You don't have to have an Electrolux to be Awesome

Are you like me and find that the laundry is sucking your life out of you? I've found myself fantasizing about what it would be like if that wretched chore would magically complete itself. But reality always finds its way in baskets and mounds to tell me I'm just wishful thinking.
I decided to investigate my laundry folding habits to see if I couldn't maximize my time and allow for more bon bon time (yeah...more like playing horsies with the girlets time).

I hope some of these tips help you. The most important tip is first! For this demonstration I used 4 large loads of laundry for 5 people and from start to finish (everything put away) I spent 25 minutes including getting snacks for the kids, getting a 2 year old to stop spinning all of the toilet paper off  the roll and putting it back on, pausing to eat snacks the kids made for me--thankfully they tasted good, entertaining a 4 year old chatterbox and being super quiet while putting away the kids clothes because the baby was sleeping (yeah, all 3 share a room). :)

1. Give Yourself A Pep Talk -- Seriously!
Look that pile of laundry in its big mound of a face and say to it :"You don't scare me!" Ok so maybe you don't have to say that but you at least need to think it. I found myself always feeling overwhelmed and told myself it would take forever and I would never finish.When I flipped my thinking, I have folded the laundry in half the time--seriously!

2.Prepare your battle zone Work Area
In a perfect laundry filled world I would fold as I pull the laundry out but that never seems to happen. I usually start with this:

Then I dump like this: (you could use a bed or a table but it is best elevated--not the floor)

Then I lay out a basket for each person:

Then I stand between the empty baskets and the mound and I begin to fold.

3, You Touch It, You Fold It

I don't sort. If the kids want to help I let them sort socks and things but if I pick something up I fold it. A few exceptions are allowed for this rule - socks, and items I hang. I find I save so much time by just tackling the mound instead of sorting first. Socks for everyone get their own pile on the bed and then I lay the hang up pile in separate his and hers piles either on the floor or on  the back of a chair and then I drape the kids hang up stuff over the edge of their basket.

Hang up pile

Sock pile

4. Getting to know your basket

I designate a spot in each basket for bottoms, tops, pajamas, unders, etc. This makes unloading really easy.

 Kids baskets:

Rag/towel basket: (I use a new rag/towel every day) 

 5. Finishing touches
After I do all the folding, I match socks, put the hang up pile onto hangers and then I put everything away.

*Note: My second timed run I had an overwhelming 8+ loads to fold. I set a goal to do it in 30 minutes. I have kids and well...I folded everything in 31 minutes but putting away took another 11  minutes for a total of 42 minutes. Not too bad! Do you have any laundry folding tips?