The Joy Of Folding Pt 2

The Joy of Folding for me comes from relaxation, smoothing my hands over the clothes, feeling the material, straightening seams and reshaping necklines puts me into an almost meditative state.
Sometimes I'll have music on or the t.v or be chatting to MrB but often to sit in silence enjoying the feel of the material and its warmth is bliss.
NOT something I would ever have said 6 months ago.

The first rule of folding:
Enjoy.
This is a task for which your family will always be thankful (even if they never vocalise it)  having lovely, cared for, clean clothes every day is a joy for anyone.
Set aside a time every day when you can do this properly without rushing.
I find the half hour whilst MrB cooks dinner is ideal.
There is no point spending the whole time you are dealing with clothes being angry and pissed off, you have to do it and following this method will make it so much easier.

1) when first removing an item from the dryer (I am a heavy user of my dryer, I know its bad for the environment but I've got 3 kids and it makes life sooo much easier) shake it and lay it flat either on your knee (I find this is good for smoothing creases and if you are watching t.v ) or on a flat surface (often I will fold on the worktop straight from the dryer).

2) smooth out the item, paying particular attention to the seams, often when an item of clothing feels uncomfortable it is due to twisted or bumpy seams.
Pull it gently from the bottom holding at the neckline/waistline to even out the sides.
Use your fabric conditioner spray on any stubborn seams or creases, just a little massaged in works wonders.

3) using the flat of your hand push the creases out to the sides but try not to get too anal, it isn't going to be as smooth as when ironed but its certainly less work and puts less stress on your clothes and I've yet to be lambasted for creases in my kids clothes.

4) once happy begin folding.
When you fold you need to keep an image in your head of the size and shape of your drawers as this will influence the final folded size.
The principle for all clothes is the same, you are creating a rectangle that will be folded into a pocket.
Lets start with a t-shirt.

We lay it with the back facing up, neckline on the left, bottom hem on the right or whatever way works best for you.
Fold the side nearest to you into the centre, again taking note of seams etc straightening and smoothing as you go, some seams will not meet and you just have to accept this.
Fold back the sleeve.
Fold  the other half of the t-shirt into the centre creating a rectangle.

Once you have a rectangle press and smooth it straight turning it over adjusting seams etc then turning back so you can see the fold.
Fold over the top leaving a couple of inches under the neck line.
Press this with your hands.
From the bottom of the t-shirt fold over approximately about a third then continue to fold up towards the neckline until you can tuck the bottom of the t-shirt into the head hole.

Press and smooth after each fold.
Et voila a perfectly smooth pocket that can be tossed around the room with out unfolding or creasing.

When it comes to trousers/jeans fold in half length ways.

 smooth smooth smooth those suckers.

Fold the trouser legs in half from the bottom up to a couple of inches from the waistband.
Take the waist band and fold over a couple of inches (depends on your drawer size) you may need to tuck the crotch in under the waistband fold to keep the rectangle shape.
Again a third folded from the bottom should leave enough for the legs to be tucked into the waistband.

This can be done with most items of clothing( the only piece of clothing that remains unfold-able for me are my 5 yr olds denim shorts but hey you win some....) also bedding, towels, tea-towels dish cloths.




pants deserve love too

You will need to practice, my folding now is so much more effective than when i first began, certain items of clothing will always want to be folded a certain way and I like to allow my clothes to find their own fold as much as possible, material has memory and once its been folded a few times it will almost find the fold itself.

Whenever anything goes missing in the house there's a cry of 'I bet mums folded it'.
Dang right she has.
Fold it or lose it.

the sum total of lylas clothes bar a dress and 2 coats

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