Photo: Nutlegal Photographer (Shutterstock)
Oh, laundry. Dreaded fucking laundry. While looking at a basket full of freshly folded threads for the whole family is an enormously satisfying—if mundane—accomplishment, getting there is often a slog through procrastination, days of using the basket as a closet, and lots of heavy sighing.
Perhaps you love washing, but will walk past an overflowing basket of freshly laundered clothes for a week or more. Maybe you have no problem promptly folding, but getting them up the stairs and into the proper drawers is like Waiting for Godot. (Or maybe you’re perfect domestic royalty who doesn’t get why some people hate laundry so much. In which case, move along. No laundry folding hacks for you.)
For everyone else, if you aren’t doing these things below, you might want to start. It will make the task less onerous and more likely to occur before the next season of Succession.
Pair it with something you like doing
Make folding less of a burden by giving yourself some kind of diverting “treat” to go along with it. Not like, a donut (though that’s fine, too), but working your favorite entertainment into the chore can make it seem, well, less chore-y. Put on a favorite show, podcast, playlist, or call a friend to take your mind off the monotony. (And we wouldn’t judge you for making the time more interesting with your favorite adult beverage or edible either.)
Fold your laundry the right away
This one is annoying, we know, but it must be said: Taking clothes out of the dryer and folding them while they’re still warm will save valuable mental real estate that would otherwise be occupied with resentment for the task and quiet self-flagellation for putting it off so many times. (Not to mention the longer you do, the more loads will accumulate in your basket.) Doing it promptly takes all the hemming and hawing energy out of it—not to mention, makes your clothes less wrinkly.
Ditch the laundry basket altogether
Picture this: Instead of dumping mounds of clothes from the dryer into another vessel where it can sit, contained and out of the way, for days or weeks, consider dumping those clothes on a table, couch, or bed near you. The squeaky wheel gets the oil, as they say, and visible laundry crowding your living space presents a level of urgency a basket in your basement does not.
