill higher!
Hubby and I are bit disabled and our laundry area is in the hallway. There is no where to put the laundry once it’s hung up or folded.
Anyway, thanks for your AH HA moment. I’m going to keep trying to figure something out.
I didn’t get through all of the comments but I’ll tell you…This is one of those things I aspire to do! i do well for a week or two, then we need that shirt washed at 10 p.m. and i just dump the clothes in a basket to get it in the dryer…then it snowballs from there. I always thought you were supposed to fold from the dryer. I thought my laundry baskets were for dirty laundry or going out to the line and I was being awnry by using them for clean clothes out of the dryer. Who knew I was being hard on myself for being just like everyone else!
Why waste time folding clothes just so you can wear them wrinkled or have to iron them?. All folded clothes are wrinkled, period. Hanging clothes is much faster than folding and there are NO wrinkles. Everything goes on a hanger except underwear. Shorts even go on a pants hanger. It’s a matter of basic simple logic!
I have tried this too 🙂 with shirts and pants. bye bye wrinkles LOL
It’s a matter of basic simple logic IF you have enough closet space to hold everything without crowding. From personal experience, I can assure you that clothing on hangers in a too-full closet will be totally wrinkled.
We have 4 kids so we have a lot of laundry. The pantry is pretty big so we have 4 baskets for sorted clothing, darks, reds, lights and whites. I hang all of my shirts because I hate pilling and they seem to last much longer that way. I also have shelving that holds metal baskets. We have 1 for each person. So as I fold, I put each person’s clothing in their own basket. They have been responsible for putting away their own laundry since they were pretty young. And they have to put in their dirty laundry each day, no clothes hampers anywhere in the house. Works for us.
Hello, I am one of those who leaves her laundry in the basket :(, but I will try your tip and fold everything as it comes out. I think its pretty helpful also sorting right away. I have a family of 4 and we do have 1 basket each. thank you for the idea
I purchased a special board that fits perfectly on top of my Whirlpool Duet w/d. It’s the perfect place to fold clothes and stack them according to owner. Other items that don’t require fast folding, like towels or underwear I put them in the basket and fold them while watching TV.
I realized years ago with boys whites are impossible. I only buy colored clothes to include socks and underwear. Then each family member has their own basket. No more sorting colors, wash, dry and fold into their basket and then quick and easy to put away.
I have always folded and hung my laundry as it came out of the dryer, also sorting as I go, I did that for 20 years at least. Then I moved to a new house and had young children. My laundry is in the basement and we have not upgraded the laundry room yet, so it’s kind of a hole, even though the rest of the basement is finished. So I don’t really like to hang out there at all, and I don’t like to leave kids unattended upstairs for any length of time while I’m down there folding. So now after all these years I’ve discovered the joy of sitting here in my comfy chair and folding laundry while having a cup of coffee or an iced tea and catching up on my TV shows.
I don’t have a lot of problem with wrinkles by having a cool down cycle on the dryer, placing them loosely in the basket, and anything that should hang be laid across the top for the quick upstairs and directly to hangers. In the event that something does have wrinkles when we pull it out of the drawer to put on, I just lightly spray it with plain water in a water bottle and then give it a good shake and smooth the fabric with my hands. This works 95% of the time for our wash and wear clothes, and then I only occasionally need to press something, either because it’s a fabric that easily wrinkles, or because I want the clothes crisp and smooth for important events.
I had a friend who had smelly laundry smell because he never fully dried and put his clothes away properly.I finally had to tell him about it.I am lucky that I put a wheeled hanging unit in my laundry room.Everything is hung till dry on hangers except socks and underwear.The next day, I put anything slightly wrinkled in my dryer with a damp microfiber cloth for fifteen minutes.Saves money and wear onclothes!
It does help eliminate wrinkles! I, too, only dry towels, sox and undies till dry in the dryer. Everything else get 10 minutes to release their spin cycle wrinkles and then hung on hangers.
It definitely helps clothes stay new looking! It also help inexpensive (cheap) clothes keep their shape and color!
This is the FIRST thing I learned in Laundry 101. I was terrible at laundry until I got married. My husband taught me that pulling them out of the dryer and folding/hanging IMMEDIATELY is a MUST! If you don’t have time to file and put away, at least give them a good shake and lie flat until you can get back to it.
Not folding your laundry as it came out of the dryer was sin #2 with my Mama! #1 was not sorting darks, colors and whites!
When I have washed a load of my HH’s dress shirts (on permanent press cycle, of course), I turn the heat DOWN a notch to prevent baking wrinkles in, if I don’t catch them before the load is down. I will grab his shirt one at a time and hang them up while the load continues to tumble. This way the shirts don’t need ironing. I hate wrinkles.
I’ve been doing this since before I married and we have just celebrated our 53rd anniversary. I also fold the clothes and put them in the basket by the room they’ll end up in so pre-sorting really helps. I do this to be more organized and save time. As a retired teacher of 41 years I learned long ago, every minute counts and organization pays off…both at home and at school!
I’ve been doing this for a couple of years and it definitely improves how laundry gets done. I specifically like the structure that is in place, there is only one load to fold at a time and it motivates me to fold it because I know if I don’t all laundry is at a standstill. If only I’d thought to blog about it.
Same, absolutely same! And I had to iron, clothes were so missed. When I needed to get some time for myself, the only thing I saw I could skip was ironing. So I had to fold as soon clothes were dry and I got a lot of time. Thanks now I know I was not the only one who did like that 🙂
Take it one more step further-get a basket for each person in your family. Fold and then deliver to their rooms for them to put away! BAM! Easy peasy!!
One more thing. Get sock clips. You can assign a color to each family member. Each person puts the clips on the socks when they take them off. Run the socks through washer and dryer, put away, repeat.
We keep a jar of clips on our dressers – where we take our socks out of the drawer and remove the clips. You might need another jar where you take your socks off. You never have to pair socks again. You never lose a sock. It’s great. And if you have a kid who’s learning to dress themselves, clip tops and bottoms together, too.
Pajama tops and bottoms. Anything that needs to stay together. Here’s a link to the ones we use.
https://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Sock-Clip-Original-Assorted/dp/B00V43FFP2/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_201_tr_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=9HXKECGHBXJ8QDTW1J0C
I think you’ll love them. We have enjoyed NOT pairing socks for many years.
Is there a reason why no one uses a clothesline? Or am I just spoilt being from Sunny Queensland Australia. We are a family of 6 and I put the majority of my clothes/sheets/towels on the clothesline. I then fold and sort my clothes as I take them off to put in the baskets. I only iron those that need ironing which isn’t much. Only use the dryer in inclement weather and for the bath towels.
Believe it or not in many neighborhoods in the U.S. if they have an association, some do not allow clotheslines! At our house we have too many trees – I’d be afraid of bird poo on my freshly washed laundry if I used a clothesline!
I take clothes directly out of dryer and fold immediately. Each person in the house has their own color basket, and hangers
Once a few loads are finished, usually four + everyone is required to take their basket and hangers a put them away before the end of the day. They will put them away and be agreeable if you don’t make them do it right that minute.Mom is white dad is black boy child blue girl child grey. Cheap plastic hangers from wallmart, and cheap plastic baskets also from Walmart. Keep everything organized and no one person is stuck with all the work 👍
I am just now reading your comments
Love the bar for hangers and color coated baskets . I always fold all right out of the dryer also. Then I got hurt so all had to come out of dryer together. Hate folding on the table as sometimes they remain for a day or two.
We had remodeled a few years ago and we saved must to recycle later for future bright ideas. When ask my husband said we did have a door in our stock pile. So I got him to mount it horizontal on the wall with hinges. (He kept shaking his head like I had lost mine). We put on two dog chains (one on either end) and attached each to the wall. With a small hook and latch on the wall held the door flat against it. Husband reminded me it went no where. True. But when I let it down I had a large table for folding my laundry on. I can even hang hangers off the edge. . When not needed it folds flat against the wall. 😀
I had to read your blog 3 times to get to the ‘tip’ I was so enthusiastically seekin… lol 😆 only to find out what you were on about. Well duh, been doing this forever. Also when taking things off the washline.
LOL! If you see some of the comments, many have never thought of it which is why I wanted to share! That’s the “well duh!” 🙂
I do this but without the laundry basket. We have a chest freezer next to our washer and dryer so I pull the clothes out, fold them, put them into piles by person and then after I’m done I have everyone come get their piles or if they aren’t home, I put their piles in their rooms. It is so nice! I also have a rod (wooden dowel) above the freezer to hang clothes instead of folding them or even when they come out of the washer.
i need to employ this trick for my own clothes. My husband won’t let me wash or dry his because he insists that I’m shrinking his clothes [lol I don’t have the heart to tell him the truth]. I love the commenters tips about sorting by child—-this will make my newly found hack easier…. As their clothes come out of the laundry (albeit in baskets) instead of putting away I immediately make outfits for them. Fold pants lengthwise, fold matching shirt length wise and lay on top. Put matching socks together with underwear and tightly roll this stack all the way up so it can be easily handled and not fall apart. I’ve not had wrinkling issues with rolling them but we wear pretty casual clothes like leggings and shirts) I store these in one of those horizontal closet organizers that Velcro to the bar (no fancy closeting systems here), and then we are able to just pull out an entire set of clothes for school….no more trying to pair things up and allows them to “pick” out their clothes.
My husband appreciates this system a ton due to the ease…sometimes dad can’t color match all that well.
I also switched my kiddos to color coordinating socks to help with the matching dilemma. It’s hard to find all of one color sock, though! Aside from white and black, socks seem to come in a pack of multi color which drives me crazy.
A laundry tip that really changed my life…..put a large mesh laundry bag for each person (different colors) on their door, closet, or a command hanger near their hamper. All socks and underwear for that child goes in their mesh bag. When it comes out of the dryer they put them away! I’m telling you this is life changing! And time saving!
“Well Duh!” Isn’t the phrase I’d use lol. I’m shocked that this isn’t normal for people to do!
In my household kids start to do laundry at age 5 starting with things like towels…. by age 12 doing whites and using bleach. They are in charge of their own clothes, because some day I want them to move out. My youngest is now 17. So for my own clothes I personally take them out of the dryer shake them out and lay them over the dryer door. Then carry them upstairs hang or fold and put away.
Don’t use a tumble dryer ever. It uses so much precious energy. Just hang your washing inside if it’s cold/wet outside. It’ll dry in a day. Think if our planet!
I hang dry probably 90% of my own clothes, but with 5 family members we’d run out of room if we hung everyone’s! 🙂
With 4 kids at home I had 4 baskets , a step up from shoe box size, with their names on them.
As I folded their underwear,socks, and PJs I would put them in their own basket.
When they got home from they put them away and returned the baskets all stacked neatly for the next laundry day.
Not only do I do this but I have a different basket per person in the family and fold right into each persons basket (it all does not fit in one basket anyway). My laundry is still downstairs but this way each person can go down and bring up their own clean and folded laundry.
I need to do this too – different basket for each person. My 14 and 15 year olds do their own laundry now, and half the time they keep the basket in their room which doesn’t work at all! LOL 🙂 Thanks for your comment.
It has always been my practice to fold laundry as it came out of the dryer, but when there isn’t enough time, I drape the shirts over the side of hamper and at least fold the pants and who cares if my socks are wrinkled!
Having 3 sons and none of their clothes bled color or were delicate fabrics, coupled with having gotten tired of sorting socks, underwear, etc., I started doing each of our clothes separately so when it came out of the dryer it all belonged to one person and no sorting! Then, when they each turned 13 they were responsible to do their own laundry and I just had to worry about my own. 😀
My favorite time saver for laundry for a family of 6 is presorting. All dirty laundry goes into presorted hampers. Hot Whites,Cold Whites, Darks, Hot Darks, Towels, Cold Colors. All the hampers are labeled with short explanations on them for people unsure which hamper to use. Are there mistakes ? Yes, sometimes but for the most part it works. The natural consequence is someone’s white shirt shrunk. Believe me that won’t happen twice ! It’s even good for little ones learning their colors. It’s not a perfect system but nothing is.
Take the separate hampers for different colors of dirty clothes a little farther. On the front of each hamper put a sign with the name AND also all the colors that belong in that hamper. Example: name of the hamper “Lights” and paint chips or fabric samples of every color that should be in the hamper. For me this would include pink, yellow, light gray, light blue, etc. I have 4 hampers for different color clothes plus a separate one for towels.
Another thing that helped me was putting my hampers on wheels. I did this due to injuring my dominant shoulder. No more carrying heavy hampers!
These are all great ideas, time saving and organizd. But remember my mother heating water on a wood stove and carrying it to the washer in the back porch. with 6 kids to wash for, and hang cloths on the clothsline outside., heating irons on the wood stove even on a hot blistering day. while today we have washers and dryers inside. God bless our mothers. Today as I take cloths from the dryer, into the basket, into the bedroom and fold them on the bed, in the bedroom where most of the cloths go . towels into the onsuite, and/or into the main bath. Cloths hung in the closet. Folded things into the dressers.
My solution to this is the way I sort my laundry. All shirts and pants (and my husbands golf shorts bc wrinkle city) get washed together. Then all socks, underwear, PJs, etc. get washed together. That way I know when I put the shirt/pant load in the dryer, it has to be pulled out as soon as it’s done. Then as I’m pulling them out, I lay them over the dryer door so they don’t get wrinkled in the basket. The other load I know can sit in the dryer or basket if they need to (although I usually fold them right away.) Side note: I don’t separate by color because I wash everything on cold. I’ve never had an issue with anything bleeding on anything else. Also, my daughters (age 9 & 10) have washed their own clothes for the last two years. This was a HUGE time saver for me.
I’ve been folding my clothes out of the dryer since I was 9. What I do is:
Fold pants and shorts straight into the basket
I hang the shirts over the dryer door
Socks are paired and thrown into the basket.
Undies get laid flat in the basket
I take my stack of shirts to the table and fold and separate them.
Fold undies if needed
I can send pics.
When my 5 children (4 are boys) were small we lived on a farm and I was doing 7 load of laundry per day except Sunday. Most of the time I folded out of the dryer but often found that tied up the dryer while the washer was waiting to be emptied. Unfortunately, the sitting in the washer also creates wrinkles that do not come out easily. Sometimes pulling clothes out of the dryer meant shaking them out & layinng them flat in the basket so that I could quickly get the washer emptied & then folding clothes right away. For my daughter’s 14th birthday present (besides gifts) she got the privilege of doing her own laundry. Coincidently this was also when she became extra picky about the condition of her clothes. It became a tradition so the day after the 14th birthday the birthday child was invited into the laundry room for a lesson. I also alternated loads being hung on the line versus thrown in the dryer so it was less electricity used and less waiting for the dryer. Another thing, my (now ex) husband used to leave his clothes wherever he took them off. Shoes and socks come off in front of the tv. Shirt taken off and left on the back of a chair. Pants dropped on the bathroom floor, etc. Initially I played “slave” & picked everything up & pretended he was an adult by telling him to get his stuff in the laundry or it wouldn’t get done. Soon came the day he started asking me where his underwear was. “I don’t know, dear. Where did you leave them? I washed everything that was in the hamper”. lol. He finally learned where the hamper is. I do a variety of all the different things mentioned in other comments. Whatever fits the situation and my mood at the time.
Here is my laundry hack that makes everyone’s life easier. In our home remodel, We enlarged our laundry room to include a tall shelving unit for each family member with basket for socks, a basket for undies, and all folded laundry shelved on each person’s shelf as it is dried/folded. We added a dressing area in the corner. No more dragging clean clothes all over the house to put them away. Pretty much the only things that are taken from the laundry room are some things that must be hung, kitchen linens, sheets, and towels. Since the laundry is downstairs under the walk-in pantry, we closeted a small area and added a laundry chute with a large laundry cart at the bottom so there is no lugging baskets of dirty laundry down the stairs. An added benefit to this layout is more space in all bedrooms for things other than clothes storage—-and no things crammed into drawers. Works beautifully for us!
We retired and moved to Florida in a one story house. Our laundry room is so small, I bought a laundry cart like those you see in a laundromat. It has been a blessing. I roll it to our bedroom and load it up with our clothes from the hamper and grab the hangers out of the closet. Once the clothes come out of the dryer, I pull the shirts out and hang them up immediately, jeans and shorts can go over the dryer door or over the basket of the cart. We hardly ever have socks since we wear sandals quite a bit. Unmentionables are the last thing to get folded. Once all the laundry is completed, I just roll the cart back into our bedroom and unload it.
I learned this the hard way when my 4 yr old told my fat we keep the laundry in the living room “in case we fold it” from that day on I started folding out of the dryer and my life has been easier every since. we also had room for 3 baskets, so each person got their own to put away.
Since our clothes don’t bleed colours these days, our house has been doing laundry by person for years now. Bonus? No sorting!
And, once my sons turned 13, they were responsible for their own laundry. One does bottoms and tops in separate loads, folds and puts away immediately. One W/D but leaves in the hamper unfolded – he lives a very wrinkled life. 🙂 The third waits until EVERYTHING is dirty and has to do many loads, but folds and puts away. I W/D and fold and put away my laundry right away and find it way easier than piles and piles or basket upon basket of laundry laying around – also less clutter for the mind to deal with.
When I saw this I thought “I’m curious if she just found out folding out of dryer and hanging most all on hangers- was her duh moment “. I really enjoyed reading it all! My kids are older now but still use these methods. I loved that I learned early on to fold out of the dryer- I use top of washer and half of dryer to fold and organize- I also hang most clothing item minus towels undies socks rags and pjs right out of dryer. My DIL asked “why my son hung his t shirts and shorts ?? Oh sorry my dear – I didn’t want to fold it all so everything was hung!”😊
I’ve never understood making folding a separate job. For decades I’ve folded from the dryer (and immediately hung shirts on hangers). As I find the socks they are put on top of the machine until the dryer is empty and get paired up last. Done.
Time saving tip: get a washer with a delayed start function. Load the machine in the evening and set to run very early. When you get up its ready for the dryer. By the time breakfast is done and the lunches made the dryer is finished. Ten minutes to fold and hang everything and then off to school and work. Ten minutes in the evening and 10 in the morning and the load is finished while you are sleeping and doing other things. In my area the price of electricity is lower before 7am so getting the dryer finished early is also a cost savings.