Folding bedclothes

I also button up willsmadnan for the same reasons. Out on the line then iron pillowcases and one side of the duvet cover. Never iron the fitted sheet.

I do button/zip up duvet covers as otherwise my machine has the ability to stow at least half the wash inside the cover.

I have put already folded tablecloths into the machine in the past and they came out still folded and stained in the middle so I consciously unfold and shake big stuff before ramming it in.

Well, what is nonnaW going to do now. After a lifetime of folding the bedding before putting it in the washing machine as she learnt from her mother nearly everyone here finds it a strange thing to do and not an effective way of washing. Can she change her? Will she want to change?

I think this a good exercise in how we cope and think about change. Not sure I could change if I was her. I am a push it all in but try not to overload. I am going to try and remember to fasten the duvets before washing as it amazes me how much gets inside during the wash.

Agreed- how can they wash properly if folded ?!?

I also am of the opinion that if folded they do not get washed properly. I am in agreement with many others that it is a strange thing to do.

I don't iron unless really essential, which is practically never. I throw the washing downstairs as I normally drop something on the way down. It is put in the machine unfolded and removed immediately after the machine stops to prevent wrinkles(so no ironing required) and hung outside to dry. I have stopped using softener and there doesn't seem to be any difference. Clothes are folded straight from the line, I bring one sheet in at a time to fold unless it is raining.

I don't like putting bedding out on the line when there's pollen around, as there is now. There have been hazel catkins out for weeks now and the pollen makes me wheeze. The birches are still to come.

i take the bedding off the bed and throw it on the floor then gather the resulting bundle up and throw it downstairs [can't go up or down stairs carrying things as i need both hands on the handrails].

then i just bundle the bundle into the washing machine to wash on a 60 degree wash [advised by kim and aggie!].

i don't tumble dry bedding. in the summer it's out on the line and carefully folded when dry to put in the airing cupboard .......... no ironing.

in the winter, it's draped over the clothes airer in the conservatory and, once again, folded when dry ......... again no ironing.

i HATE ironing - and i HATE making beds as it takes me so long to make one - i've got arthritis so find the walking to and fro very difficult [and my back aches after only a little bit of this].

one of these days, when i win the lottery [if i only entered!], i think i might employ a maid to do this for me!

I don't fold either but if my husband strips his bed he folds it and even more annoying puts the pillows and duvet back on the bed so I have to take it off again to put the clean bedding on!

It wouldn't cross my mind to fold before putting into the washing machine- I loosely bundle the linen up to take it downstairs then chuck it in ? and I iron sheets, duvet covers and pillowcases

I will button up in future willsmadnan after I took my king size duvet out of the tumbler rather than the washer the other day and it was so tightly tangled I really struggled to open it out, I don't know why, it's never happened before.
Personally I find folding things to put in the machine strange

I remember reading the instructions for an old washing machine recommending that one found the rough centre of a large item and pushed it right to the middle back of the drum, then tucked in the remainder evenly around the edge. I have always done this, and never have an unbalanced load.
I starch my sheets for a crisp cool finish, ironing them folded, through several layers. At the moment I have an injured shoulder and cannot fold a sheet neatly without laying it on a flat surface first.

So good to be different though non I love being different.

To answer your question in the OP, NonnaW, yes I think it is just you, judging by all the responses on here

So because your mother did it, you slavishly follow.

I don't fold.... never have done, but I do button up the duvet cover now, as I got fed up with small things (knickers for example!) somehow working their way into the inner-most parts of the cover. Sometimes there used to be a great wodge of stuff trapped in one of the corners, not spun all that well, and not very good for the washing machine with all that unbalanced weight in one lump.

I am just thinking about picking mine in from the washing line, and if I can be bothered I do fold each item then in the hope that it will make easier ironing.

No I don't fold I like them all loose in the machine and not to much at once so they get a good wash. I haven't used fabric softener in years with no appreciable difference.

Can't understand the thinking behind folding things so they wash better. Like others on here, I am pretty sure they would not wash as well as unfolded bedding. I've washed mine this morning and they didn't come out in a tangled mess. They never do. But I'm quite sure if I put them all in folded they would bump around the machine and unbalance the drum. As I've got a brand new machine I'm not about to do anything to damage it!

No Ana but not in a tangled mess either. The machine definitely makes more noise when sheets are tangled in a ball. Don't get me wrong, they are only roughly folded.

I fold bed linen as I take it off the bed but it is just for the convenience of carrying, I open everything out to put in the washing machine.

I never fold to put in machine. When I bring the washing in off the line, I fold duvet cover, sheet and pillow cases and put them inside another pillow case. Then straight into the airing cupboard. I only iron bedding if someone is coming to stay.My ambition is to get pure linen bedding.

Never even thought of folding used bedding, just chuck it straight in the machine. Wash and out on the line for a blow in the fresh air. Fold it when I bring it in. I only have one cover (cotton) which needs ironing, so I don't often use that one lol.

Back in the mists of time when I first had an automatic washing machine, the instructions said 'do not fold' .... So I didn't . No problems.

I don't fold either , I just bung them in the machine. They don't get tangled. Once they're washed they go straight into the dryer. It's folding them when they are dry that's the bother. Mine are all king size and huge.