When it comes to me and sheets, folding is a bit of a relative term.
I do try, but the end result looks more like wadding.
I’ve been doing my sister-in-law’s laundry since their house sold, and this week they brought their sheets.
Washing them? No problem. Sheets make a big load but dry quickly so I feel like I’ve really accomplished something.
I got them out of the dryer, checked all of the little corner spots where socks and handtowels hide, stretched out my arms to begin folding . . . and suddenly felt very insecure.
I tried the trick I saw Martha do on Oprah years ago and tucked the stretchy corners inside one another. Maybe it helped, but the end result was still a wad.
I realized that I was only doing this to impress them. I truly don’t care if my sheets are perfectly folded. I have a method that I found in a magazine a year-or-so ago that totally works for us.
I fold the sheets as well as I can, and then I put them inside one of the set’s pillowcases. They may not stack beautifully in the linen closet, but my linen-closet stacks always fall over anyway. They do end up wrinkled, but I just can’t fathom caring about wrinkled sheets.
So rather than moving the furniture in the living room and spending an hour tucking and smoothing, I chose to be okay with the way we do things, and do it that way for them.
Of course, while writing this post, I checked to see if Mama Laundry has instructions on how to fold sheets. Of course, she does. Hers are pretty, but I’m okay with my way.
This is part of letting them into our lives. Our real, not-so-pretty-sheet-folding lives.
Folding sheets is always easier with two people involved! 😉
You are so my cyber twin… when I read your posts I can totally relate to EVERYTHING… just did a shout out to you on my blog. http://www.theroadnamedme.com
I 'try' and fold my sheets & then stuff the results in a matching pillowcase too. I know that mine might stand up on end (Like Laura's from Organizing Junkie did with those air-suck bag thingy's… but don't put them in there… just leave them in the pillowcase) if I had a basket to put them in. Sort of like 'filing' them. Would something like that help them not fall over?
Texas Sugar, you're so right!
M.M., I LOVE the term Cyber Twin!
Duckville, the baskets are a great idea for the "bags 'o sheets" . . . hmmm.
why fold sheets at all?! wash, dry, put back on bed immediately. 🙂 the only time that we fold sheets is when we put the "winter" flannel sheets away in a closet, and take out the summer sheets. then reverse in the fall. sheet folding, 2x per year only!
any housework I can avoid is a good thing! lol
I just find it amazing that you have matching sheets and pillowcases. We have so many pillows on our bed that we had to buy extra pillowcases. All of our comforter sets were gifts, and we have no earthly idea where they were purchased. Therefore our pillowcases don't match.
Handy Man, Crafty Woman, that's typically what I do as well. The rest of our sheets get vacuumed packed until they are needed.
Have to laugh, I'm terrible at sheet folding too. I agree with Handy Man Crafty Woman, I put them right back on the bed. Of course it's usual late at night when I'm totally exhausted and I can't get into the bed until it's made!
so funny! my husband folds them better than i do, how sad is that?!
I roll mine up. Fold the sheet in half, in half again, making a long strip, and then "log roll" it. Those get stacked/piled into a crate that lays on its side on a laundry room shelf up above the sink. Works for me. And I can't fathom worrying about wrinkled sheets, either! 😉
I remember my Nanna ironing her sheets!!
Although I am one of those people who can fold sheets, I certainly don’t judge. Does your SIL care how you fold the sheets, or is she simply grateful that they are clean? I bet it’s the latter! Hugs to you!
More of us need to speak up and support the non crisp method of filling the linen cupboard. I can fold pretty flat but the ratio of time spent to fold to time spent in that position is not worth my time and effort. There’s more to do.
But bring my mother in law into the equation and I panic!
Did you know, some people vacuum behind their lounge/ sofa/ couch EVERY week? Ain’t nobody got time for that!!!
You literally can’t walk in my house because of all the clutter. HOWEVER, my sheets are folded perfectly – and my pillow cases are ironed. I know, I am an anomaly!
I find the “double bagging”. Method works great for me. My laundry day is Sunday. Ideally I would have 3 sets of matching sheets (just bought a new bed so I could only afford 2 sets). I layer the entire set : fitted sheet, flat sheet , then another fitted sheet on top of those, with the next flat sheet, if I had a third, I would repeat the step. same thing with the pillows , just try to make sure I use the same order of patterned sheets to patterned pillow cases. Then during the week I can peel off the layer of sheets and have a freshly made bed on a hetectic week night… ( I can only go 3 or 4 nights per sheet set because the dog sleeps in my bed)….
I have never figured out how to fold fitted sheets. I have tried every which way and it doesn’t work. Now I just put them back on the bed or fold the best I can and the heck with it.
It took me until age 40 (one year ago) to learn how to fold a fitted sheet. And I only do it because it really doesn’t take me any longer to do and fits better in the closet. When my 20 year old nephew could fold one and I couldn’t, it was my personal mission to at least learn. You Tube is great.
Of course the sheets are generally already wrinkled from sitting in the basket for too long, but working on that! I just got rid of one basket that broke in hopes that a lack of baskets would cause us to fold in a more timely fashion. 4 baskets in the living room is typical, but not cool. Procrasticlutter, for sure.
Never have so many extra sheets that might require you to care about folding. Keep one set on the bed, and the other tucked under your mattress…where noone sees whether they are wrinkled or not.