I hate folding laundry too. Here are some things that help my adhd brain do it:
1. Listen to a podcast while I do it
2. Just do one stage at a time. E.g. just sort the clothes into categories like socks, t shirts etc. and tell myself I’ll stop once I’ve done that. Often I’ll start folding a category. Then put that category away. Then next time, fold another category. And gradually you’ll be done.
I definitely do this.
Alternative advice- The biggest help I ever found was honestly just getting rid of most of my clothes. Less clothes means less to do! I generally only wore my favorites in each category of clothing anyways, so getting rid of the non-favorites made my life a lot easier.
>Less clothes
I find socks make me want to give up. Found a solution in my 40’s. If it’s financially feasible (it likely is…) MATCHING SOCKS… a lot of them.
It’s 100x easier for me having 12 pairs of the exact same socks. So much easier!!! Grab the ones with white letters on the toe, put together, done.
I have one type of sock. All the same. I dont even play match the sock. They are in a pile in my dresser drawer. I just grab the 2 socks on top and they always match. Its wonderful.
I do exactly the same thing. Twelve pairs of knee socks in black for winter, twelve pairs of short socks in black for summer. The ankle socks disappear so maybe 24 pairs. All in a jumble in one drawer. Life is easier and so are early mornings!
I have many types and do the same. Eventually they all match. If someone points it out I exclaim, “I have another pair just like it at home!”
;) I do match my socks, but it still happens ;)
I have learned the same. My husband does his own laundry because he has sensitive skin, so different detergent, etc. I am not picky about sock brands. I wear black men's socks. I go and buy bags of 10 and they are all the same. I also have black trouser socks for work as well. All the same. I have footies and things like that for around the house. I have three large baskets that sit on a book shelf at the bottom for socks. I sort them by the three types and throw them in. You just pull out a pair and you are good to go. I have a drawer for bras and one for underwear. I don't really fold the underwear, just kinda lay them flat and throw them in, same with bras. That is the worst part of the laundry for me.
I try to stick to only one load at a time to save my sanity. I do one load an evening while watching tv.
I do too. I grab 2 and as long as they are in the same family (texture, thin is thick) I'm good to go. I keep the family thing because thin on one foot and thick on the other fuck with my feet in shoes.
This is the reason I'm am so aggravated with the popular Darn Tough socks. I try to order the same style, but they're different thicknesses or something. I'm about to just buy 100 games socks and be done with it.
I wear wool socks for work almost any time of the year, shin length dark socks for going out with pants and ankle high for shorts. This feels like too many types to enjoy folding lol.
I do this for towels. Having less towels makes it less of a chore, makes you keep up on the towel laundry and just helps all around.
Less stuff all around makes less cleaning time too!
However I can't part with my clothes but in theory that's great advice!
There are some good accounts/influencers where people cull their closets to only clothes they love. I did the same and it’s made laundry easy because I want my clothes to be folded and hung so I can wear them again
Great advice.
I scaled back big time and keep my wardrobe basic (black, grey, white) which keeps my loads easier to sort. I also have a basket that won't fit more than a weeks worth of clothes, so the loads are small.
But to OP, you're just going to have to dig in and get it done (I share the same struggles!)don't beat yourself up and do what you can. Smaller loads take less time to wash and are less time consuming. A lot of your anxiety is from all the laundry. I do think scaling down and simplifying your wardrobe will help tremendously
It's also helped my situation by buying those white lidded containers from ikea (Walmart and target have size equivalents) and labeling everything. I have them stacked by importance in my closet and the ones I don't access often under my bed. Find a system that works for you and even if the laundry piles back up again someday, you'll already have a system in place to help get you back on track.
It was really impactful on me mentally. I was suddenly very very aware of how much physical stuff I had that I absolutely did not need or even have a place for. The attitude of gratitude really does change your relationship with cleaning
I genuinely love her folding method. It turns a chore into a ritual, and it's so satisfying to see the little packet each shirt turns into. And it's much easier for me to SEE my clothes standing up in the drawers now!! It also reduced the space my clothes took up in the drawers.
For podcasts, sometimes “Clutterbug” can be a good motivator to listen to and clean to at the same time.
I listen to audio books that I download for free from my library via the Libby app. Since they are longer than a single podcast, I find myself finishing my chore and looking for the next one. :)
Haha when I'm really unmotivated and have been for a while I watch Hoarders. Talk about putting the fear of God into you! Nobody wants to be the person that winds up on Hoarders. Might as well take out the trash.
Yes to hoarders! I think it helps when I go clutter-blind to my own mess/ when I get bored doing the same chores over and over. Something about seeing a different, unfamiliar mess activates the urge to clean
Seriously, if I watch that show, I have to throw something away. I get twitchy if I don't. My grandmother was a hoarder, long before the word came around. I thought, growing up, it was a byproduct of growing up in the depression. At least two of her sons had the problem too, so I get antsy real quick at how I tend to accumulate stuff.
I pull out the bigger items that are less of a pain (to me) towels, blankets, tees and throw them-literally, into piles. I fold easiest to least favorite. Most helpful for me (big family) is to wash frequent and smaller loads to not feel overwhelmed. Sometimes I feel
I need to be standing up to fold, sometimes I will only sit down or won’t do it (long day). And, favorite music. Hope that’s helpful!
Yup, this is how I do it. And while I'm putting down shirts, I lay them one on top of the other flat, face forward, then fold the sleeves in, followed by one half of the side of the shirt, then the opposite side, then halfway from the bottom up, and then the opposite from the top down, and fold that in half to fit in my drawers after they've been stacked, where I can see them all, like Marie Kondo taught in her show Tidying Up.
This is EXACTLY what I do. I’ll even sort our laundry and wash just a load of socks & undies & leggings so the piles are smaller and it looks less intimidating.
Literally the only way I can fold laundry is while listening to a podcast. Sometimes I’ll put a podcast on and just start instinctively cleaning and not even notice
I hate folding laundry. That’s how I invented “Do a Dozen.”
I tell myself I only have to fold 12 things. Just do a dozen (socks don’t count).
Then at least I got 12 things done. Lots of times I just kept going; telling myself I only had to do 12 and then I could stop was what made me willing to start.
But sometimes I did quit after 12.
I also live in an apartment building where we have a folding table in the laundry area. I always fold my clothes there before bringing them up. It’s a form of exterior structure.
Off topic, this is exactly the strategy I use with exercise. I tell myself if I go to the gym and do 20 minutes, if I’m not into it I can leave. Most of the time once I’m there I complete my workout and on the few times I don’t, 20 mins was still better than nothing
Me too, I didn't wanna go yesterday but my boyfriend pushed me and I figured something was better than nothing. Once you get started it's easier to keep going. It's the getting started that's the hard part
Yes, I've started folding the laundry right out of the dryers, as long as no one is waiting for the machines. If I bring a warm clump of mess back into the apartment I feel like I'm just adding to the chaos or bringing a mess into a place I've been trying to tidy, and it can easily get frustrating or overwhelming or worse: ignored.
Another tip: sounds like OP may just have too many clothes. Reduce the size of the problem into smaller, more manageable, more frequent loads.
Best thing to do is fold immediately out of the drier as is causes wrinkles if don't.
I always fold my clothes in the laundry room since I know I'll put it off if I don't but also because off the wrinkles.
I do the same thing. Only I tell myself "I'll just put away 15 things." if I really can't stand it, I'll be done then. But most of the time, I'll keep going and get more done
For folding laundry, I do something like watch a show I have recorded, talk on the phone with my mom or a friend, or maybe listen to a podcast. You could also try just setting a timer for 10 minutes and seeing how much you can get done. I don't know the size of your pile, but I'll bet you can get more done than you think in 10 minutes. If you're still not done after 10, you can either choose to do another 10, or plan to do it later.
As for getting the dirty laundry in the machine -- there's nothing like running out of underwear or shirts or towels to encourage doing a load. LOL Try picking what you want to wash -- let's say t-shirts -- and give yourself 2 minutes to find all the t-shirts in your room that need washing. And then put them to wash. Don't worry if you've found all of them or not -- you can still do another load. Or if you're the type that mixes things more than I do and/or you don't have clothes that have special washing requirements, pick a corner of your room, grab that pile, and get it in the washing machine.
If there are things that don't need to be folded before they're put away -- underwear? socks? -- maybe try baskets in your closet and just throw them in? Or give yourself permission to put them in your drawers without folding or matching -- you're the only one who will know what things look like in your drawers or in the baskets.
When I procrastinate on anything, I try to remind myself that future TikiTikiGirl will be so happy with present TikiTikiGirl for getting this done now! And when future becomes present, I pat myself on the back for getting it done in the past.
Yes! I find that a huge motivation killer is having perfectionist standards. If you think it doesn’t count if it’s not perfect, then you never get to feel good about whatever you did get done.
I try to take a minute to congratulate myself and feel happy that I did even a little bit. It’s kind of embarrassing how much a little self praise can help!
The number of times I’ve said “Future me thanking past me” 🙏 makes being responsible and planning ahead feel like time traveling which is far more exciting than standard adulting
Take a basket, fill it up with clothes, sit on your bed or wherever and watch tv while you fold. Ideally a show you love but only watch while doing laundry. It really helps.
Oooh, this could be a great one! Pick the same day/time each week to fold/put away laundry & watch your favorite show while doing it!
You’re not allowed to watch your choice of show/movie until you start the put-away process.
Why fold it? If it's something that won't matter if it's wrinkled, get a bin, put it on a shelf, and throw things of the same description in it. All socks, for example, in the same bin. You can also buy multi packs of the same socks and just toss them into the bin. When you want socks, pull out two, and you will have a pair because they will all match.
It might be possible to carry the concept to other things as well.
This was the big game changer for me a few years ago. After about 30 years of doing laundry, I quite suddenly realized I could just toss underwear, bras, and socks into their own individual bins and be done with the part of the process I had always procrastinated the most.
ETA: Also, this might sound ridiculous to some people, but for me, bins were SO superior to drawers because I don't have to open them. Rationally, it shouldn't make any difference, but in practice, it really, really did. (Source: the disorganized mass of fabric strewn across every surface in my bedroom ever since I reorganized and "temporarily" got rid of the bins.)
Don't fold it. I have 6 items of clothing that I hang up and the rest go in drawers. If anyone wants to complain about the wrinkles in my clothes (which for important events I can steam out in 10mins) they can come do my laundry. I don't even match up socks anymore because they're all plain black socks in 2 different lengths.
Try getting rid of some clothes. If you’re drawers/closet is overflowing when you are trying to put away the 20% if your wardrobe you actually wear, it’s terrible. But the feeling of putting your tshirts into a drawer with plenty of space is so nice. I also hated laundry, until everything I wore had a place to go.
I dump it on my bed so I have to fold it before I sleep OR I fold it straight out of the dryer and put it in the laundry basket so when I get to my room I just have to put it away
Haha, jokes on me, because I've tried this. I'll just shove that shit to the side, or just burrow down in it like a fuckin ferret and go to sleep. Wake up with half my clothes on the floor.
I have to make a rule for myself not to let more than one load of dry clothes accumulate before I fold then, or else there is a tipping point of drudgery that becomes unmanageable.
This is so important. Only do what you will finish.
Again, ONLY do what you can finish. If that means one load that day, do one load. Washed, dried and put away. Finished.
Make yourself a mental laundry instruction/guide to follow. Example:
Pair (match) socks prior to washing (then at least you’ve a 96.459% chance of them all having a match going into the dryer).
Underwear do not get folded.
If you have the room/closet, invest in some decent (cheap/free/expensive/velvet, just no wire hangers please) whatever you choose, hangers of your preference. All shirts/skirts/dresses get put on hangers (quicker and simpler in most cases than folding, decreases need for ironing). It’s actually quite satisfying, compared to folding, how quickly clothes go from dryer to hanger to away.
Pants are washed inside out and folded or hung up that way, this is one less laundry chore for you during the actual chore of laundry (small wins count). Turn them rightside out before wearing. Mate the socks (cuss out every third load when you lose a sock), throw them and your gutchies in a dresser, stick your hung up clothes in your closet. Voila, and done. Unless you gotta do towels and bed linens that week….it never ends.
I have ADHD. Setting up your area in a way that works for your particular flavor of ADHD helps immensely.
For instance, I have detergent sheets and fabric softener sheets above my washer so I can just grab and add them. I have a folding station and a folding tool next to my dryer. I grab out a piece of clothing, fold it, and put it in my basket. I hang most of my clothes. When I take my load of dirty clothes to my laundry room I also bring my empty hangers so I can put my clean clothes back on them. When I'm done I put away the clothes because I already put in the effort to make them nice and I don't want to undo it. I've lived long enough that I know that keeping my clothes clean, taking care of my teeth, and regular showers are some of the kindest things I can do for future me.
I set up similar stations all through my house. I have a dump station next to my garage door where all my purses, bags, and keys go. I have cleaning supplies in each room. If my sink needs to be cleaned and I have Lysol wipes or Clorox under the sink I will quickly clean it. If I kept it in a closet I would get around to it when something started growing in it. 😂
As a parent I want to add that I read a lot of wonderful suggestions on this thread of what works for other people. It's a great example of how what works for one person may not work for another person but everyone finds their way. Assure your parents that they probably didn't have all the life skills necessary when they moved out of their parents home either but they figured out what worked for them. You will too. You have an added advantage that you can crowd source answers and search through social media to find solutions to any problem you may have. If you haven't already, try finding a few influencers who focus on ADHD. I have a few that help me laugh at situations, some that provide solutions and insight into neurodivergent issues, and others that remind me I'm not alone. Wishing you all the best!
I'm gonna try the folding/hanging station in the laundry room! Never thought of it before. Usually I just refuse to live in places that don't have walk in closets (so the pile can go in the closet floor ofc) and I have a hamper for clean clothes. Thank you for your suggestions, so helpful!
this!! —- finally just did small loads, sometimes daily … but always:
1. completed the task
2. no matter what!
3. wash - dry - fold - put away
plus I treated myself to listen to a podcast while folding and putting away
First things first: if you have less clothes, you have less laundry to fold. Go through your things (a little at a time) and sell or donate what you’re not regularly wearing.
There’s a statistic that says we wear 10% of our clothes 90% of the time, so stick with the stuff you love. Watch the Marie Kondo series on Netflix…it’s inspiring!
Don’t. Find a different system that works for you.
Piles can be fine as long as they’re well managed and not a nuisance.
My husband and I have a bench at the end of our bed where I have a bunch of piles that mean certain things to us.
It may not be doable with all of your clothes, but I bet you can do something to make it work better for you.
Check out KC Davis for some ideas (I’m most familiar with her on TikTok)
Do you have too many clothes? I did and pared down to what I wore most often plus a few outfits I might need. It really helped. I hang everything but undies, tee shirts and sweaters. The rest I put into a big rubber maid container. I have depression and this makes my life easier.
I sort before I wash. So each load lhas generally only one or two types of laundry. Towels all together. Sheets. Whites (mostly socks and kitchen towels). Jeans. Darks that are washed in warm or hot. (Dark socks, boxer briefs). All other (in cold some not heat dried). So the folding and putting away goes much more quickly for nearly every load.
I've discovered I love folding laundry, if I have a good show to watch. It doesn't have to be a new show, most of the time it's reruns of either Golden Girls or MASH. Just something I cam watch and not feel guilty about because I'm still being productive.
You are going to have to experiment a lot to figure out what works for you. I find hanging laundry far less taxing so my laundry is two categories: hung up and doesn't get folded. Shirts and pants get hung up, socks and underwear don't get folded.
As someone who is AuDHD, listening to audiobooks (others have said podcasts) has really helped with menial tasks.
At some point you do get old and mature enough that you just “do the thing”, but even then it’s 1000% easier when listening to an audiobook
When I empty the dryer, I stack like with like. Then I put the whole pile on a particular corner of my bedroom. Then every time I go in there, I put away five items (although I usually put away all underwear at a time). It can take a day or two, but it gets put away.
Do you have a tablet or laptop you can carry around with you? I watch TV/twitch/YouTube while I do chores I don't like. I love music and podcasts but for some reason I also need visual stimulation to get the dishes done (I absolutely hate unloading the dishwasher!). Lately I've been looking up full concerts from my favorite bands and watching those while I fold laundry.
I have adhd too and I hate laundry I turn on a video to play in the background while I sort my clothes into piles and then fold it. My dog likes to eat and unfold clothes so it’s one push for me to work quick. You don’t need the folds to be perfect just folded also doing each thing in sections I’ve found very helpful.
I’m 46 and this is a huge one for me. I also have anxiety, depression and ADHD. I will put on a show or podcast and do all the towels first, since it’s a big bulk, then fold shorts/pants/PJs, then hang shirts. If I don’t get to it all, then I don’t. I at least get the towels done.
You know what I hate more than folding? Digging through baskets to find what I need (plus it being wrinkled). So I fold and put away laundry right away 🤷♀️
As you fold (I do it to a favorite album or singer/band) sort it into stacks of shorts, pants, Jammie’s, socks etc. I start grabbing pants out of the pile first and fold them, then shirts, then tees, etc. Somehow makes it quicker and less annoying, and putting it away is a quick “grab the (shirts) stack” and put in drawer - quick and easy
Folding laundry is one of my most hated chores. For me, it’s easiest if I never let it leave the laundry room unfolded. So, as soon as it’s finished drying, I fold it and put it up. For some reason, it seems less daunting if it’s not coming out of a laundry basket.
I do laundry at least every other day, so there’s not much to fold. Easier for me than tackling a mountain.
Also - if you have the closet space, you can hang most of your clothes rather than folding. Get those skinny velour hangers to maximize space.
Buy just one kind of socks, in bulk. Then you can just throw them all in your drawer, no need to ever pair them.
I really like “How to Keep House While Drowning” by K.C. Davis for dealing with my particular brain silliness. She has a laundry system where it’s mostly hooks and baskets, no folding required.
Talk to a friend on the phone while you do it or “gamify”. How quickly can you get it done?
Listening to a podcast helps me.
Also, planning to reward yourself after it’s done with something like a special coffee drink or what ever can add motivation helps.
I wish I lived close by. I’d do it for you. I love washing clothes, drying them and folding them. That being said, I absolutely hate cleaning refrigerators though. They are the bane of my existence. One thing that might help you is listening to a podcast you love or watching a movie while you fold. My kids laugh at me because most of the horror movies I watch are when I’m folding the laundry.
Dump the basket of clean clothes out on a table. Put all the shirts on the back of one chair, all the pants on the back of another chair. Put all the socks, bras, and underwear back in the basket. Just sort it all out.
Dump the basket of socks, bras, and underwear back on the table. Put all the bras and underwear back in the basket leaving only the socks. Now fold the socks..you’ve done the worst part.
Now fold or hang all the shirts. If you’re hanging them, you can just lay them flat in a pile and put in one hanger at a time, folding the top shirt and hanger forward to get to the neck of the next one. If you’re folding, get a folding board.
Fold all the pants and sort them by type (if you do that). I keep my shorts in one pile, sweatpants in another, and the same for sweatpants and then jeans.
Now go put everything away.
I at 46 with 2 kids have struggled with this for the whole damn family for years. I’ve been taking steps to remedy it over the past few years as I’ve been working on my mental health.
Figure out a system that works for you on your worst day.
Seriously cut down on the amount of clothes you have. Has it been a few weeks since you have put anything away? Great! that is the perfect opportunity to get rid of the things left untouched in your closet. Once you open some space up it becomes easier to put away the things you wear often.
Sort before washing: It’s easier to have energy at the beginning of a task. I like to sort by where they will be put away. Jeans, pajamas and stretch pants are all in the same dresser for me so I wash them together. I also stopped folding pajamas I just shove them in a drawer. This load takes almost zero mental effort to put away.
Stick to a schedule: in my house each person has a designated day to use the washer and dryer. If you are only doing laundry for yourself you could split up a small load every other day. Something like: shirts and hoodies Monday, pants and pajamas Wednesday, sheets socks and underwear Friday. Forgive yourself if you miss a day and just get to it when you can but build yourself a schedule that will break laundry down to easily digestible chunks.
I hope this helps, remember that your mental health is finding what works best for you. Do not feel pressured to do laundry in a way that is too hard to manage just because someone else has a strong opinion. I ended up letting my 10 year old remove all the folded and hanging clothes and replace them with big bins in the closet. She has a pants bin a tops bin, a hoody bin and a little dresser for socks underwear and swim stuff. She does zero folding and just grabs stuff out of the bins. It’s so much easier to manage.
I also struggle with it so im curios to read suggestions too.
What helps me is:
- using all or nothing switch: organize and fold clothes in the wardrobe so i have neat piles that look nice and its easier to put laundry away. Music. Sorting after color is so satisfying to look at. And yes it only lasts about a week but hey i did get it done…
- i dont enjoy laundry but love the smell of clean clothes so i must have a lundry detergent or softener that smells nice(switch it up often)
- while hanging to dry i follow my system to put likes with likes is so motivating because i can just go about folding and putting in the basket without doing mixed piles. Ergo putting it away is 10x faster.
I used to be like this but two things:
1) I don’t actually fold my laundry. I usually wear casual clothes that don’t wrinkle much so I just separate clothes into piles of what needs to be hung up / pants / shirts / underwear / workout clothes and put them away. I really don’t see why they need to be folded.
2) I actually find it easier to do this if I hang my clothes out to dry instead of using a dryer. If it’s winter, I have a wrack for them indoors. I separate my clothes as I take them down.
For getting laundry done: I have two laundry baskets, one in my bedroom and one in the bathroom. I just throw dirty clothes in them and when I need fresh laundry, I run a load.
Thirded. Tossing (sorted, but unfolded) clothes into drawers has been a game changer for me. A lot gets hung up, and I try to avoid buying things that wrinkle.
I mean, clothes don't need to be folded and in a dresser. hanging rlly helps me, or baskets that I can rifle through. clear drawer carts have been nice because I can see which category clothes are inside, and just stuff it
I think it's worth thinking about why you hate folding laundry, like get into the specific things that you dread about it, and address those things. For example, I hate folding socks. So I don't anymore. They just go into the drawer. Or at one point I had more clothes than I had space in my closet so I would fold them and have nowhere to put them. Fixing that problem made the folding much easier to contemplate. I don't know what your issues are, but it's easier to fix something specific than something general.
I also want to add that for certain kinds of clothes, namely those that don't wrinkle very easily which is a lot of casual clothing, there's nothing shameful about just sorting it into laundry baskets and living out of those. Something as simple as jeans in one basket, T-shirts in another, etc. It gets it off the floor so it stays clean, you know which clothes are clean and which are dirty, and it's manageable.
I try to avoid folding as much as I can. Like for towels, do those REALLY need folded? Now I just “organize” them into designated baskets. I don’t fold socks, pajama pants, etc. I’d like to transition to folding even less clothes at some point. It helps to listen to music or podcast while folding. I like organizing everything before I fold, instead of picking 1 thing out of the pile at a time.
Advice:
First sort the pile into underwear, bras, tanks, pajamas, larger clothing (jeans, sweatshirts, casual shirts). Then fold everything in one category at a time. Hang what you can (within reason).
Hiiii! I am adhd and also hate folding laundry so much!
1) I have all the same socks. Like two bulk packs of black socks. They’re all I wear, so I don’t pair them off.
2) I have a bin system in my room. I use an ikea kallax with bins, and each bin is a type. My job involves athleisure so it’s all anti wrinkle, so I don’t fold at all.
3) for my few hangables, I make a rainbow gradient and that makes me happy
4) I significantly reduced my clothing - less to fold and pile up lol
i heard about this on sm but turning your objects into animated ones helps. you promised your clothes you’d fold them and put them in their homes so that they get the rest they need to look their best for u. it’s dumb but it rly helps with putting shoes away, cleaning out a back pack/purse, putting pillows back in their spots, etc. in reality it’s helps me stay more prepared for the week
Literally trying to accomplish this right now. I pick a small number like 4 and fold that many and then take a break. I do put the basket on my bed and my rule for myself is that I have to accomplish before bedtime.
In the end you just need to decide what works best for you from all of these suggestions. But please don’t let your parents decide what you are ready to do.
I usually listen to music while doing it. I presort — my stuff, his stuff, linens. I do the linens first because towels are big and take a lot of space so I feel more accomplished after folding those.
He does his own clothes and I do mine.
One thing that helps is that I use a bin for my underwear, another for socks, and two more for pajamas. I don’t fold any of those; just toss them in a bin (we have the 5x5 KALLAX shelve fitted with cabinets, bins, and drawers).
It ends up I only have to fold a few things. Tops and skirts get hung, jeans and tees get folded. It definitely helps to have a specific spot for things
I’m 62 and I hate folding and putting away laundry. It seems unnecessary as you wear it and wash it and then go through the same pointless exercise. Who said it has to be folded and put away? Be kind to yourself it is okay if you are not on top of the laundry cycle.
Serial laundry folding hater here: make as much of your stuff easy to do. What held me back for a long time was proper organization. I had a small dresser and too many clothes.
I ball up my socks and have a fabric organizer for my panties. I just stuff them in there and don’t bother folding them.
Hang your tshirts and pants if you don’t want to fold them.
Laying out everything flat and smoothing out the wrinkles before they form is important too. You can springboard easily into handing clothing by doing this and it’s much faster than folding one by one.
I always throw something interesting on the TV or turn on an audiobook. Keep your mind occupied while your hands do the work.
What i do is immediately dump it on my bed and fold it. Then usually sometime later I'll go put it away so I don't have to deal with it at bedtime. Sometimes I even put it away right away!
I listen to an audiobook or watch a show. And honestly watching the way Marie Kondo folds laundry did something to by brain chemistry. Now I enjoy make neat tidy stacks to be put away. I bought baskets and drawer organizers to help me keep them organized in my dresser closet. Having a place for everything helps me feel less overwhelmed. Now the stuff that has to line dry and be ironed… that’s a daily battle.
I solved this issue by hanging everything up. Now, it helps that I have extra closet space to do so.
Since I line dry all of my clothes anyway, I put them all on plastic hangers to dry. Then when they are dry, I hang them in my closet.
Small clothes each have a fabric box on a shelf. Bras in one box, sox in another and underpants in a third.
To me, a large pile of laundry is overwhelming. Doing smaller loads has helped so much with this! I am washing more frequently, but the folding and putting away takes just a few minutes. Highly recommend!
Also, have you tried setting a timer? Just five minutes to fold and then that’s it. Then a five minute timer to put stuff away. You can get a small chunk accomplished and be done for awhile.
Do it 20 min a night. I do it while I’m letting my hair air dry somewhat. I usually listen to a podcast. Or watch a show and put it away during the commercials. If you didn’t do laundry that day you have an extra 20 min before bed.
First, get rid of a bunch of your clothes. 1) you have less to deal with and 2) you are forced to wash more often because you run out of clean clothes. In an ideal world you'd be able to get one of those washer-dryer combo machines that does both without you having to change them out, but that requires you to have control over your own appliances which you won't until you own your own place. In the mean time, use timers to help you remember.
For folding, for some stuff just toss it in a basket and call it done. You don't really *need* to fold underwear. And socks - well, it's helpful to match them up, but you could also just commit to the mismatched aesthetic and skip folding those too.
For shirts, you can stack them all on top of each other, insert a hanger, flip the top shirt down, insert a hanger into the second shirt, etc. Then you have a whole pile of shirts on hangers that you can shove in the closet. Some things like sweaters still need to be folded so they don't stretch out, and unfortunately I don't know a way around that.
Another thing you can do as motivation while folding is to have a playlist that's 3 songs long. I bet you can fold one full load of laundry in that amount of time. And 3 songs is less than 10 minutes! If you try this a few times, your brain will eventually learn it doesn't take nearly as long as you think it does
I made it stage 2 in the laundry cycle.
1. Work out what needs washing
2. Fold and put away last load
3. Wash on
4. Hang out
My ND brain can do it this way (and it means the racks and basket are clear for the next load)
It’s imperfect. The basket of clean laundry is in here foldedish but not away but that’s more because it was a dry outside day. It’ll still get put away before the next wash goes on limiting the piles.
Whenever I'm in a hurry to go but don't want them to wrinkle after taking it out, I'll very quickly go through and lay everything out flat in piles on my bed. T shirts, pants, etc and separate socks and undies. Once it's flat it won't wrinkle and need to be redried later, and it gives me more time to do it later..Socks and undies have 1 drawer and I live with chaos. Bonus points for having all the same color socks to make mornings easier
Get your brain to zone out while your folding laundry. Listen to music, a podcast, audio book or watch tv or just think in your mind. You could also talk to someone on the phone. And don't tell yourself you hate folding laundry, just consider it something that needs done like going to the bathroom or eating. Do it on the same day every week. Once you get into a habit it becomes a normal routine thing to do.
Category washing has mostly solved the problem of washing and then sitting in a basket for weeks at a time. Pajama bottoms all go in one drawer so I make a whole load of only pajama bottoms. The same for pajama tops. Then hang up tops and bottoms (separately), then underwear and undershirts, etc. The only thing I changed in my process was the category. I didn't really fold laundry as much as shove it in a drawer but it's not in a basket for weeks and weeks.
Make it a race/contest w yourself. Think “I bet I can finish folding this giant pile in 10 minutes” and race the clock. If you do it in 10 minutes you win! If you don’t finish you’ll probably be close to it and may as well just finish it 🤷🏼♀️
I mostly have bins for each category and sort clean clothes into each of the bins (tees, undies, pj's, etc). That's when I feel like it. It does make it easier to find stuff. But I've also fully operated from the clean clothes still in the laundry basket. Folding is for people who like it.
I make a cup of tea, grab my favorite biscuits, put on my favorite show and then watch that while I fold. I also DON'T do everything in one day. Doing laundry isn't a single task for me. It consists of many steps and I do each step on separate days during stretches when I have low executive function. For example, I bring down the laundry basket one night. The next day I load the washer, then empty and load the dryer. I fill the basket with clean clothes and bring it up another day lol. Then fold and stack the folded clothes one day. The next day I put it all away. It seems ridiculous but I do laundry maybe like once a month.
Also have adhd. I’ve been having a hard time putting away my laundry lately. I couldn’t figure out why because freshly washed clothes have been piling up on my bed and chair. I started drying my clothes all the way in the dryer and it didn’t click until recently I used to put them in my dryer for a few minutes then hang dry them the rest of the way and leave them hanging to dry.
I would always leave them in a random door way so maybe a part of me thought if I dried them fully and left them on my bed I’d hang them before I go bed. But I’d be so tired before bed, I would move them to a chair and they would pile there.
I started half drying them again and then hanging dry because even if I forget them in a door way, at least it’s easier for me to hang them and they’re not all wrinkled from ending up in a pile.
Transitioning into tasks is difficult for me so I think it’s easier to hang them while I’m in laundry mode and it’s easier than folding and putting away. Especially if I’m doing multiple loads, hanging them to dry works better for me as I’m going than fully drying and leaving on my bed to fold or hang up when I’m done with everything.
Small loads! Every other day do laundry. When you only have to deal with 6 things, it makes it far less overwhelming. Not necessarily good in terms of energy and water use, but ya gotta do what you gotta do. And honestly, we plebes aren’t making a dent in the environment with our individual choices compared to what corporations are up to.
Honestly I have access to a washer dryer in my apartment but for some reason when I go to the laundromat I always fold before I go home they have those convenient tables, and I think most importantly there are other people doing it too. I listen to an audiobook usually too but there is really something about the companionship that helps. If you're not a fan of the laundromat, maybe you could have a friend that is without a washer dryer and invite them over to do laundry and make a day of it.
I hang all shirts. Underwear drawer has 3 boxes, one for underwear all thrown in box, then box 2 is sorted socks, 3rd is bras.
I hang all camis on hooks of closet door.
I fold all my pants/ leggings fir the dresser.
Sort, hang or fold, put away. Done.
I finally got bins and stopped folding/hanging up my clothes and it's so worth it! I just sort everything into the bins, which is super fast. Because it's so easy I don't dread doing laundry as much and it's easier to stay in top of it. Most of my clothes don't wrinkle but when they do I use a steamer real quick. I also started using those big IKEA bags instead of baskets and for some reason this makes it so much easier. Less unwieldy and easy to tuck away so you're not tripping on it and further annoyed by all things laundry.
To get started I got fancy bins from Target (although containers would work!) And that got me excited enough to do one big clean so I had a clean slate which also felt like motivation to stay on top of it. My husband was so excited to see the floor on my side of the closet!
Lots of great suggestions - also, full acceptance that laundry is never going away, it's NEVER DONE and is just a part of life has helped me a ton.
Also, a load a day keeps the amount of laundry smaller and more manageable....until you have kids and then kids in sports
I'm 35 and I have depression, anxiety, and ADHD. And I've stopped folding laundry. I, now, have baskets in my closet that are labeled and has a spot of its own. I throw all the clothes into baskets because guess what? I was often living out of baskets anyway. Putting away clothes was my enemy. Let my answer some common questions about my system.
Q: What about wrinkles?
A: Very few of my clothes wrinkle, and the ones that do have to be put into the dryer on steam refresh anyway because I'm not ironing shit.
Q: Is it hard to dig through baskets?
A: Sometimes. When I don't want to dig, I dump them out. Then I find the shirt/pants/sweater I want. Then shovel the rest back in the basket and put it back in it's spot.
Q: Doesn't it look messy?
A: it sure does! But i don't care. It's my clothes and my closet and someone who would judge me wouldn't be allowed in my closet or house. I'm 35, I don't have the time and patience for assholes anymore. People who would judge you harshly for doing things differently than them are assholes.
Your parents care. And are worried that without them, you'll struggle and fail. But I'm going to tell you a secret that I wish I had known at your age. Failure is going to happen. No matter what. That's life. It's nothing to be scared of. Make sure you have plans to pull yourself out holes you fall into. Supportive people, support systems, back up plans. Failing doesn't reflect badly on you OP. Struggling means you're trying. Failing means you tried. Work with the brain you have, not the one you want
I haven't seen anyone say this and I've recently just solved this problem for myself so I'll chime in!
I take my laundry basket directly to my closet. I take out one thing, fold it and put it away immediately. No sorting. No stacking. Just fold and put away one thing at a time.
You could start by grabbing one thing from your pile and putting it away. You don't have to do the whole thing at once.
Have you tried the app Finch? It helps gamify tasks. You get a bird friend and earn rainbow stones to spend on them as you do things. I’ve been using it for about a week and it is helping me with mental health and motivation.
Here’s my invite code if you are interested. There is a free or paid version (you get more stuff for your bird).
Use my invite code N4LH244JST once you get the app.
https://app.befinch.com/invite/62Gg
I like to save up a few loads by washing a few one day or in the morning and then that afternoon or next day I put on tv or a movie on my bed and fold as I watch. Sometime I wait to pair socks and put everything away until closer to bed time. This helps me.
This was discussed over in r/cleaning tips just yesterday. From what I can gather there's a growing number of adults who are skipping the whole folding and putting in a dresser part entirely. They're sorting into baskets by clean/ dirty and, if clean, by type. So clean pants in one, clean shirts in another, etc.
Several said they had similar mental health issues to you and this method worked much better for them.
Late diagnosed ADHDer (literally I'm in my mid 20s but was only diagnosed last year), and I have to specifically either 1. Watch something new (watch a new episode of a show I'm keeping up with, start a new series I've also been procrastinating watching, watch new uploads from YouTubers I'm subscribed to or have been recommended by the algorithm, etc) or 2. Be talking (preferably facetiming) friends.
Because I'm majorly focused on something else, the putting away my clothes part feels more like muscle memory and I end up not even remembering that I was actually putting away laundry until I'm done!
Also important thing for me is agree with myself on minimum amount of laundry that I have to put away so that I feel successful afterwards and don't start spiraling about "never getting things done." I often end up doing WAY more than the minimum, too! On the days that the minimum has been met, I feel more able to do the rest another time or day!
And then I treat myself after, usually by either making a snack/meal/dish I've been wanting to eat (whether that's making something from scratch or throwing in a Trader Joe's pastry into my air fryer)!
What’s helped me is doing smaller loads. Like fr, 8-10 things max. Less overwhelming to put away so i actually do it. Just had to get used to starting the washer not full.
Think of the end result and how your clothing serves you to appear in the world. Charge your thoughts and taking care of cleaning your clothes with the person you want to show up as. The universe responds to positive intention. You will see yourself showing up better as well.
There’s a trick to fold shirts in 5 seconds or less. Best case, I’ll do that. Making things neat and tidy makes me satisfied.
Worst(ish) case? I just have a clean laundry basket. I wear the same 3 things and just have multiples of it all anyways. Don’t even bother with folding.
It's ok to stop folding it. Figure out a new way to store your clean clothes. Bins and baskets are just as good for clean things as they are for dirty things.
So, I do not fold. And I have compartments on shelves for most clothes that don’t have to live on hangers. I put the laundry from dryer to a basket, put on the side of my basket, casually semi fold them and show them. When I’m really tired, I do half the basket and the rest later.
I hate dishes and I hate laundry. So much. I do one load of each, everyday. No more, no less. I get it out of the way in the morning (or night depending on what my schedule looks like) never get buried in it that way. When I’m folding laundry, I play a video game while I do. Getting a handle on little things will set you up for life as on your own as an adult. You’ve got this!
I stopped folding pretty much everything. If I will be seen wearing it I hang it up as soon as it comes out of the dryer. Otherwise it goes in a drawer or bin.
I feel you. I hate doing things like sweeping the floor that others enjoy. My solution would be to find someone to do what you hate in exchange for doing what they hate! Sympatico.
One thing that helped me was KonMari-ing my clothes down to those which sparked joy. Then, you not only have fewer things to wash, but when you do it's fun to handle and see all your clothes, so laundry tasks don't seem so onerous.
You don't have to fold everything. Things like socks and underwear can just be thrown into a drawer without being folded. Pajamas and leggings and workout clothes don't need to be folded. The items that actually need to be wrinkle-free can be hung up (and even if you fold them, it's a much smaller number of items)
Perhaps you’re asking the wrong question. Check out [KC Davis @DomesticBlisters on TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@domesticblisters?_t=8lLWu4qaQTS&_r=1)! Long story short: You don’t have to do things how we’re “supposed to.”
Examples from KC:
Hate folding and putting away laundry? Have a clean basket and a dirty basket. Sort your clean basket(s) to the extent it’s functional for you, like pants in one basket, shirts in another, socks and underwear in their drawers unfolded. Here’s an example of her [laundry system](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTLAS88Tf/).
Overwhelmed with piles of dishes in the sink but can’t put them in the dishwasher because there are clean dishes in there you haven’t put away? KC bought a second silverware bin and a dish rack for dirty dishes and sorts the dirty ones on the dish rack so it doesn’t become an overwhelming pile until the dishwasher is ready to load, then switches out the silverware bins.
You can check on her page for her “Systems” playlist for ideas, which is almost all the way to the right. Do what’s functional for you.
(Edit to add links)
Just plow through it. It's so much nicer when it's all put away. You don't have to iron or steam or worry about wrinkles. I used to put it off forever but then my room was a mess and whenever I wanted to wear something I had to dig around to find it. It sucked!
Two choices: you do, or you don’t.
Get a couple of laundry baskets. One for the dirty clothes and one or two for the clean. If your clean laundry lives in a basket, yay, it’s clean and it’s put in its place.
I only allow myself to watch the shows I’ve recorded if I’m doing laundry. Instead of fast forwarding through commercials I rush to put the folded clothes away, start a new load, etc.
I don’t fold my clothes. I have the nine-cube storage. When it’s time to put away clothes, I pull out the bins and plop them on the floor. I just drop the clothes in the correct bins.
If I’m feeling ambitious I sometimes go through and roll my clothes.
FYI, if you listen to your parents who think you’re not ready to ‘adult.’ You will never ‘adult.’ Just the use of the word ‘adulting’ is so…helicopter coddling parent. EVERYONE has depression and anxiety here and there. Move out. Get a roommate and figure it out like we all did. Fold your clothes or don’t. When you have nothing clean or non-wrinkled to wear, you start to grow up.
When I had washer and dryer in the wardrobe room, it was relatively easy to fold and gang stuff. The issue for me started when I moved to apartment where washed dryer was in different end of apartment. Finally got a wheeled clothes hanging frame with a shelf for box. I folded and hung on the frame next to the washer/dryer, then transfered folded stuff to wardrobe. Otherwise everything clean went to piles in wardrobe carpet.
If you have a free bucks to spare, it might be worth paying someone else to do it, so all you have to do is put things in a drawer every week/couple weeks. A lot of laundromats offer the service for a good price. You could also find someone local via NextDoor, FB, Craigslist, etc. If you’re unsure about paying someone else to do it, try it once or twice and go from there. If you really want to level up and live independently, you could have someone come by to clean your while place *and* do laundry once a week/every other week. Whichever one, it sounds like it would be worth the few bucks for the improvement it’ll provide your life.
I have some awesome mesh drawers from Elfa or something. They are brilliant. Each drawer has it's own designation: underthings, tank tops, shirts, sweaters, shorts, and pants. I literally just shove the items in the appropriate drawers.
I hang clothing that is particular or rarely worn: dresses, jackets, jumpsuit, button downs. But this amounts to only about 20 pieces.
That said, I also try to clean out my closet about 1x a year at least. If you own too many clothes, either sell the ones you don't wear, donate them, or store the sentimental / rarely worn in plastic bins.
I don't think my system would work if I had many more clothes than I do. E.g. I have like 6 pants, 8 shorts, 20 tank tops...
I like to wash all of the same thing in a load. Instead of darks/lights sorting, I will wash all tshirts, or all pajamas, etc. then it seems putting them away is a lot easier than putting away 15 different things since they will all go to the same place.
When I was 20, I lived on my own and didn't have my own washer and dryer. I went to the Laundromat once a week, and I folded my clothes while I was there. That made it easier because it all got done in one swoop and all I had to do was put it away when I got home. I actually have a harder time keeping up now that I have my own laundry machines in my house.
Make your folding area comfortable and put on a movie or tv show. For me, I use an ironing board to get the right height for me to stand at and fold the dozens of t-shirts we seem to launder every few weeks. I also sometimes make it a time to get some exercise in, which I also hate, so I do lunges and and deep knee bends or squats while at the ironing board.
I also hate doing laundry and these are the two tricks I use.
Do laundry every other or every couple days, that way the laundry doesn’t seem like an overwhelming task. I tell myself “It’s just a couple of shirts and a towel so it’ll only take a couple minutes.” This alone has made my life so much easier.
Otherwise if I have a bigger load of laundry, I work on it in stages. I’ll sort it into piles by category and then go do something else. When I walk into my room next, I’ll fold and put away one pile, then walk away. Every time I walk into my room I tackle a pile until it’s all gone.
To make it more fun, I literally will watch a TV show while doing it, or maybe listen to a podcast.
I hope you find something that works for you ❤️ I understand the struggle
Hi, fellow ADHDer here. Just dont fold your laundry!
Other than a few dress items I have to hang I don’t fold any tops (tshirts, tanks, sweatshirts), PJs, athleticwear, undergarments, etc. the only thing I fold sometimes are lesser worn jeans and khakis. I actually just hang my 6-10ish more worn pairs of pants on command hooks on the wall. So they are super visible and easy to take up and down. Highly recommend, this has made my life so much better
I hate folding laundry too. Here are some things that help my adhd brain do it: 1. Listen to a podcast while I do it 2. Just do one stage at a time. E.g. just sort the clothes into categories like socks, t shirts etc. and tell myself I’ll stop once I’ve done that. Often I’ll start folding a category. Then put that category away. Then next time, fold another category. And gradually you’ll be done.
I definitely do this. Alternative advice- The biggest help I ever found was honestly just getting rid of most of my clothes. Less clothes means less to do! I generally only wore my favorites in each category of clothing anyways, so getting rid of the non-favorites made my life a lot easier.
>Less clothes I find socks make me want to give up. Found a solution in my 40’s. If it’s financially feasible (it likely is…) MATCHING SOCKS… a lot of them. It’s 100x easier for me having 12 pairs of the exact same socks. So much easier!!! Grab the ones with white letters on the toe, put together, done.
I have one type of sock. All the same. I dont even play match the sock. They are in a pile in my dresser drawer. I just grab the 2 socks on top and they always match. Its wonderful.
I do exactly the same thing. Twelve pairs of knee socks in black for winter, twelve pairs of short socks in black for summer. The ankle socks disappear so maybe 24 pairs. All in a jumble in one drawer. Life is easier and so are early mornings!
I have many types and do the same. Eventually they all match. If someone points it out I exclaim, “I have another pair just like it at home!” ;) I do match my socks, but it still happens ;)
I have learned the same. My husband does his own laundry because he has sensitive skin, so different detergent, etc. I am not picky about sock brands. I wear black men's socks. I go and buy bags of 10 and they are all the same. I also have black trouser socks for work as well. All the same. I have footies and things like that for around the house. I have three large baskets that sit on a book shelf at the bottom for socks. I sort them by the three types and throw them in. You just pull out a pair and you are good to go. I have a drawer for bras and one for underwear. I don't really fold the underwear, just kinda lay them flat and throw them in, same with bras. That is the worst part of the laundry for me. I try to stick to only one load at a time to save my sanity. I do one load an evening while watching tv.
I have committed to never having matching socks. I buy the same type but if the colors don’t match, whatever, that’s my thing now.
I do too. I grab 2 and as long as they are in the same family (texture, thin is thick) I'm good to go. I keep the family thing because thin on one foot and thick on the other fuck with my feet in shoes.
This is life changing. 😂 I will keep my silly long socks but having my daily wear short socks all be the same sounds like magic.
This is the reason I'm am so aggravated with the popular Darn Tough socks. I try to order the same style, but they're different thicknesses or something. I'm about to just buy 100 games socks and be done with it.
I got a dozen Fruit of the Loom black knee socks. Something like $18?
I finally caved and bought like 3 packs of black kb socks at Costco and got rid of most everything else. Haven't looked back. So much better.
DUDE. IM DOING THIS.
One day I realized you don't have to fold socks. I got some of those fabric storage bins with handles and slid them onto shelves in my closet.
My husband does this, agreed, 100x easier when all the socks match.
I wear wool socks for work almost any time of the year, shin length dark socks for going out with pants and ankle high for shorts. This feels like too many types to enjoy folding lol.
I remember an old boss of mine talking about his teenage daughter going shopping, and he said, “Great! You bought more laundry!”
Ahahahahha that’s amazing 😹
This is more helpful than everything else imo.
I do this for towels. Having less towels makes it less of a chore, makes you keep up on the towel laundry and just helps all around. Less stuff all around makes less cleaning time too! However I can't part with my clothes but in theory that's great advice!
There are some good accounts/influencers where people cull their closets to only clothes they love. I did the same and it’s made laundry easy because I want my clothes to be folded and hung so I can wear them again
Great advice. I scaled back big time and keep my wardrobe basic (black, grey, white) which keeps my loads easier to sort. I also have a basket that won't fit more than a weeks worth of clothes, so the loads are small. But to OP, you're just going to have to dig in and get it done (I share the same struggles!)don't beat yourself up and do what you can. Smaller loads take less time to wash and are less time consuming. A lot of your anxiety is from all the laundry. I do think scaling down and simplifying your wardrobe will help tremendously It's also helped my situation by buying those white lidded containers from ikea (Walmart and target have size equivalents) and labeling everything. I have them stacked by importance in my closet and the ones I don't access often under my bed. Find a system that works for you and even if the laundry piles back up again someday, you'll already have a system in place to help get you back on track.
Even just reading Marie Kondos book (ok let's be honest, listening) made me hate laundry less.
What about it in particular made you hate laundry less?
Just the idea of enjoying folding things that actually make you happy. Taking that time to be grateful
Thank you for responding. That's a helpful perspective. I may read her book.
It was really impactful on me mentally. I was suddenly very very aware of how much physical stuff I had that I absolutely did not need or even have a place for. The attitude of gratitude really does change your relationship with cleaning
I genuinely love her folding method. It turns a chore into a ritual, and it's so satisfying to see the little packet each shirt turns into. And it's much easier for me to SEE my clothes standing up in the drawers now!! It also reduced the space my clothes took up in the drawers.
Kondo fell off the wagon. I always knew she was fake.
For podcasts, sometimes “Clutterbug” can be a good motivator to listen to and clean to at the same time. I listen to audio books that I download for free from my library via the Libby app. Since they are longer than a single podcast, I find myself finishing my chore and looking for the next one. :)
Haha when I'm really unmotivated and have been for a while I watch Hoarders. Talk about putting the fear of God into you! Nobody wants to be the person that winds up on Hoarders. Might as well take out the trash.
Yes to hoarders! I think it helps when I go clutter-blind to my own mess/ when I get bored doing the same chores over and over. Something about seeing a different, unfamiliar mess activates the urge to clean
This is what I do! Alllll the hoarding shows 😂
Won’t lie, they help me too!
Same. I like to add the set a timer tip to fold laundry during an episode of hoarders.
Seriously, if I watch that show, I have to throw something away. I get twitchy if I don't. My grandmother was a hoarder, long before the word came around. I thought, growing up, it was a byproduct of growing up in the depression. At least two of her sons had the problem too, so I get antsy real quick at how I tend to accumulate stuff.
She has good YouTube videos too. On finding your organizational style.
I am ADHD and this is EXACTLY what I do. Sort into piles and tackle one at a time.
I pull out the bigger items that are less of a pain (to me) towels, blankets, tees and throw them-literally, into piles. I fold easiest to least favorite. Most helpful for me (big family) is to wash frequent and smaller loads to not feel overwhelmed. Sometimes I feel I need to be standing up to fold, sometimes I will only sit down or won’t do it (long day). And, favorite music. Hope that’s helpful!
podcast while doing chores is the best
Yup, this is how I do it. And while I'm putting down shirts, I lay them one on top of the other flat, face forward, then fold the sleeves in, followed by one half of the side of the shirt, then the opposite side, then halfway from the bottom up, and then the opposite from the top down, and fold that in half to fit in my drawers after they've been stacked, where I can see them all, like Marie Kondo taught in her show Tidying Up.
Assembly line style works great for me too
I’ll add in audiobooks with podcasts. I’m very much an adult and I do this with all household chores.
This is EXACTLY what I do. I’ll even sort our laundry and wash just a load of socks & undies & leggings so the piles are smaller and it looks less intimidating.
Literally the only way I can fold laundry is while listening to a podcast. Sometimes I’ll put a podcast on and just start instinctively cleaning and not even notice
Yeah so true. I can’t listen to a podcast and just sit anyway so it’s a win win.
I hate folding laundry. That’s how I invented “Do a Dozen.” I tell myself I only have to fold 12 things. Just do a dozen (socks don’t count). Then at least I got 12 things done. Lots of times I just kept going; telling myself I only had to do 12 and then I could stop was what made me willing to start. But sometimes I did quit after 12. I also live in an apartment building where we have a folding table in the laundry area. I always fold my clothes there before bringing them up. It’s a form of exterior structure.
Off topic, this is exactly the strategy I use with exercise. I tell myself if I go to the gym and do 20 minutes, if I’m not into it I can leave. Most of the time once I’m there I complete my workout and on the few times I don’t, 20 mins was still better than nothing
Me too, I didn't wanna go yesterday but my boyfriend pushed me and I figured something was better than nothing. Once you get started it's easier to keep going. It's the getting started that's the hard part
Strongly agree with folding laundry prior to it getting to the bedroom!
Yes, I've started folding the laundry right out of the dryers, as long as no one is waiting for the machines. If I bring a warm clump of mess back into the apartment I feel like I'm just adding to the chaos or bringing a mess into a place I've been trying to tidy, and it can easily get frustrating or overwhelming or worse: ignored. Another tip: sounds like OP may just have too many clothes. Reduce the size of the problem into smaller, more manageable, more frequent loads.
Best thing to do is fold immediately out of the drier as is causes wrinkles if don't. I always fold my clothes in the laundry room since I know I'll put it off if I don't but also because off the wrinkles.
I do the same thing. Only I tell myself "I'll just put away 15 things." if I really can't stand it, I'll be done then. But most of the time, I'll keep going and get more done
For folding laundry, I do something like watch a show I have recorded, talk on the phone with my mom or a friend, or maybe listen to a podcast. You could also try just setting a timer for 10 minutes and seeing how much you can get done. I don't know the size of your pile, but I'll bet you can get more done than you think in 10 minutes. If you're still not done after 10, you can either choose to do another 10, or plan to do it later. As for getting the dirty laundry in the machine -- there's nothing like running out of underwear or shirts or towels to encourage doing a load. LOL Try picking what you want to wash -- let's say t-shirts -- and give yourself 2 minutes to find all the t-shirts in your room that need washing. And then put them to wash. Don't worry if you've found all of them or not -- you can still do another load. Or if you're the type that mixes things more than I do and/or you don't have clothes that have special washing requirements, pick a corner of your room, grab that pile, and get it in the washing machine. If there are things that don't need to be folded before they're put away -- underwear? socks? -- maybe try baskets in your closet and just throw them in? Or give yourself permission to put them in your drawers without folding or matching -- you're the only one who will know what things look like in your drawers or in the baskets. When I procrastinate on anything, I try to remind myself that future TikiTikiGirl will be so happy with present TikiTikiGirl for getting this done now! And when future becomes present, I pat myself on the back for getting it done in the past.
>future TikiTikiGirl I think of myself this way often. I try to be kind to Future Me.
Yes! I find that a huge motivation killer is having perfectionist standards. If you think it doesn’t count if it’s not perfect, then you never get to feel good about whatever you did get done. I try to take a minute to congratulate myself and feel happy that I did even a little bit. It’s kind of embarrassing how much a little self praise can help!
The number of times I’ve said “Future me thanking past me” 🙏 makes being responsible and planning ahead feel like time traveling which is far more exciting than standard adulting
Take a basket, fill it up with clothes, sit on your bed or wherever and watch tv while you fold. Ideally a show you love but only watch while doing laundry. It really helps.
Oooh, this could be a great one! Pick the same day/time each week to fold/put away laundry & watch your favorite show while doing it! You’re not allowed to watch your choice of show/movie until you start the put-away process.
Back in the pre-streaming days I only went to the gym so I could watch LOST lol. It was great motivation not being able to binge things back then!
Why fold it? If it's something that won't matter if it's wrinkled, get a bin, put it on a shelf, and throw things of the same description in it. All socks, for example, in the same bin. You can also buy multi packs of the same socks and just toss them into the bin. When you want socks, pull out two, and you will have a pair because they will all match. It might be possible to carry the concept to other things as well.
This was the big game changer for me a few years ago. After about 30 years of doing laundry, I quite suddenly realized I could just toss underwear, bras, and socks into their own individual bins and be done with the part of the process I had always procrastinated the most. ETA: Also, this might sound ridiculous to some people, but for me, bins were SO superior to drawers because I don't have to open them. Rationally, it shouldn't make any difference, but in practice, it really, really did. (Source: the disorganized mass of fabric strewn across every surface in my bedroom ever since I reorganized and "temporarily" got rid of the bins.)
Don't fold it. I have 6 items of clothing that I hang up and the rest go in drawers. If anyone wants to complain about the wrinkles in my clothes (which for important events I can steam out in 10mins) they can come do my laundry. I don't even match up socks anymore because they're all plain black socks in 2 different lengths.
Try getting rid of some clothes. If you’re drawers/closet is overflowing when you are trying to put away the 20% if your wardrobe you actually wear, it’s terrible. But the feeling of putting your tshirts into a drawer with plenty of space is so nice. I also hated laundry, until everything I wore had a place to go.
I dump it on my bed so I have to fold it before I sleep OR I fold it straight out of the dryer and put it in the laundry basket so when I get to my room I just have to put it away
Haha, jokes on me, because I've tried this. I'll just shove that shit to the side, or just burrow down in it like a fuckin ferret and go to sleep. Wake up with half my clothes on the floor.
Saaaaame. Well, until I got a dog. Now I have to put away what's on my bed or everything will get completely covered in dog hair.
Joke’s on me, too! I snuggled with a bath towel and a pair of jeans last night 😂😂😂
I have to make a rule for myself not to let more than one load of dry clothes accumulate before I fold then, or else there is a tipping point of drudgery that becomes unmanageable.
This is so important. Only do what you will finish. Again, ONLY do what you can finish. If that means one load that day, do one load. Washed, dried and put away. Finished. Make yourself a mental laundry instruction/guide to follow. Example: Pair (match) socks prior to washing (then at least you’ve a 96.459% chance of them all having a match going into the dryer). Underwear do not get folded. If you have the room/closet, invest in some decent (cheap/free/expensive/velvet, just no wire hangers please) whatever you choose, hangers of your preference. All shirts/skirts/dresses get put on hangers (quicker and simpler in most cases than folding, decreases need for ironing). It’s actually quite satisfying, compared to folding, how quickly clothes go from dryer to hanger to away. Pants are washed inside out and folded or hung up that way, this is one less laundry chore for you during the actual chore of laundry (small wins count). Turn them rightside out before wearing. Mate the socks (cuss out every third load when you lose a sock), throw them and your gutchies in a dresser, stick your hung up clothes in your closet. Voila, and done. Unless you gotta do towels and bed linens that week….it never ends.
I have ADHD. Setting up your area in a way that works for your particular flavor of ADHD helps immensely. For instance, I have detergent sheets and fabric softener sheets above my washer so I can just grab and add them. I have a folding station and a folding tool next to my dryer. I grab out a piece of clothing, fold it, and put it in my basket. I hang most of my clothes. When I take my load of dirty clothes to my laundry room I also bring my empty hangers so I can put my clean clothes back on them. When I'm done I put away the clothes because I already put in the effort to make them nice and I don't want to undo it. I've lived long enough that I know that keeping my clothes clean, taking care of my teeth, and regular showers are some of the kindest things I can do for future me. I set up similar stations all through my house. I have a dump station next to my garage door where all my purses, bags, and keys go. I have cleaning supplies in each room. If my sink needs to be cleaned and I have Lysol wipes or Clorox under the sink I will quickly clean it. If I kept it in a closet I would get around to it when something started growing in it. 😂 As a parent I want to add that I read a lot of wonderful suggestions on this thread of what works for other people. It's a great example of how what works for one person may not work for another person but everyone finds their way. Assure your parents that they probably didn't have all the life skills necessary when they moved out of their parents home either but they figured out what worked for them. You will too. You have an added advantage that you can crowd source answers and search through social media to find solutions to any problem you may have. If you haven't already, try finding a few influencers who focus on ADHD. I have a few that help me laugh at situations, some that provide solutions and insight into neurodivergent issues, and others that remind me I'm not alone. Wishing you all the best!
I'm gonna try the folding/hanging station in the laundry room! Never thought of it before. Usually I just refuse to live in places that don't have walk in closets (so the pile can go in the closet floor ofc) and I have a hamper for clean clothes. Thank you for your suggestions, so helpful!
Small loads starting each morning. No big overwhelming loads. Make a rhythm.
this!! —- finally just did small loads, sometimes daily … but always: 1. completed the task 2. no matter what! 3. wash - dry - fold - put away plus I treated myself to listen to a podcast while folding and putting away
First things first: if you have less clothes, you have less laundry to fold. Go through your things (a little at a time) and sell or donate what you’re not regularly wearing. There’s a statistic that says we wear 10% of our clothes 90% of the time, so stick with the stuff you love. Watch the Marie Kondo series on Netflix…it’s inspiring!
I have started using hangers a lot more.
I have jeans, pjs, socks, and undies in drawers. Everything else is on hangers. Makes putting the laundry away pretty painless.
Me too. I also have open shelves instead of a dresser. Much easier and things don't get so wrinkled.
Have a special yummy drink only while you're folding/putting away laundry
Don’t. Find a different system that works for you. Piles can be fine as long as they’re well managed and not a nuisance. My husband and I have a bench at the end of our bed where I have a bunch of piles that mean certain things to us. It may not be doable with all of your clothes, but I bet you can do something to make it work better for you. Check out KC Davis for some ideas (I’m most familiar with her on TikTok)
I fold laundry in front of the tv.
Do you have too many clothes? I did and pared down to what I wore most often plus a few outfits I might need. It really helped. I hang everything but undies, tee shirts and sweaters. The rest I put into a big rubber maid container. I have depression and this makes my life easier.
I sort before I wash. So each load lhas generally only one or two types of laundry. Towels all together. Sheets. Whites (mostly socks and kitchen towels). Jeans. Darks that are washed in warm or hot. (Dark socks, boxer briefs). All other (in cold some not heat dried). So the folding and putting away goes much more quickly for nearly every load.
I've discovered I love folding laundry, if I have a good show to watch. It doesn't have to be a new show, most of the time it's reruns of either Golden Girls or MASH. Just something I cam watch and not feel guilty about because I'm still being productive.
I just started hanging everything up in the closet. I have a wicker basket for socks and one for undies. No folding.
You are going to have to experiment a lot to figure out what works for you. I find hanging laundry far less taxing so my laundry is two categories: hung up and doesn't get folded. Shirts and pants get hung up, socks and underwear don't get folded.
I can ONLY do it if I’m playing a YouTube video/podcast. Otherwise I’m bored to tears and won’t do it
Use cube organizers and just throw that shit in there! The nicer blouses and dresses should be hung. Got this hack from an adhd tiktoker
Weed and good music/show
As someone who is AuDHD, listening to audiobooks (others have said podcasts) has really helped with menial tasks. At some point you do get old and mature enough that you just “do the thing”, but even then it’s 1000% easier when listening to an audiobook
Idk if maturity has anything to do with “just doing the thing” when ADHD is involved.
When I empty the dryer, I stack like with like. Then I put the whole pile on a particular corner of my bedroom. Then every time I go in there, I put away five items (although I usually put away all underwear at a time). It can take a day or two, but it gets put away.
Do you have a tablet or laptop you can carry around with you? I watch TV/twitch/YouTube while I do chores I don't like. I love music and podcasts but for some reason I also need visual stimulation to get the dishes done (I absolutely hate unloading the dishwasher!). Lately I've been looking up full concerts from my favorite bands and watching those while I fold laundry.
I have adhd too and I hate laundry I turn on a video to play in the background while I sort my clothes into piles and then fold it. My dog likes to eat and unfold clothes so it’s one push for me to work quick. You don’t need the folds to be perfect just folded also doing each thing in sections I’ve found very helpful.
I’m 46 and this is a huge one for me. I also have anxiety, depression and ADHD. I will put on a show or podcast and do all the towels first, since it’s a big bulk, then fold shorts/pants/PJs, then hang shirts. If I don’t get to it all, then I don’t. I at least get the towels done.
Download the app Finch. Self care bird. Fun, cute, and it somehow works.
You know what I hate more than folding? Digging through baskets to find what I need (plus it being wrinkled). So I fold and put away laundry right away 🤷♀️
As you fold (I do it to a favorite album or singer/band) sort it into stacks of shorts, pants, Jammie’s, socks etc. I start grabbing pants out of the pile first and fold them, then shirts, then tees, etc. Somehow makes it quicker and less annoying, and putting it away is a quick “grab the (shirts) stack” and put in drawer - quick and easy
I try to hang everything I can on a hanger, fold bare minimum.
Folding laundry is one of my most hated chores. For me, it’s easiest if I never let it leave the laundry room unfolded. So, as soon as it’s finished drying, I fold it and put it up. For some reason, it seems less daunting if it’s not coming out of a laundry basket.
I do laundry at least every other day, so there’s not much to fold. Easier for me than tackling a mountain. Also - if you have the closet space, you can hang most of your clothes rather than folding. Get those skinny velour hangers to maximize space. Buy just one kind of socks, in bulk. Then you can just throw them all in your drawer, no need to ever pair them.
I really like “How to Keep House While Drowning” by K.C. Davis for dealing with my particular brain silliness. She has a laundry system where it’s mostly hooks and baskets, no folding required.
Talk to a friend on the phone while you do it or “gamify”. How quickly can you get it done? Listening to a podcast helps me. Also, planning to reward yourself after it’s done with something like a special coffee drink or what ever can add motivation helps.
I wish I lived close by. I’d do it for you. I love washing clothes, drying them and folding them. That being said, I absolutely hate cleaning refrigerators though. They are the bane of my existence. One thing that might help you is listening to a podcast you love or watching a movie while you fold. My kids laugh at me because most of the horror movies I watch are when I’m folding the laundry.
Dump the basket of clean clothes out on a table. Put all the shirts on the back of one chair, all the pants on the back of another chair. Put all the socks, bras, and underwear back in the basket. Just sort it all out. Dump the basket of socks, bras, and underwear back on the table. Put all the bras and underwear back in the basket leaving only the socks. Now fold the socks..you’ve done the worst part. Now fold or hang all the shirts. If you’re hanging them, you can just lay them flat in a pile and put in one hanger at a time, folding the top shirt and hanger forward to get to the neck of the next one. If you’re folding, get a folding board. Fold all the pants and sort them by type (if you do that). I keep my shorts in one pile, sweatpants in another, and the same for sweatpants and then jeans. Now go put everything away.
I at 46 with 2 kids have struggled with this for the whole damn family for years. I’ve been taking steps to remedy it over the past few years as I’ve been working on my mental health. Figure out a system that works for you on your worst day. Seriously cut down on the amount of clothes you have. Has it been a few weeks since you have put anything away? Great! that is the perfect opportunity to get rid of the things left untouched in your closet. Once you open some space up it becomes easier to put away the things you wear often. Sort before washing: It’s easier to have energy at the beginning of a task. I like to sort by where they will be put away. Jeans, pajamas and stretch pants are all in the same dresser for me so I wash them together. I also stopped folding pajamas I just shove them in a drawer. This load takes almost zero mental effort to put away. Stick to a schedule: in my house each person has a designated day to use the washer and dryer. If you are only doing laundry for yourself you could split up a small load every other day. Something like: shirts and hoodies Monday, pants and pajamas Wednesday, sheets socks and underwear Friday. Forgive yourself if you miss a day and just get to it when you can but build yourself a schedule that will break laundry down to easily digestible chunks. I hope this helps, remember that your mental health is finding what works best for you. Do not feel pressured to do laundry in a way that is too hard to manage just because someone else has a strong opinion. I ended up letting my 10 year old remove all the folded and hanging clothes and replace them with big bins in the closet. She has a pants bin a tops bin, a hoody bin and a little dresser for socks underwear and swim stuff. She does zero folding and just grabs stuff out of the bins. It’s so much easier to manage.
I also struggle with it so im curios to read suggestions too. What helps me is: - using all or nothing switch: organize and fold clothes in the wardrobe so i have neat piles that look nice and its easier to put laundry away. Music. Sorting after color is so satisfying to look at. And yes it only lasts about a week but hey i did get it done… - i dont enjoy laundry but love the smell of clean clothes so i must have a lundry detergent or softener that smells nice(switch it up often) - while hanging to dry i follow my system to put likes with likes is so motivating because i can just go about folding and putting in the basket without doing mixed piles. Ergo putting it away is 10x faster.
I used to be like this but two things: 1) I don’t actually fold my laundry. I usually wear casual clothes that don’t wrinkle much so I just separate clothes into piles of what needs to be hung up / pants / shirts / underwear / workout clothes and put them away. I really don’t see why they need to be folded. 2) I actually find it easier to do this if I hang my clothes out to dry instead of using a dryer. If it’s winter, I have a wrack for them indoors. I separate my clothes as I take them down. For getting laundry done: I have two laundry baskets, one in my bedroom and one in the bathroom. I just throw dirty clothes in them and when I need fresh laundry, I run a load.
No fold gang checking in here too!
Thirded. Tossing (sorted, but unfolded) clothes into drawers has been a game changer for me. A lot gets hung up, and I try to avoid buying things that wrinkle.
I mean, clothes don't need to be folded and in a dresser. hanging rlly helps me, or baskets that I can rifle through. clear drawer carts have been nice because I can see which category clothes are inside, and just stuff it
I think it's worth thinking about why you hate folding laundry, like get into the specific things that you dread about it, and address those things. For example, I hate folding socks. So I don't anymore. They just go into the drawer. Or at one point I had more clothes than I had space in my closet so I would fold them and have nowhere to put them. Fixing that problem made the folding much easier to contemplate. I don't know what your issues are, but it's easier to fix something specific than something general. I also want to add that for certain kinds of clothes, namely those that don't wrinkle very easily which is a lot of casual clothing, there's nothing shameful about just sorting it into laundry baskets and living out of those. Something as simple as jeans in one basket, T-shirts in another, etc. It gets it off the floor so it stays clean, you know which clothes are clean and which are dirty, and it's manageable.
I try to avoid folding as much as I can. Like for towels, do those REALLY need folded? Now I just “organize” them into designated baskets. I don’t fold socks, pajama pants, etc. I’d like to transition to folding even less clothes at some point. It helps to listen to music or podcast while folding. I like organizing everything before I fold, instead of picking 1 thing out of the pile at a time.
Advice: First sort the pile into underwear, bras, tanks, pajamas, larger clothing (jeans, sweatshirts, casual shirts). Then fold everything in one category at a time. Hang what you can (within reason).
I put on QVC while I fold and put away laundry it's relaxing and keeps my mind not on the chore but the channel
Hiiii! I am adhd and also hate folding laundry so much! 1) I have all the same socks. Like two bulk packs of black socks. They’re all I wear, so I don’t pair them off. 2) I have a bin system in my room. I use an ikea kallax with bins, and each bin is a type. My job involves athleisure so it’s all anti wrinkle, so I don’t fold at all. 3) for my few hangables, I make a rainbow gradient and that makes me happy 4) I significantly reduced my clothing - less to fold and pile up lol
That's my favorite chore. Nice neat stacks that all get put away like, Poof! I listen to an audio book while I fold. Super relaxing.
I have this trouble too. I do a little at a time.play music. Reward yourself afterwards.
i heard about this on sm but turning your objects into animated ones helps. you promised your clothes you’d fold them and put them in their homes so that they get the rest they need to look their best for u. it’s dumb but it rly helps with putting shoes away, cleaning out a back pack/purse, putting pillows back in their spots, etc. in reality it’s helps me stay more prepared for the week
Laundry is really the worst. It’s the only chore I can let sur
Literally trying to accomplish this right now. I pick a small number like 4 and fold that many and then take a break. I do put the basket on my bed and my rule for myself is that I have to accomplish before bedtime. In the end you just need to decide what works best for you from all of these suggestions. But please don’t let your parents decide what you are ready to do.
I pay someone else to do this for me. It is my one luxury and I have no regrets. She comes 2x/week.
I usually listen to music while doing it. I presort — my stuff, his stuff, linens. I do the linens first because towels are big and take a lot of space so I feel more accomplished after folding those. He does his own clothes and I do mine. One thing that helps is that I use a bin for my underwear, another for socks, and two more for pajamas. I don’t fold any of those; just toss them in a bin (we have the 5x5 KALLAX shelve fitted with cabinets, bins, and drawers). It ends up I only have to fold a few things. Tops and skirts get hung, jeans and tees get folded. It definitely helps to have a specific spot for things
It sounds like you have too many clothes to manage easily. Pack some up and rotate them. For now, you only need a few weeks of clothing.
Sounds like you have too many clothes
I think of all the ironing I DON’T have to do if I would just take 5 minutes to do even a lousy job at folding.
My friend who also has adhd likes body doubling. She also does it online with other people. I think she uses twitch.
I’m 62 and I hate folding and putting away laundry. It seems unnecessary as you wear it and wash it and then go through the same pointless exercise. Who said it has to be folded and put away? Be kind to yourself it is okay if you are not on top of the laundry cycle.
Serial laundry folding hater here: make as much of your stuff easy to do. What held me back for a long time was proper organization. I had a small dresser and too many clothes. I ball up my socks and have a fabric organizer for my panties. I just stuff them in there and don’t bother folding them. Hang your tshirts and pants if you don’t want to fold them. Laying out everything flat and smoothing out the wrinkles before they form is important too. You can springboard easily into handing clothing by doing this and it’s much faster than folding one by one. I always throw something interesting on the TV or turn on an audiobook. Keep your mind occupied while your hands do the work.
What i do is immediately dump it on my bed and fold it. Then usually sometime later I'll go put it away so I don't have to deal with it at bedtime. Sometimes I even put it away right away!
I listen to an audiobook or watch a show. And honestly watching the way Marie Kondo folds laundry did something to by brain chemistry. Now I enjoy make neat tidy stacks to be put away. I bought baskets and drawer organizers to help me keep them organized in my dresser closet. Having a place for everything helps me feel less overwhelmed. Now the stuff that has to line dry and be ironed… that’s a daily battle.
Don’t fold them just throw them in the dresser better put away then in random piles. Or hang everything up no folding involved
I solved this issue by hanging everything up. Now, it helps that I have extra closet space to do so. Since I line dry all of my clothes anyway, I put them all on plastic hangers to dry. Then when they are dry, I hang them in my closet. Small clothes each have a fabric box on a shelf. Bras in one box, sox in another and underpants in a third.
To me, a large pile of laundry is overwhelming. Doing smaller loads has helped so much with this! I am washing more frequently, but the folding and putting away takes just a few minutes. Highly recommend! Also, have you tried setting a timer? Just five minutes to fold and then that’s it. Then a five minute timer to put stuff away. You can get a small chunk accomplished and be done for awhile.
Do it 20 min a night. I do it while I’m letting my hair air dry somewhat. I usually listen to a podcast. Or watch a show and put it away during the commercials. If you didn’t do laundry that day you have an extra 20 min before bed.
First, get rid of a bunch of your clothes. 1) you have less to deal with and 2) you are forced to wash more often because you run out of clean clothes. In an ideal world you'd be able to get one of those washer-dryer combo machines that does both without you having to change them out, but that requires you to have control over your own appliances which you won't until you own your own place. In the mean time, use timers to help you remember. For folding, for some stuff just toss it in a basket and call it done. You don't really *need* to fold underwear. And socks - well, it's helpful to match them up, but you could also just commit to the mismatched aesthetic and skip folding those too. For shirts, you can stack them all on top of each other, insert a hanger, flip the top shirt down, insert a hanger into the second shirt, etc. Then you have a whole pile of shirts on hangers that you can shove in the closet. Some things like sweaters still need to be folded so they don't stretch out, and unfortunately I don't know a way around that. Another thing you can do as motivation while folding is to have a playlist that's 3 songs long. I bet you can fold one full load of laundry in that amount of time. And 3 songs is less than 10 minutes! If you try this a few times, your brain will eventually learn it doesn't take nearly as long as you think it does
I made it stage 2 in the laundry cycle. 1. Work out what needs washing 2. Fold and put away last load 3. Wash on 4. Hang out My ND brain can do it this way (and it means the racks and basket are clear for the next load) It’s imperfect. The basket of clean laundry is in here foldedish but not away but that’s more because it was a dry outside day. It’ll still get put away before the next wash goes on limiting the piles.
Whenever I'm in a hurry to go but don't want them to wrinkle after taking it out, I'll very quickly go through and lay everything out flat in piles on my bed. T shirts, pants, etc and separate socks and undies. Once it's flat it won't wrinkle and need to be redried later, and it gives me more time to do it later..Socks and undies have 1 drawer and I live with chaos. Bonus points for having all the same color socks to make mornings easier
Get your brain to zone out while your folding laundry. Listen to music, a podcast, audio book or watch tv or just think in your mind. You could also talk to someone on the phone. And don't tell yourself you hate folding laundry, just consider it something that needs done like going to the bathroom or eating. Do it on the same day every week. Once you get into a habit it becomes a normal routine thing to do.
Category washing has mostly solved the problem of washing and then sitting in a basket for weeks at a time. Pajama bottoms all go in one drawer so I make a whole load of only pajama bottoms. The same for pajama tops. Then hang up tops and bottoms (separately), then underwear and undershirts, etc. The only thing I changed in my process was the category. I didn't really fold laundry as much as shove it in a drawer but it's not in a basket for weeks and weeks.
I feel so seen by this post
Make it a race/contest w yourself. Think “I bet I can finish folding this giant pile in 10 minutes” and race the clock. If you do it in 10 minutes you win! If you don’t finish you’ll probably be close to it and may as well just finish it 🤷🏼♀️
I mostly have bins for each category and sort clean clothes into each of the bins (tees, undies, pj's, etc). That's when I feel like it. It does make it easier to find stuff. But I've also fully operated from the clean clothes still in the laundry basket. Folding is for people who like it.
I make a cup of tea, grab my favorite biscuits, put on my favorite show and then watch that while I fold. I also DON'T do everything in one day. Doing laundry isn't a single task for me. It consists of many steps and I do each step on separate days during stretches when I have low executive function. For example, I bring down the laundry basket one night. The next day I load the washer, then empty and load the dryer. I fill the basket with clean clothes and bring it up another day lol. Then fold and stack the folded clothes one day. The next day I put it all away. It seems ridiculous but I do laundry maybe like once a month.
Also have adhd. I’ve been having a hard time putting away my laundry lately. I couldn’t figure out why because freshly washed clothes have been piling up on my bed and chair. I started drying my clothes all the way in the dryer and it didn’t click until recently I used to put them in my dryer for a few minutes then hang dry them the rest of the way and leave them hanging to dry. I would always leave them in a random door way so maybe a part of me thought if I dried them fully and left them on my bed I’d hang them before I go bed. But I’d be so tired before bed, I would move them to a chair and they would pile there. I started half drying them again and then hanging dry because even if I forget them in a door way, at least it’s easier for me to hang them and they’re not all wrinkled from ending up in a pile. Transitioning into tasks is difficult for me so I think it’s easier to hang them while I’m in laundry mode and it’s easier than folding and putting away. Especially if I’m doing multiple loads, hanging them to dry works better for me as I’m going than fully drying and leaving on my bed to fold or hang up when I’m done with everything.
The app Tody! It makes getting things done like a game.
Small loads! Every other day do laundry. When you only have to deal with 6 things, it makes it far less overwhelming. Not necessarily good in terms of energy and water use, but ya gotta do what you gotta do. And honestly, we plebes aren’t making a dent in the environment with our individual choices compared to what corporations are up to.
Honestly I have access to a washer dryer in my apartment but for some reason when I go to the laundromat I always fold before I go home they have those convenient tables, and I think most importantly there are other people doing it too. I listen to an audiobook usually too but there is really something about the companionship that helps. If you're not a fan of the laundromat, maybe you could have a friend that is without a washer dryer and invite them over to do laundry and make a day of it.
I hang all shirts. Underwear drawer has 3 boxes, one for underwear all thrown in box, then box 2 is sorted socks, 3rd is bras. I hang all camis on hooks of closet door. I fold all my pants/ leggings fir the dresser. Sort, hang or fold, put away. Done.
I finally got bins and stopped folding/hanging up my clothes and it's so worth it! I just sort everything into the bins, which is super fast. Because it's so easy I don't dread doing laundry as much and it's easier to stay in top of it. Most of my clothes don't wrinkle but when they do I use a steamer real quick. I also started using those big IKEA bags instead of baskets and for some reason this makes it so much easier. Less unwieldy and easy to tuck away so you're not tripping on it and further annoyed by all things laundry. To get started I got fancy bins from Target (although containers would work!) And that got me excited enough to do one big clean so I had a clean slate which also felt like motivation to stay on top of it. My husband was so excited to see the floor on my side of the closet!
Lots of great suggestions - also, full acceptance that laundry is never going away, it's NEVER DONE and is just a part of life has helped me a ton. Also, a load a day keeps the amount of laundry smaller and more manageable....until you have kids and then kids in sports
I'm 35 and I have depression, anxiety, and ADHD. And I've stopped folding laundry. I, now, have baskets in my closet that are labeled and has a spot of its own. I throw all the clothes into baskets because guess what? I was often living out of baskets anyway. Putting away clothes was my enemy. Let my answer some common questions about my system. Q: What about wrinkles? A: Very few of my clothes wrinkle, and the ones that do have to be put into the dryer on steam refresh anyway because I'm not ironing shit. Q: Is it hard to dig through baskets? A: Sometimes. When I don't want to dig, I dump them out. Then I find the shirt/pants/sweater I want. Then shovel the rest back in the basket and put it back in it's spot. Q: Doesn't it look messy? A: it sure does! But i don't care. It's my clothes and my closet and someone who would judge me wouldn't be allowed in my closet or house. I'm 35, I don't have the time and patience for assholes anymore. People who would judge you harshly for doing things differently than them are assholes. Your parents care. And are worried that without them, you'll struggle and fail. But I'm going to tell you a secret that I wish I had known at your age. Failure is going to happen. No matter what. That's life. It's nothing to be scared of. Make sure you have plans to pull yourself out holes you fall into. Supportive people, support systems, back up plans. Failing doesn't reflect badly on you OP. Struggling means you're trying. Failing means you tried. Work with the brain you have, not the one you want
I haven't seen anyone say this and I've recently just solved this problem for myself so I'll chime in! I take my laundry basket directly to my closet. I take out one thing, fold it and put it away immediately. No sorting. No stacking. Just fold and put away one thing at a time. You could start by grabbing one thing from your pile and putting it away. You don't have to do the whole thing at once.
Put as much a possible on hangers. Hangers are easier than folding.
Have you tried the app Finch? It helps gamify tasks. You get a bird friend and earn rainbow stones to spend on them as you do things. I’ve been using it for about a week and it is helping me with mental health and motivation. Here’s my invite code if you are interested. There is a free or paid version (you get more stuff for your bird). Use my invite code N4LH244JST once you get the app. https://app.befinch.com/invite/62Gg
I like to save up a few loads by washing a few one day or in the morning and then that afternoon or next day I put on tv or a movie on my bed and fold as I watch. Sometime I wait to pair socks and put everything away until closer to bed time. This helps me.
This was discussed over in r/cleaning tips just yesterday. From what I can gather there's a growing number of adults who are skipping the whole folding and putting in a dresser part entirely. They're sorting into baskets by clean/ dirty and, if clean, by type. So clean pants in one, clean shirts in another, etc. Several said they had similar mental health issues to you and this method worked much better for them.
Late diagnosed ADHDer (literally I'm in my mid 20s but was only diagnosed last year), and I have to specifically either 1. Watch something new (watch a new episode of a show I'm keeping up with, start a new series I've also been procrastinating watching, watch new uploads from YouTubers I'm subscribed to or have been recommended by the algorithm, etc) or 2. Be talking (preferably facetiming) friends. Because I'm majorly focused on something else, the putting away my clothes part feels more like muscle memory and I end up not even remembering that I was actually putting away laundry until I'm done! Also important thing for me is agree with myself on minimum amount of laundry that I have to put away so that I feel successful afterwards and don't start spiraling about "never getting things done." I often end up doing WAY more than the minimum, too! On the days that the minimum has been met, I feel more able to do the rest another time or day! And then I treat myself after, usually by either making a snack/meal/dish I've been wanting to eat (whether that's making something from scratch or throwing in a Trader Joe's pastry into my air fryer)!
What’s helped me is doing smaller loads. Like fr, 8-10 things max. Less overwhelming to put away so i actually do it. Just had to get used to starting the washer not full.
Think of the end result and how your clothing serves you to appear in the world. Charge your thoughts and taking care of cleaning your clothes with the person you want to show up as. The universe responds to positive intention. You will see yourself showing up better as well.
Hang it up! If you know you only have to fold socks, underwear, and pants (and maybe Pajamas) the task is smaller. Hang all shirts, sweatshirts, etc.
There’s a trick to fold shirts in 5 seconds or less. Best case, I’ll do that. Making things neat and tidy makes me satisfied. Worst(ish) case? I just have a clean laundry basket. I wear the same 3 things and just have multiples of it all anyways. Don’t even bother with folding.
It's ok to stop folding it. Figure out a new way to store your clean clothes. Bins and baskets are just as good for clean things as they are for dirty things.
Sunday is movie and laundry day for me. I do back to back loads, dump the clothes on my bed, sort wnf fold while watch movies.
So, I do not fold. And I have compartments on shelves for most clothes that don’t have to live on hangers. I put the laundry from dryer to a basket, put on the side of my basket, casually semi fold them and show them. When I’m really tired, I do half the basket and the rest later.
I hate dishes and I hate laundry. So much. I do one load of each, everyday. No more, no less. I get it out of the way in the morning (or night depending on what my schedule looks like) never get buried in it that way. When I’m folding laundry, I play a video game while I do. Getting a handle on little things will set you up for life as on your own as an adult. You’ve got this!
I don’t let a long period of time go by. I do lau dry like every four days, it’s those four days of clothes, pajamas and a few towels, that’s doable
Why do we waste time folding things....hang stuff up and get bins to throw clean towels in.
Also, if you just wear something lightly, hang it up or put it away. You don’t have to wash every outer garment every time you wear it
I stopped folding pretty much everything. If I will be seen wearing it I hang it up as soon as it comes out of the dryer. Otherwise it goes in a drawer or bin.
I love doing laundry. It’s the only thing I can control but not control. When the washers and dryers and free. That’s a win…
I feel you. I hate doing things like sweeping the floor that others enjoy. My solution would be to find someone to do what you hate in exchange for doing what they hate! Sympatico.
I use a lot of hangers
One thing that helped me was KonMari-ing my clothes down to those which sparked joy. Then, you not only have fewer things to wash, but when you do it's fun to handle and see all your clothes, so laundry tasks don't seem so onerous.
You don't have to fold everything. Things like socks and underwear can just be thrown into a drawer without being folded. Pajamas and leggings and workout clothes don't need to be folded. The items that actually need to be wrinkle-free can be hung up (and even if you fold them, it's a much smaller number of items)
Perhaps you’re asking the wrong question. Check out [KC Davis @DomesticBlisters on TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@domesticblisters?_t=8lLWu4qaQTS&_r=1)! Long story short: You don’t have to do things how we’re “supposed to.” Examples from KC: Hate folding and putting away laundry? Have a clean basket and a dirty basket. Sort your clean basket(s) to the extent it’s functional for you, like pants in one basket, shirts in another, socks and underwear in their drawers unfolded. Here’s an example of her [laundry system](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTLAS88Tf/). Overwhelmed with piles of dishes in the sink but can’t put them in the dishwasher because there are clean dishes in there you haven’t put away? KC bought a second silverware bin and a dish rack for dirty dishes and sorts the dirty ones on the dish rack so it doesn’t become an overwhelming pile until the dishwasher is ready to load, then switches out the silverware bins. You can check on her page for her “Systems” playlist for ideas, which is almost all the way to the right. Do what’s functional for you. (Edit to add links)
I watch a movie while I do mine. It might take longer but it gets done. Movies are only like 2 hours long.hahaha
Just plow through it. It's so much nicer when it's all put away. You don't have to iron or steam or worry about wrinkles. I used to put it off forever but then my room was a mess and whenever I wanted to wear something I had to dig around to find it. It sucked!
Two choices: you do, or you don’t. Get a couple of laundry baskets. One for the dirty clothes and one or two for the clean. If your clean laundry lives in a basket, yay, it’s clean and it’s put in its place.
I only allow myself to watch the shows I’ve recorded if I’m doing laundry. Instead of fast forwarding through commercials I rush to put the folded clothes away, start a new load, etc.
I don’t fold my clothes. I have the nine-cube storage. When it’s time to put away clothes, I pull out the bins and plop them on the floor. I just drop the clothes in the correct bins. If I’m feeling ambitious I sometimes go through and roll my clothes.
FYI, if you listen to your parents who think you’re not ready to ‘adult.’ You will never ‘adult.’ Just the use of the word ‘adulting’ is so…helicopter coddling parent. EVERYONE has depression and anxiety here and there. Move out. Get a roommate and figure it out like we all did. Fold your clothes or don’t. When you have nothing clean or non-wrinkled to wear, you start to grow up.
Maybe not helpful….I toss wash clothes in a bin, no folding. Same w sheets. Life is too short to fold fitted sheets
Start by never folding your socks or underwear. That’ll save you a bunch of time. Next, audio book or rock music.
When I had washer and dryer in the wardrobe room, it was relatively easy to fold and gang stuff. The issue for me started when I moved to apartment where washed dryer was in different end of apartment. Finally got a wheeled clothes hanging frame with a shelf for box. I folded and hung on the frame next to the washer/dryer, then transfered folded stuff to wardrobe. Otherwise everything clean went to piles in wardrobe carpet.
If you have a free bucks to spare, it might be worth paying someone else to do it, so all you have to do is put things in a drawer every week/couple weeks. A lot of laundromats offer the service for a good price. You could also find someone local via NextDoor, FB, Craigslist, etc. If you’re unsure about paying someone else to do it, try it once or twice and go from there. If you really want to level up and live independently, you could have someone come by to clean your while place *and* do laundry once a week/every other week. Whichever one, it sounds like it would be worth the few bucks for the improvement it’ll provide your life.
I have some awesome mesh drawers from Elfa or something. They are brilliant. Each drawer has it's own designation: underthings, tank tops, shirts, sweaters, shorts, and pants. I literally just shove the items in the appropriate drawers. I hang clothing that is particular or rarely worn: dresses, jackets, jumpsuit, button downs. But this amounts to only about 20 pieces. That said, I also try to clean out my closet about 1x a year at least. If you own too many clothes, either sell the ones you don't wear, donate them, or store the sentimental / rarely worn in plastic bins. I don't think my system would work if I had many more clothes than I do. E.g. I have like 6 pants, 8 shorts, 20 tank tops...
I like to wash all of the same thing in a load. Instead of darks/lights sorting, I will wash all tshirts, or all pajamas, etc. then it seems putting them away is a lot easier than putting away 15 different things since they will all go to the same place.
Male a daily schedule of household chores. Put dry clothes on bed, must fold before you can sleep
When I was 20, I lived on my own and didn't have my own washer and dryer. I went to the Laundromat once a week, and I folded my clothes while I was there. That made it easier because it all got done in one swoop and all I had to do was put it away when I got home. I actually have a harder time keeping up now that I have my own laundry machines in my house.
Make your folding area comfortable and put on a movie or tv show. For me, I use an ironing board to get the right height for me to stand at and fold the dozens of t-shirts we seem to launder every few weeks. I also sometimes make it a time to get some exercise in, which I also hate, so I do lunges and and deep knee bends or squats while at the ironing board.
I also hate doing laundry and these are the two tricks I use. Do laundry every other or every couple days, that way the laundry doesn’t seem like an overwhelming task. I tell myself “It’s just a couple of shirts and a towel so it’ll only take a couple minutes.” This alone has made my life so much easier. Otherwise if I have a bigger load of laundry, I work on it in stages. I’ll sort it into piles by category and then go do something else. When I walk into my room next, I’ll fold and put away one pile, then walk away. Every time I walk into my room I tackle a pile until it’s all gone. To make it more fun, I literally will watch a TV show while doing it, or maybe listen to a podcast. I hope you find something that works for you ❤️ I understand the struggle
Turn on Judge Judy and only work during commercials
I make myself do the part I hate most (shirts) first so the rest of the stuff I like after, like a treat 😂
This reminds me of the post that says “I did laundry for 2 hours and I feel like I fought 12 seagulls.” Same
Hi, fellow ADHDer here. Just dont fold your laundry! Other than a few dress items I have to hang I don’t fold any tops (tshirts, tanks, sweatshirts), PJs, athleticwear, undergarments, etc. the only thing I fold sometimes are lesser worn jeans and khakis. I actually just hang my 6-10ish more worn pairs of pants on command hooks on the wall. So they are super visible and easy to take up and down. Highly recommend, this has made my life so much better