Laundry Facts

Laundry Folding Tips & Tricks to Save You Time & Energy

Blog 4

It seems laundry day comes around all too quickly, taking up chunks of the day you’d rather spend doing something else. If doing laundry is one of your most dreaded tasks, you’re not alone. Fortunately, it is possible to make the process a bit smoother. The trick to doing so is in the folding.

Adopting proper folding techniques can cut your time in the laundry room in half and protect your laundry, increasing the longevity and enhancing the appearance of your garments. So, continue reading to learn more about elevating your folding methods with life-changing tips that save laundry day.

Tip 1: Fold Your Laundry While It’s Warm

It’s all too easy to let your laundry sit in the dryer for hours, even days (oops!), before finally trudging over with your basket. However, one of the most important tips to put into practice is to fold your laundry immediately after drying.

As tempting as it is to delay the task, folding your laundry right after drying yields many benefits, including fewer wrinkles and better maintenance. The heat from the dryer will eliminate the need for you to bust out the iron to remove creases, resulting in smoother, faster getting-ready experiences.

Taking care of freshly dried laundry also takes a load off your mental energy, ensuring you won’t have to face a mountain of to-be-folded laundry.

Tip 2: Use a Flat Surface

If you like to sit cross-legged on your unmade bed to fold your laundry, you may want to opt for a flat surface instead for maximized results, such as a clean counter or table. Using a flat surface will help you achieve cleaner, sharper folds with plenty of space to neatly stack your laundry before stowing it away.

Pro tip: be sure to choose a height-optimal surface to avoid breaking your back when folding.

Tip 3: Use a Folding Tool

There’s no shame in enlisting help when you need it. There are tools to make virtually anything easier these days, including folding. So if you’re serious about improving your folding game, invest in a folding board to achieve perfectly folded garments every laundry day.

Now that you’ve learned a few general tips for folding laundry, we’re sharing the best folding techniques for various categories to optimize storage space and maintain the quality of your garments.

How to Fold a T-Shirt

  1. Flatten and smooth down the shirt facedown to remove any wrinkles.
  2. Take the right shoulder and bottom right corner of the shirt to fold them longways inwards toward the center. Repeat with the left side to overlap them slightly.
  3. Fold the shirt in half by moving the bottom corners up to the collar to create a neat rectangle you can stack on your shelves or in drawers.

How to Fold Collared Shirts

  1. Lay it flat-facedown. Ensure all buttons are closed, sleeves are spread out, and there are no wrinkles.
  2. Take the left side of the shirt and fold it toward the center, draping the sleeve across. Then, fold the left sleeve back in the opposite direction toward the center. Repeat with the right side.
  3. Fold the collar back to the hem of the shirt to create a small rectangular shape.

How to Fold Women’s Underwear

  1. Flatten your freshly dried underwear bum-side up on a smooth surface.
  2. Fold it in half, taking the crotch of the underwear up to meet the waistband.
  3. Fold each side of the underwear toward the center to form an elongated square shape.

How to Fold Men’s Underwear

  1. Lay the briefs or boxers on a flat surface, crotch-side up, smoothing out wrinkles.
  2. Fold the left leg in towards the center and repeat with the other side.
  3. Take the waistband and fold it halfway down. Insert the legs into the waistband to create a small, storage-friendly bundle. 

How to Fold Jeans

  1. Get rid of large creases and lay your jeans flat. Zip them up and button them closed.
  2. Fold them over lengthwise and meet the waistband end with the hemmed end in the middle.
  3. Fold one half over the other, creating a small, easy-to-store rectangle.

How to Fold Socks

  1. Place your socks on top of one another.
  2. Take the cuff end and fold them over so they’re aligned with the toes for easy stacking.

How to Fold Towels

  1. Lay your towel flat and fold it lengthwise into thirds to create a rectangle.
  2. Store towels in a stack for optimal organization.

Bonus Tip: How to Remove Lint from Clothes

Whether you’re fond of fuzzy blankets or have a few fur babies that shed their hair, finding lint on your clothing is inevitable. Not to mention, lint can also collect due to washing or friction between your clothes.

So, how do you prevent it?

The important thing to remember is that lint thrives on friction, heat, and static, so the key is to prevent these culprits from doing damage. It all starts on laundry day.

Some tips to consider for lint-free laundry:

  • Use a cool, gentle wash to avoid excessive heat and movement.
  • Sorting your fabrics is a foolproof way to ensure lint doesn’t accumulate. Place your heavier fabrics in a separate load, away from more delicate garments.
  • Want to save energy and your lint-laden garments? Consider line drying. The dryer is notorious for producing a lot of lint, so avoiding it can improve the appearance of your clothing. Try leaving your laundry to air dry when you can.
  • If your clothes already have lint, quickly toss them in the washer or dryer to eliminate any lingering lint without detergent on a light wash cycle.

 

To Wrap Up

While laundry is often a chore you’d rather put off, these must-know folding techniques will guarantee less time wasted, so you can spend more time doing the things you love.

At Laundry Smart, we’re all about lessening your load with top-tier laundry delivery services, including washing, drying, and folding. Our pickup and delivery service is designed to solve your “too little time, too much laundry” dilemma, so you never have to worry about going without clean garments. Or, if you want to put your new folding tips into practice, use our fast, high-quality machines to wash, fold, and go.

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