Is folding laundry necessary?

[GuitarStv]

Let's just use some math guys.

A - How long does it take to fold your laundry?
B - How long does it take to root through a big pile of laundry to find the clothing you need?
C - What is the financial impact of regularly wearing wrinkled clothing, and how much additional time spent working is necessary to make up for this?


The answer = B - (A + C)

If your answer is positive, you should fold your laundry.  If negative, you should heap it on the floor.

[HPstache]

I usually do a huge load of laundry over the weekend.  The clean clothes usually hang out in the laundary basket where I pick outfits out of until about wednesday.  At some point between wednesday and friday I find some time to hang up my shirts,  throw the socks and underwear in their appropriate drawers, and then the pants and shorts do get folded and set on a shelf.

[Zikoris]

Okay, I've started folding some things. I got us a couple of closet organizer things, which require clothes to be folded. It certainly saves a lot of space - the floor in my closet is completely clear for the first time ever (I had storage bins with underwear and sock baskets before this).

[bacchi]

Let's just use some math guys.

A - How long does it take to fold your laundry?
B - How long does it take to root through a big pile of laundry to find the clothing you need?
C - What is the financial impact of regularly wearing wrinkled clothing, and how much additional time spent working is necessary to make up for this?


The answer = B - (A + C)

If your answer is positive, you should fold your laundry.  If negative, you should heap it on the floor.

Not folding laundry doesn't mean that it gets piled up on the floor. It can also go in a drawer unfolded.

Is everyone equating "folding" with "sorting?"

[Chris22]

I suppose throwing clean clothes in a pile and scavenging through it every time you need something is one option, but I don't see the point. It will take you more aggregate time to find your clothes if they aren't organized and you can't use you couch. And any hope of getting a significant other is probably shot.

Once again, not folding clothes does not necessarily = living in squalor with piles of laundry all over the place including your couch.  They can get thrown into containers of various sorts and stowed away in closets with no one being any the wiser.

Except they come out of the containers looking all wrinkly and like a bag of smashed assholes.

[Chris22]

Nope. And I have no between the legs appendages.

What I do have is a clothes steamer for when something is wrinkled.

I do too, and using it isn't faster than just folding and putting stuff away in the first place.

[renata ricotta]

Well you won't die, so I suppose it's unnecessary.

I air dry most all of my clothes on a rack. After they are dry, I have a lazy habit of never folding or putting them away and just plucking them off of the rack until the next load of laundry (or I am expecting a visitor who doesn't want to see my underwear hanging in the middle of my studio apartment). They don't wrinkle and it's easy to find what I need, so it mostly works fine. I also (like the great Liz Lemon) rarely unload the dishwasher all in one go and instead just remove forks "as needed."

[LivlongnProsper]

I think it is, my wife on the other hand......

[Zikoris]

Well you won't die, so I suppose it's unnecessary.

I air dry most all of my clothes on a rack. After they are dry, I have a lazy habit of never folding or putting them away and just plucking them off of the rack until the next load of laundry (or I am expecting a visitor who doesn't want to see my underwear hanging in the middle of my studio apartment). They don't wrinkle and it's easy to find what I need, so it mostly works fine. I also (like the great Liz Lemon) rarely unload the dishwasher all in one go and instead just remove forks "as needed."

I've done that at least a few times. Ack! By the time you actually get around to putting things away, there are like two shirts and four socks left on the rack.

[o2bfree]

I fold jeans in half so they fit in a drawer. Underwear and socks get tossed into their own little cardboard boxes in a drawer, with the underwear unfolded and the sock pairs rolled together. We use just one set of towels and bed sheets, which go right back on the towel rack and bed soon as they're out of the dryer.

Anything that might wrinkle gets hung up right out of the dryer, on the clothes rack in the laundry room. Even old t-shirts I use for yardwork. Sometimes they stay there for days, even a couple weeks if I don't need them.

I sometimes look with envious appreciation at my boyfriend's drawers, which contain his t-shirts, socks, and uw all folded and stacked military-style in perfectly-squared blocks. They'd probably pass an inspection.

[Helvegen]

I don't really have a choice but to fold it. Our cat is good in every respect except he loves to piss on baskets or piles of FRESH laundry. No, he won't piss on dirty laundry or anything else, but freshly laundered things, he has to piss on. So we either have to leave it in the dryer or immediately fold and put away. Once things are hung up and in drawers, he won't piss on them, but there is just something irresistible to him about a basket of fresh laundry. It is bizarre because otherwise, he is very, very good about using the litter box.

[Ann]

Hah, yes, having a cat means my laundry needs to be out away or it will build up cat hair because the cat will immediately zero in on it and use it a bed.

Let's take the "I don't fold I hang it up" out of the equation.  My question is HOW do you put your shirts, etc in the drawer/bin if you don't fold it?  My jeans and shorts, for example, get a quick fold in half and toss.  It's not folding military style, but basically a step up from wadding.  Are your shirts wadded in the drawer?  I'm having a hard time imagining this not wrinkling most shirts.

[Shropskr]

I hang all shirts, sweaters, knits right out of the WASHER.  They dry on the hangers spaced about 1-2 inches apart.  Everything else goes into the dryer then sorted. 80% of that gets folded.  The rest gets dumped in the apropriate drawer. 

Drying on the hanger saves me a step and reduces the space necessary to do the drying.

[GuitarStv]

I hang all shirts, sweaters, knits right out of the WASHER.  They dry on the hangers spaced about 1-2 inches apart.  Everything else goes into the dryer then sorted. 80% of that gets folded.  The rest gets dumped in the apropriate drawer. 

Drying on the hanger saves me a step and reduces the space necessary to do the drying.

It doesn't stay wet for longer in the closet?  Or do you hang them somewhere else in your home?

[MoneyCat]

I find folding laundry is necessary because at this point in my life I am still subject to the whims of irrational people who will withhold money and/or opportunities to me for something as stupid as my shirt being wrinkled. Someday, I won't fold a damn thing.

[Crusader]

For me personally, I roll it to allow easy separation and removal of clothing from a pile or drawer. It also saves space. That pile of clothes you think is easy to just dump anywhere and pick through, gets so much easier and compact rolled/folded.

[dignam]

Most clothes don't need to be folded.  When I'm expecting company I'll fold and put everything away, but otherwise it's just extra work that is completely unnecessary.

The exception is dress clothes; I can't stand wrinkly slacks and dress shirts and they are hung up immediately after drying.

[J Boogie]

I can fold my clothes no problem but folding my wife's clothes is just confusing. 

"Folding" womens' underpants and bras has to be the least satisfying task there is. 

Compared to folding my boxer briefs and beaters, which form nice rectangular piles that can stack almost a foot high, these clusters of intimates are just a mess.

[theadvicist]

Having read this thread, it seems to me that 'folding' as a chore is only necessary when you use a clothes dryer.

It sounds like people dump out the contents into a basket or onto a couch (what? Lots of people seem anti clothes all other the couch, which I don't even understand how it gets there? What's the purpose of moving it from machine to couch?) and then, I dunno, leave it, and it suddenly becomes a separate chore to 'fold' it all?

I air dry everything. As I take it off the maiden, I put it away. Like there and then. Socks get balled and in drawers. Most things (dresses, tops, shirts) get hung up in the wardrobe. Nightgowns get loosely folded I guess as I walk to the drawer to put them away.

Moral of the story - air dry clothes close to where you store them and save yourself a chore.

[iris lily]

I find folding laundry is necessary because at this point in my life I am still subject to the whims of irrational people who will withhold money and/or opportunities to me for something as stupid as my shirt being wrinkled. Someday, I won't fold a damn thing.

That is beautfully stated. I am retired and do ntmgive one damn about wrinkley clothes.

[beastykato]

I can't believe this is a thread lol! 

I always fold my laundry and was raised folding laundry.  It just seems unsanitary and dirty to leave piles of clothes sit around.  As for air drying on racks or in the closet, I guess that would be fine to save on dryer costs, but doesn't that get all moldy smelling in your closet? 

The amount of time and just the feeling a total disorganization trying to find clothes in a drawer that aren't folded will DEFINITELY cost you more time in the long run.  It's not as if folding clothes takes more time out of your life.  Just do it while you're watching the latest episode of your favorite show or something similar.

This is just laziness.  (Waits to get attacked for saying this =P)

[iris lily]

I can't believe this is a thread lol! 

I always fold my laundry and was raised folding laundry.  It just seems unsanitary and dirty to leave piles of clothes sit around.  As for air drying on racks or in the closet, I guess that would be fine to save on dryer costs, but doesn't that get all moldy smelling in your closet? 

The amount of time and just the feeling a total disorganization trying to find clothes in a drawer that aren't folded will DEFINITELY cost you more time in the long run.  It's not as if folding clothes takes more time out of your life.  Just do it while you're watching the latest episode of your favorite show or something similar.

This is just laziness.  (Waits to get attacked for saying this =P)

As stated several times, "folding " does not equal failing to put them away.

I started rolling tshirts, sometimes. That works ok. But I still mostly push them onto their shelf, undolded, unrolled. I can fnd them easily, by color.

Oddly enough, I enjoy folding towls and we use many towels and other square pieces of,fabric in household uses.

[Chris22]

I find folding laundry is necessary because at this point in my life I am still subject to the whims of irrational people who will withhold money and/or opportunities to me for something as stupid as my shirt being wrinkled. Someday, I won't fold a damn thing.

That is beautfully stated. I am retired and do ntmgive one damn about wrinkley clothes.

Umm, congrats to you guys for having zero pride in your personal appearance, I guess?  I mean, I dress like a slob most of the time I'm not at work, in basketball shorts and a tshirt, but at least they are clean and presentable.  Looking like you just rolled out of bed isn't exactly something to be proud of.

[GuitarStv]

I find folding laundry is necessary because at this point in my life I am still subject to the whims of irrational people who will withhold money and/or opportunities to me for something as stupid as my shirt being wrinkled. Someday, I won't fold a damn thing.

That is beautfully stated. I am retired and do ntmgive one damn about wrinkley clothes.

Umm, congrats to you guys for having zero pride in your personal appearance, I guess?  I mean, I dress like a slob most of the time I'm not at work, in basketball shorts and a tshirt, but at least they are clean and presentable.  Looking like you just rolled out of bed isn't exactly something to be proud of.

Why not?  Why is the personal appearance of someone who is happy and contented, living a good life so important to you?

[renata ricotta]

I can't believe this is a thread lol! 

I always fold my laundry and was raised folding laundry.  It just seems unsanitary and dirty to leave piles of clothes sit around.  As for air drying on racks or in the closet, I guess that would be fine to save on dryer costs, but doesn't that get all moldy smelling in your closet? 

The amount of time and just the feeling a total disorganization trying to find clothes in a drawer that aren't folded will DEFINITELY cost you more time in the long run.  It's not as if folding clothes takes more time out of your life.  Just do it while you're watching the latest episode of your favorite show or something similar.

This is just laziness.  (Waits to get attacked for saying this =P)

That probably depends on the humidity in your apartment and air flow. My drying rack isn't shut up in my closet (mostly because there isn't really that much space in there). It's a few feet away next to my bed, which has a ceiling fan over it. No musty smell, everything dries efficiently. As noted, however, I have to fold everything and put it away in drawers/closet and collapse the rack anytime I'm expecting a guest. If I didn't have a studio apartment, I might skip that and just close my bedroom door instead.

[MoneyCat]

I find folding laundry is necessary because at this point in my life I am still subject to the whims of irrational people who will withhold money and/or opportunities to me for something as stupid as my shirt being wrinkled. Someday, I won't fold a damn thing.

That is beautfully stated. I am retired and do ntmgive one damn about wrinkley clothes.

Umm, congrats to you guys for having zero pride in your personal appearance, I guess?  I mean, I dress like a slob most of the time I'm not at work, in basketball shorts and a tshirt, but at least they are clean and presentable.  Looking like you just rolled out of bed isn't exactly something to be proud of.

Why not?  Why is the personal appearance of someone who is happy and contented, living a good life so important to you?

The shaming reminds me of the last time I saw some of my relatives. They are all white trash, but lower middle class white trash. They started in on mocking me about my brother's dental health and asking what I did for a living. I started talking about my solar panels and electric car and my upcoming vacation to Maui.

Go ahead and try to shame me. I dare you.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[bacchi]

Who knew that folding clothes had such Puritanical origins?

[iris lily]

Who knew that folding clothes had such Puritanical origins?

I know people who still iron casual shirts. And yes, they are southern Baptists.

Oh wait, one person irons her husband's blue jeans. She is Catholic/Lutheran. But as she herself points out, she is just enough older than me to be of "that" generation.

[beastykato]

I mean holy Christ.  Some of these replies.  The reply above about dental health, but being able to go to Maui and have solar panels like WOW!

I'm not trying to offend but what does basic hygiene and dental health have to do with your ability to go on vacation?  If you're a slob with no teeth at home you're still gonna be a slob with no teeth in Maui.  But congrats on being able to go. 

And this thread is about folding.  Some have pointed out that not folding doesnt mean not putting things away neatly.  You may put your shirts in organized but unfolded or hung up.  There is a big difference between that and being a bum tho. 

And I'm sorry if i offend but using the ability to go on vacation or have solar panels as a defense for poor hygiene of any kind is a SAD argument.

[kite]

Not necessary.  We line dry everything.  Almost the only thing getting folded is towels, maybe the occasional sweater.  I roll socks like sushi, ala Marie Kondo's method.
Clothes go straight to hangers out of the washer.  Towels and sheets get clothes pinned on the line, but sheets go straight back on the bed when dry. No point folding to carry 30 feet..  If it's nice outside, the clothes on hangers go on the line then to the closet when dry.  If it's wet, they hang from a rod in the laundry room until dry.  But it's out of the washer, onto a hanger where it stays till being worn.  If it's wearable again, it gets hung back up when taken off.  If it's in a pile or flopped somewhere, it's dirty. 
I find I need less space with my method and it's easy to find what I want when I want it.  Folding towels isn't time consuming because there are so few of them.  Anytime someone has complained to me about folding being a chore, I'm convinced they just own too much stuff.  If taking care of it wears you down, Chuck it.  Whatever it is. 

[Smevans]

Fold? No. Rolled or hung. Also minimalist crew so I have very little.

[Playing with Fire UK]

If taking care of it wears you down, Chuck it.  Whatever it is.

Love this. Feel it could apply to relationships also.

[GuitarStv]

If taking care of it wears you down, Chuck it.  Whatever it is.

Love this. Feel it could apply to relationships also.

Yep, totally.  It's why every time my wife gets sick and requires care I divorce her.  When my kid gets sick, needs some of my time, or is being bad we just execute him out back and then try for another later.  :P

[Playing with Fire UK]

If taking care of it wears you down, Chuck it.  Whatever it is.

Love this. Feel it could apply to relationships also.

Yep, totally.  It's why every time my wife gets sick and requires care I divorce her.  When my kid gets sick, needs some of my time, or is being bad we just execute him out back and then try for another later.  :P

But there is a difference between caring for someone being hard work and the relationship wearing you down. If a crappy relationship is taking away pieces of you and giving nothing back then divorce away.

My parents would tell us that they had a bunch of kids so that they could get rid of the naughty ones.

[golden1]

Yep, I fold the clothes right out of the dryer.  Actually, I don't fold anymore, I roll.  That way it is easier to see all your clothes at once in your drawers instead of having to look under folded clothes.  Seriously, it takes MAYBE 15-20 minutes a week to roll and put away all my clothes.  I hate seeing clothes laying around everywhere, and if clothes are just laying around, I just assume they are dirty. 

[Shropskr]

I hang all shirts, sweaters, knits right out of the WASHER.  They dry on the hangers spaced about 1-2 inches apart.  Everything else goes into the dryer then sorted. 80% of that gets folded.  The rest gets dumped in the apropriate drawer. 

Drying on the hanger saves me a step and reduces the space necessary to do the drying.

Sorry for the slow reply.

We put the hangers with clothes on them on a rod in the laundry room 1-2 inches apart. Or if I've done too many clothes I hang them on the shower rod.  They dry in a day or two. Then they go into the correct closet.

[gggggg]

I hang nearly everything. Socks, underwear, and shorts get put in a small dresser; so I don't fold much besides the shorts.

[palebluedot]

The solution: http://futurism.com/videos/now-you-never-have-to-fold-your-laundry-again/

[theadvicist]

The solution: http://futurism.com/videos/now-you-never-have-to-fold-your-laundry-again/

Loading the rack will take longer than just folding them yourself or hanging them on a hanger. But still, I see the next 'must have' gadget for stupid people.

[MinimalistMark]

I fold and sort right out of the dryer. I also hang my slacks and dress shirts. For me it's as much a psychological exercise as it is practical to have all my things neatly organized. During college I used to pile things on the floor of my closet, and I could never find a thing.

[EnjoyIt]

Depends what you want and need.
T-shirts - No.  Just hang them right out of the drier and they will stay wrinkle free
jeans - No. Just hang them up or fold them right out of the drier
socks - buy 4-6 packs of the exact same white socks and never fold them.  Just put them all in the same drawer
undies - just shove them in a drawer who cares if they are folded
dresses - some can just be hung up, others require iron and then hang
dress pants - iron and hang
dress shirts - if they are wrinkle free then just hang them up.  Otherwise iron them and then hang them
fancier socks require folding to be able to find them later

I do not hang my clothes outside to dry because I save a ton of time and it requires no folding of most things if they come out of the drier and hung immediately. 

[MBot]

It depends.

afaik, the four reasons for folding (or hanging) are

(1) avoiding wrinkles
(2) decreasing the amount of space they take up and
(3) preparing them to fit in a different storage location than the basket (e.g a folded shirt fits in a drawer better, hanging pants up also assists. Most of us also prefer the visuals of clothes tucked away in drawers or behind a closet door, and that requires some level of folding or hanging. Then again, you can just keep a hamper in there.
(4) keeping items of a matched set (e.g. socks, vest and particular shirt) together

Most items benefit from at least one of these. But if they don't, don't bother

Guys' underwear can be a lot more compact if folded and rolled. But if you have the storage space it can just be tossed in a drawer.
,
Most socks don't need folding either, if you have mostly the same kind. Toss 'em all in a shoebox in the drawer. I do the same for tights/leggings.

I have a single large hook I hang all of my tank tops on (it's easy to grab all of them off the hook, remove the one I want and replace the rest)