How to Fold Laundry Faster by Folding Less

The fastest way to fold laundry is to fold less of it. Put socks, underwear, pajamas and most kids' clothes into bins unfolded, hang shirts and pants straight from the dryer, and save real folding for towels and a few basics.

Most folding time goes to small items and clothes that don't show wrinkles anyway. Drop those, and a full load takes about 10 to 15 minutes.

Bin what doesn't wrinkle

Some clothes look the same folded or tossed in a drawer. Underwear, socks, pajamas, workout clothes and leggings don't show wrinkles in a way anyone notices. Folding them takes time and changes nothing.

Give each of these its own bin or drawer:

• Underwear
• Socks
• Pajamas
• Workout clothes and leggings

Open bins or shallow drawers work best, because you can see everything at once. Putting laundry away gets simple when the rule is just "socks go in the sock bin."

Kids' clothes

Most kids' clothes can skip folding entirely. T-shirts, sweatpants and leggings go into bins labeled by type: tops, bottoms, pajamas. Kids get dressed faster when they can see their choices, and they can put their own laundry away from about 4 or 5.

Save hangers for the few dressy items and anything that wrinkles badly.

Hang more, fold less

Hanging is faster than folding and keeps clothes looking better. Shirts, blouses, dresses and most pants can go straight from the dryer onto a hanger. Check the care label first, and air-dry anything marked do not tumble dry, which includes many blouses, dresses and wool sweaters.

Keep a supply of empty hangers next to the dryer on a rod, hook or tension bar. As you pull each shirt out, hang it. Light wrinkles fall out as it cools, so you skip most ironing too.

Pull items out as soon as the dryer stops, so start it at a time when someone will be home to hear it finish. Clothes left in a warm heap wrinkle, and then they need ironing or another spin.

Use one kind of hanger

Use the same hangers in every closet so clothes go straight from the laundry rod to the closet rod. When someone takes a shirt out to wear, the empty hanger goes back to the laundry area. The loop keeps itself going.

One sock style, no matching

Pairing socks is slow, fiddly work, and it's the part of laundry most people put off. The way out is to stop owning socks that need pairing. Choose a single style and color for each person, or assign everyone a color of their own so socks never land in the wrong drawer.

Once every sock in a drawer matches the rest, the whole batch goes into the bin with no sorting at all. A sock that vanishes in the wash leaves no orphan behind, since its partner pairs with the next one. When the supply runs low, buy another pack of the same kind and the drawer stays uniform.

For kids, this ends the search for a matching pair on school mornings. They grab any two and go, and the odd-sock basket on top of the dryer disappears.

Fold only what needs it

Some things really are easier to store folded. Keep that list short and learn one fast fold for each.

Towels

Fold towels in thirds lengthwise, then in half or thirds again to fit your shelf. Use the same fold for every towel so they stack neatly. Rolling is just as fast and works well in baskets.

Jeans and sweaters

Jeans can hang or fold, whichever suits your space. If you fold them, fold in half along the legs and then in half or thirds. Fold sweaters instead of hanging them, since heavy knits can stretch on hangers.

Sheets

Fold sheets roughly into a square and tuck the whole set inside one of its pillowcases. You'll always have a full set together, and nobody hunts for the matching flat sheet. Neat corners are optional.

Fold at the dryer, not on the couch

The couch is where laundry goes to wait. A basket of clean clothes in the living room gets picked through, wrinkles again, and sometimes ends up back in the hamper.

Do it all in one stop at the dryer:

1. Set out one basket per person and a rod with empty hangers.
2. Pull clothes out the moment the dryer stops, while they're still warm.
3. Hang what hangs, fold what folds, and drop the rest into each person's basket.
4. Carry each basket to its room and put everything away right then.

This takes about 10 to 15 minutes for a typical family load. It works best when each person has their own hamper, as part of a simple laundry system. If you also want to skip sorting by color, read do you need to sort laundry.

Fold, hang or bin: a quick guide

Set up storage to match

The new habit only sticks if storage matches it. Before your next laundry day, spend about 30 minutes setting up:

1. Add bins to drawers or shelves for underwear, socks, pajamas and workout clothes.
2. Put a rod or hook and a stack of hangers by the dryer.
3. Buy one sock style for anyone whose drawer is full of odd socks.
4. Clear enough closet space that hanging clothes actually fit.

Fewer clothes help too. Drawers that aren't stuffed are easy to toss things into, and there's less to wash each week. Once everything has an obvious spot, kids can take over putting away their own clothes, one of the easiest chores for kids to hand off.

FAQ

What clothes don't need to be folded?

Underwear, socks, pajamas, workout clothes, leggings and most kids' everyday clothes can go into bins or drawers unfolded, and so can kitchen cloths and rags. Shirts, dresses and pants can be hung straight from the dryer, unless the label says not to tumble dry. That leaves towels, sweaters, sheets and maybe jeans as the main things worth folding.

Is it better to hang or fold clothes?

Hang anything that wrinkles or that you want to look crisp: shirts, blouses, dresses and pants. Fold heavy knits like sweaters so they don't stretch out on the hanger. For T-shirts and jeans, go with whatever fits your space, though hanging is usually faster because each item goes from the dryer to the closet in one step.

How do I fold laundry faster?

Fold less: bin small items and anything that doesn't show wrinkles, hang shirts and pants right out of the dryer, and use one sock style so there's no matching. Fold at the dryer as soon as it stops, into one basket per person, and put everything away right after. For towels, learn one quick fold and use it every time.

How do I keep clothes from wrinkling if I don't fold them?

Take them out of the dryer as soon as it stops, and hang anything that wrinkles right away. Don't overfill the dryer, since packed loads wrinkle more. If something still needs a refresh, a few minutes in the dryer with a damp cloth usually relaxes the creases.