According to Marie Kondo’s way of folding, we should all be folding our clothes like an envelope and hanging our clothes in the closet from longest to shortest and by category. (Read my previous post about how to fold clothes the Marie Kondo way)

But, what about the task itself?

Once I start folding, my technique is on-point, it’s just the procrastination of folding and putting the laundry away that gets in my way.

Tips to make laundry easier

My number 1 tip is to SORT!

Instead of just attacking the giant mountain, sorting the pile into different piles actually makes it more manageable.

Here’s what I hate about laundry: socks! Seriously, I hate socks. They’re like little bombs waiting to jump out. And you can never find the matching pair. So you have to set the sock aside, then hope to find the match. Which you may or may not find anyway, so you have to put one sock somewhere as it awaits its long lost partner.

Then there are rags littered throughout as well. They don’t need partners, but they’re small and to me they just add drag to your time.

How to sort laundry

I tackle my mountain of laundry by sorting things into the following piles:

Bedding linens
Towels and rags
Socks and underoos
Clothes that need folding
Clothes that need hanging

Fastest way to get the laundry done

I tackle my clothes first.

Hang up clothes that need hanging
Fold clothes that need folding

Hang em up

I take my pile of clothes that need hanging and put them away. Pile 1 is done.

Fold em up

I do fold my clothes according to Marie Kondo’s folding method, but I don’t do it exactly how she teaches. For instance, she says to fold a shirt in half vertically. I do horizontally, then vertically. So, little things like that, but I still wind up with a rectangle fold.

Put clothes away as you go

I find it helpful to put clothes away before the pile of folded clothes gets too big.

Sometimes I’ll do it after folding 10 things, or when a commercial comes on (if I’m watching something). But definitely before I start stacking too many things on top of each other.

It’s easier to gather like-clothes together and put them away before you start stacking clothes on top of clothes. It’s easier on your brain (or, my brain at least) when you have just one level of clothes instead of a stack.

Plus, I feel that much closer to done when I put things away as I go instead of waiting until the end. Visually, I’m confronted with less, which makes my brain breathe easier.

Move on to the other piles

Towels and rags

Usually I’ll do towels and rags next. This pile feels wonderfully mindless. They’re already categorized and I know where they all go.

Bedding

Bedding is easy but it’s bulky. To fold the fitted sheets takes space and requires my whole body. Never folded a fitted sheet before? Your life is about to change!

This video is how I fold my fitted sheets (the other methods tell you to stand up and flip corners out, then flip another corner over another corner…I don’t get it). This is the absolute easiest way to me (I do this on the back of my couch):

Socks and underoos

These are the most tedious things to fold the Marie Kondo way because they’re so small. But I do. So, I fold my underoos the way she says, and socks (assuming I have a pair) I mostly fold like she says.

But, I flatten my socks. I put my hand in and flatten it so the heel part is flat instead of sticking out.

Should you iron or steam before hanging clothes?

I don’t own an iron, but I do own a steamer, which I use but rarely. Once something is hung up, I find that it’s fine as it is. If I plan to wear something and it looks too wrinkled, then I’ll steam it then, but not before.

If you love to iron or steam, then by all means, go ahead. But if you find it’s the barrier stopping you from hanging up your clothes, then I’d give yourself permission to just hang things up now and steam or iron later.

Easiest way to fold and put laundry away (even if you hate laundry)