Simplify: How to Never Fold Laundry Again

Saying ‘yes’ to one thing inevitably means saying ‘no’ to another.

There’s only so much time and effort you can give in a day, so you have to prioritize what’s most important to you.

In the past two years, I haven’t folded a single piece of clothing. Not. One.

Laundry is at the very bottom of my laundry list, iron-ically (please don’t close your browser).

I’m not into what’s fashionable, I don’t care to go clothes shopping, and I don’t believe that what I wear needs to take up a lot of my headspace. I have a minimalist-style capsule wardrobe, and I’m very pleased with its simplicity. There are a million other areas of my life I should focus on, so folding laundry just isn’t a priority.

Oh yeah, I’m also bad at folding clothes, so that plays a role in this no-fold method too. It doesn’t matter if I spend 5 seconds or 5 minutes on folding a tee-shirt, it never looks as neat as it did in the store. Which is frustrating as heck.

I’m sure I’m not the only person who feels this way. You probably have lots of other things you’d rather do too– like take a nap, read a book, drink a glass of chocolate milk, or yell at some kids– which is why I’ve made this post.

Here’s my solution to never folding your clothes again!

Get Rid of the Dresser

When Devin and I first moved into our house, there were 3 dressers in each of the 3 bedrooms, plus one in the living room. I thought that was bad until I started cleaning the garage. We found an additional 5 dressers in there (along with two dozen crock pots, four type-writers, three vacuum cleaners, and a little over a thousand empty wine bottles). Yep- this was definitely a hoarder house in its previous life. I’ll probably make a post on that adventure later.

Do you know how many of the dressers we kept? Two. And they’re both in the gun room right now because they’re temporarily holding parts until our toolboxes come in. After that, they’re out of here too!

Dressers are just hiding places for messes and clutter.

Don’t worry, you really don’t need it, and I’m sure you can find somewhere more creative than your underwear drawer to sock away your money.

Use Your Closet, or Get a Clothing Rack

The solution to never folding clothes again is to hang them up.

It’s quicker, plus it really makes you keep a neater wardrobe.

I personally use my closet. It’s very simple with just one bar running eye-level for clothing, and a wooden shelf just above that. The floor of it holds our shoes, which we only have a few of, so it’s not messy or a trip-hazard.

If you don’t have a closet, consider getting a clothing rack like this one (it’s pretty darn affordable, especially for how stylish it is).

If you’re thinking “but I don’t wanna look at my clothes” ask yourself why that is.

Is your closet overwhelming because there’s just too much stuff? Here’s how to downsize your closet, based on your personality type.

Is your wardrobe ‘ugly’? As in, you really don’t like your clothes or your color scheme (but you just keep them because you don’t feel like going shopping, or you can’t afford to replace anything yet)? My first capsule wardrobe only cost me about $100.

Is the rest of your room cluttered, and now seeing each individual article of clothing is the tipping point? It’s probably time to Konmari your room– here’s how to get rid of sentimental clutter.

Hiding your mess may make your home feel clean and inviting to guests, but YOU know about the disasters hiding in your dressers, and you have to deal with that quiet stress all the time.

Decluttering and curating a wardrobe that you love is a bit of a task in the beginning, but once you’re done, you’re done, and it feels like a huge burden has been lifted. It’s super easy to maintain too!

Get Two Boxes or Two Baskets per Family Member

This is for your socks and underwear. You’ll see how this is handy to have in the next section.

How I Do Laundry Day without Folding Clothes

1. I wash my clothes using my super cheap and easy to make homemade detergent. Here’s the recipe for that if you’re interested.
2. I hang my clothes to dry (I personally like the crunchy-clean feeling of fresh laundry). Or I toss them in the dryer with two wool dryer balls (sometimes I like to add a few drops of essential oils because I love that smell).
3. Once the laundry is dry, I throw it on our bed and sort into the following piles: Devin’s socks, Devin’s underwear, Sarah’s socks, Sarah’s underwear, Devin’s clothes, Sarah’s clothes, bathroom towels, kitchen towels/cloths.
4. Since we each have two small boxes, our socks go into one, and underwear into the other. There’s no need to pair up our socks because Devin’s socks are all exactly the same, and my socks are similar styles and prints that can be mixed and matched. Underwear doesn’t wrinkle, so that’s no issue.
5. The piles of ‘Devin’s clothes’ and ‘Sarah’s clothes’ each get put on wooden hangers and are hung up. I have the left side of the closet, and he has the right. Devin’s two boxes go on the shelf that sits above his side of the closet, and my two boxes go above my side.
6. We only have six bathroom towels, so I can hang them in the bathroom as is, or roll them up and stick them in the wicker basket by the shower.
7. Our kitchen washcloths are dumped into a drawer right by the sink, as is, unfolded- because I don’t care if they’re a bit wrinkly to wash my dishes or wipe down the counters. I have one towel that floats around on the countertops, and the other two hang on my oven front. The washcloths are a bit worn and perhaps ugly, but my towels are not, so they get to double as functional kitchen decor.

Let’s Talk!

• Do you hate folding laundry too?
• Would you ever consider (or do you already have) an ‘open’ wardrobe that doesn’t involve a dresser?
• How much time do you think that folding clothes consumes each week?

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