Labeled laundry bins for clean clothes instead of folding for the kids
https://www.afterpickup.com/laundry-bins/
Laundry in this house runs every day, sometimes more than one load, because three kids and the two of us do a lot of sports and workouts. The wash and the dry never took much thinking. What used to stall us was the pile that came out of the dryer, sitting there waiting to be folded and put away.
Every member of the household got a labeled bin with their name on it, and that changed the whole back half of the chore. Clean clothes go straight from the dryer into those bins, and we only sort them. We do not fold for the kids, and if their shirts or pants come out inside out we leave them that way instead of turning them right-side out. They learn, or they flip them when they put their clothes on, and either way we do not stress. Each kid grabs the bin with their name on it, takes it to their room, empties it into their dresser, and brings the empty bin back.
When we adopted this no-fold method we were sure our kids would look like wrinkly ragamuffins, but try it. Our kids dress in mostly cotton, and all the wrinkles have disappeared by the time they finish breakfast and head off to school. Promise.
We still fold t-shirts and a few other things for the two of us, but not for the kids. The two older boys even help fold towels and napkins and put those away, which means the adults are not the only ones finishing the load. The pile that used to sit on a bed for half the evening now has a clear next step that belongs to someone else.
Sorting the dry clothes into the bins is now the worst and most time-consuming part of laundry, which is a funny kind of win. Caitlin loves listening to an audiobook while she sorts, which makes that boring task nicer and seems faster. The kids do not put up much fuss, and there was barely a learning curve. They only unload their bins about twice a week, which means clean clothes sit downstairs most of the time. That downstairs bin comes in handy when someone needs a mid-day costume change.
At home the clean clothes have a bin and the worn ones have a place, and when we travel we pack a foldable hamper so dirty clothes still have somewhere to go.