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| one huge mountain
Admit it--folding clothes is a chore, a mindless chore. I do get an inordinately weird satisfaction when I see piles of clean, sweet smelling clothing ready to put away. It has always been that way with me, sweet satisfaction from seeing my children's clothing folded, but along the way it is mostly mind-numbing, mindless drudgery.
(Don't you hate those ads of "one weird trick" to lose weight, cure liver disease, whatever. And, they always want you to buy something. Nope. I am giving you this trick free.)
However, I do get lots of thinking done. Hey, I thought up this post. Oh, not so hot post? Whatever. Seriously, I have written college papers in my head, dreamed up the next thing to sew for a daughter, found a way to afford things for my children--all while folding clothes.
When I was a new wife, I could never even hope my mother would tell my sister to fold MY clothes at MY house. No, they were mine, all mine. So, I devised a way to make folding clothes less painful.
Folding clothes is all about reducing a mountain of dried wash to neat piles. Right? I figured out a way to diminish the mountain quickly.
The first piece I fold is always the largest, the nearest towel to the top of the heap. Then, another towel and another. By the time the towels are folded, there is maybe a 3/4 of the pile diminished but not 3/4 of the job done. Really, but is all about perception, not reality. I continue, pulling out all the hand towels, then wash clothes, maybe all the socks.
The initial boost in morale I get when I fold all the towels first is just what I need. I never fold less clothes, but it seems like it goes faster.
Okay, I need a distractor, too. I never had time to watch TV in the beginning of my marriage, what with college and demands I placed on myself, housekeeping standards. I have no, okay, low standards now, but I depend on a distractor. TV is my distractor. I wait until I want to watch something and drag out the clothes needing folding. Only, you cannot watch Revolution if you are folding clothes or typing like I am now.
Two loads and the TV await. So, I will just go now. My method of tricking me and distracting me works for me. How about you?
Just a commercial break before you give me an awesome comment. Hold on! One more thing. I have a friend, Sue, over at The Little Acre that Could. She needs your help to dominate the world of Pinterest. Go over there and help her. You don't want me going to Pinterest. I might never come back. After you feed my pitiful ego and leave a comment, go over and do the same for her. By the way, she talks some weird stuff about world domination and Austin Powers and a million dollars. Check her out.
Your turn
Do you have a necessary but mindless chore that demands you trick yourself into thinking the work is going faster than it is. Do you have a distractor for all chores or a specific chore?
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Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Folding Clothes the Easy Way: One Weird Trick and a Little Pinterest
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This is so funny that you posted this! I was just thinking the same thing this morning. I dropped my daughter off at school and came home to a pile of laundry waiting on me to be folded and put away. I always start with the towels then I move onto the jeans because they are big to. Once those 2 are done it feels like 3/4 of the pile is gone. After that it feels like I only have a little to put away. I guess we just have to psych ourselves out when doing this task;)
ReplyDeleteJacqueline,
DeleteFriends have said I was silly, that they just pick up what is on top. Now, I do not dig to get everything of one category when things get small, but I pretty much do follow a system to psych me out. Thanks for validating my method...lol.
Linda, thanks so much for the shout out! We are now accomplices in my random sewing world domination. lol
ReplyDeleteI have used TV commercial breaks and slow computer game-loading times as housework motivators for years. I thought I was the only one! It's nice to know I'm not the only one who needs a little goading once in a while to do my housework ;-)
Sue,
DeleteYou are welcome. Let me know how it works out.
Using TV commercials for doing things in one of my tactics. That way, I clean really fast. Yes, I need to be goaded.
Linda - the bane of my existence is folding clothes!!! i hate folding clothes!!! and no matter how i try, i cannot trick myself! so jambaloney is the clothes folder and i am the clothes-put-er-away-er!
ReplyDeleteoh and gurl - promise that you will stay away from pinterest! pinterest will steal your soul!
your friend,
kymber
This comment has been removed by the author.
Deletekymber,
DeleteAt least one of you can stand to fold the laundry. Folding clothes is definitely not woman's work if you wear or use the items in the laundry.
I will stay away from Pinterest. Promise.
I don't mind folding clothes. Sometimes I do it right off the line or out of the dryer. I also enjoy washing dishes by hand (must be the nice warm water on my hands) but I really dislike putting them away. When my daughter still lived at home I told her it was her job to make sure they were put away all the time and I would do the washing. Now, I have to do it myself LOL
ReplyDeletePatti,
DeleteI cannot fold them right off the line because I am roasting in the sun. If you like washing dishes in the sink, you can wash mine. I really hate emptying the dishwasher. I always told my children that if they did not empty the dishwasher, then they would have to put icky dishes in. That got them on their feet. Yes, I have to do it all on my own....sad.
Well, at least if it's only our clothes or dishes there aren't as many :-)
ReplyDeleteI cook almost everything from scratch so still have lots of dishes LOL
Patti,
DeleteYes, only our things which makes it easier to go without so much longer. The chore is still overwhelming but no one is fussing around, looking for something I have not folded. I cook from scratch, too, so lots of dishes.
I just realized that the one thing I hate the most is washing the silverware. It gets mighty cluttered in the bottom of the sink. Ironing comes next. But the TV is ALWAYS on, even though I've found out I do my work faster if it's on the music channel. But there's nothing to LOOK AT if it's music.
ReplyDeleteSoaking the silverware is my ploy. I can put the washing of silverware off day after day and just keep changing the water, saying I will wash it later...yeah, right, later this year.
DeleteIroning? What's that?
The TV hinders dishwashing because I keep going back to sit because I cannot see from the sink. These seem to be universal problems.
No dishwashers? I can't live without a dishwasher. I don't buy anything that can't go in the dishwasher. I don't really know how to iron, thank God. So I rarely wear clothes that require ironing.
DeleteLove,
Janie
Janie,
DeleteYes, the dishwasher is a must. The mesh racks from my dehydrator and cast iron cookware are the only two things that cannot go into the dishwasher. My clothes do not require ironing either, and I can iron very well.
I don't mind folding clothes but I hate the putting away part. I think to myself that I will put things away as soon as I finish the last load .....The problem is that I never seem to get it all done on the same day. Consequently probably 50% of the time the coffee table in the family room is covered with folded items.
ReplyDeleteI fold clothing the same way you do! ( I always do socks last.) I'm also picky about having everything folded the same way. I make very neat stacks but we live with them on the coffee table for days on end. (I must admit that my husband does put his own clothing away.)
My mother had a similar theory when it came to ironing. Her view was if you left the difficult pieces (for me dress shirts) until the last you would never get it all done. She said to do the hard pieces first. That way it would be easy to finish the whole basket if the last pieces were flat items like handkerchiefs and pillow cases. She was right!
Janet,
DeleteThat basket of folded clothes is still sitting her...ugh. I did put part of it away. Now to finish the job...lol.
Oh, my towel stacks are amazingly straight. Same with washcloths and other things. If a dishcloth has stripes, the stripes always go the same way.
I lived with clothes in a black chair in the corner for six months because I was in school, something my ex sabotaged every chance he got. He refused to help with one of my chores that he assigned. So, he had to go dig out his underwear and a towel when he wanted them.
I soon employed children for the putting away. but, when kids get really good at chores, they go live somewhere else...lol.
Ironing the most difficult pieces first is always the way to go. Your mother is definitely right. Dress shirts are the worst. Yes, I would just leave it in the basket every time. Thanks!
I never fold clothes ! they get ironed straight from the basket they were dumped in - why make an extra job for yourselves ?
ReplyDeleteWean,
ReplyDeleteYou iron towels? Nothing in the laundry is ever stuff to be ironed.