How to Fold Clothes Fast

If your clean clothes sit wadded up in a laundry basket simply because you don’t have time to fold them, think again. Here’s how to fold clothes fast – saving time on laundry now and without wasting time on ironing wrinkles out later. It may not be Martha Stewart-perfect, but it gets the job done.

Things You'll Need

• Big folding table
• Chair

Instructions

1. Ask your family members to make sure they’re clothing is not inside-out before throwing it in the laundry. A big time waster when folding clothes is having to pull it right-side out, especially on shirts.

2. Wash your clothes in categories – dark shirts, light shirts, dark pants and light pants. That way you’re still following the rules for washing colors together, while keeping unlike clothing apart. The ultimate key to folding clothes fast is to concentrate on one type of clothing at time so you can get into a groove. That’s why separation and organization is so important.

3. Find a big table for you to fold laundry on. Set your chair beside it, but don’t sit in it. That’s for your laundry basket. You should stand, as you’ll be a faster folder that way.

4. Turn on some dance music. The faster your body wants to move, the faster you’ll fold the clothes.

5. Lie your short-sleeve shirts out flat in one pile on the table, with the front of the shirts facing down. Fold them in half, with the bottom of the shirt meeting the shoulders. Then fold over one more time, sleeve to sleeve. Set aside and power through the rest of the pile.

6. Lie your long-sleeve shirts out flat in one pile, with the front of the shirts facing down. Slipping hangers into them is the fastest way to deal with long-sleeve shirts (and also the best way to avoid wrinkles). But if you must fold them, fold the sides of the shirt and the sleeves first, about one-third of the way in toward the center, keeping the sleeves straight. Then fold the shirt in half, the bottom to the base of the collar.

7. Fold your pants leg-to-leg and lie in a pile. Again, slipping hangers into them is the fastest way to deal with pants, while avoiding wrinkles. But if you must fold them, simply fold them in half, from the bottom of the pant leg to the waist.

8. Fold underwear in half, from hip to hip.

Tips & Warnings

• • The best way to avoid wrinkles is to fold clothes fast as soon as they come out of the dryer.

• • Wash your clothes separately from your linens to avoid time-consuming separating.

• • Fold socks like you always do – one inside the other. Just be sure to ask your family members to turn them right-side out before tossing them into the laundry. It not only saves you time later, but also allows the washing machine to better tackle the soiled side of the sock.