Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Proper care and folding of towels

As mothers and keepers of our home, there are two great lessons that we must pass down to our children.

The first lesson is to never judge a towel by its cover.

Take Old Blue here, for example.


Old Blue is a faithful and favorite friend of mine. Sure he's a little frayed around the edges and has a few superficial wounds from battling bleach, but he's juuuuust right, Goldilocks. Not too soft, not too fluffy, not too heavy and soaks up the water like a champ!

The second lesson that we can teach our children is the proper folding of towels.

I daresay that this lesson could be most critical for sons. What wife wouldn't be impressed with a gift of properly laundered and folded (and put away) towels? And if that towel were unfolded, heated in the dryer and presented upon exiting the shower on a cold winter morning, even better!

(Hey baby, are you reading this? It will be winter soon...)

1. FOLD TOWEL IN HALF.

I can't believe I am showing you the age spots.



2. HALF AGAIN, PLEASE.

Because manners count.


3. FOLD IN THIRDS.

I think Old Blue needs a trim. I am a neglectful towel-dresser.


4. KEEP FOLDING.

Try to make sure the edges stay aligned.


5. WHEN PLACING ON SHELF, KEEP THE FOLDED EDGE FACING OUTWARDS.

See? Even Old Blue has a "good" side. My good side for photos is my right side. Do you know what your good side is?


Ahhhh... a job well done, if I do say so myself.


Do you fold towels this way too? Or a different way?

If you do a different way, I bet you put your toilet paper under instead of over, don't you? Or perhaps *gasp* you don't even care!

I don't even know what to say about that.

PS Do you feel like I was yelling the directions at you?

29 comments:

Melissa Stover said...

that's exactly how i fold. and i have favorite old towels too.

Michelle said...

I have a big brown towel that has plenty of bleach stains, too. DH wanted to get me a new towel this year, but I said, "no way." I love my bleach-stained 'teddy bear' towel. (But I do hide it when company comes) ;-)

Christine said...

That's exactly how I fold my towels. I wonder if it comes from being from the same family. Hmmmm. LOL. I don't have any towels I'm attached to. My old ones in Oklahoma that were 10 years old were smelling a little mildewy. Have no idea. And some of them were so thin and scratchy because our dryer in our first apartment pretty much just burned everything. SO, since we moved to Oregon I bought all white, fluffy, just perfect towels so I can bleach them. :) I love you! Even if you were yelling the instructions at me. :P Just kidding.

40winkzzz said...

i fold them a bit differently, but i do agree with you on the toilet paper. and although i have been known to change the way the roll hangs at other peoples' houses, it would not occur to me to get into their linen closet and refold their towels. that's a good thing. besides, your way is actually better; my way is lazy.

i think the biggest lesson i have taught my kids about laundry is that it needs to season in the basket for a day or 2 between dryer & folding. (yes, bad, i know.)

Tracy said...

Ok, first of all how we fold our towels depends on WHERE we live at the time and where our towels are stored. It has literally changed many times in 16 years! SO, at this house now, no we fold one bathrooms towels longer to fit on a long but skinny shelf. And the other bathroom towels get rolled up to fit in a spa tub! :)

As for the toilet paper on the other hand ALWAYS OVER! Hello?

Tracy said...

That was suppose to say a basket in a spa tub (I don't have THAT many towels!) LOL!

Anonymous said...

I fold towels your way...but fling them oh the shelf and could care less how they land...even CROOKED! ha-ha-ha

My dream house would have open baskets on gliders that you just fling clean towels in - no folding...same for wash cloths and so forth.

I deliberately refuse to fold kitchen towels for this reason...they are in the drawer...why fold them...unless it is a space issue... that's different.

I made you nervous huh...

Did I mention my house is not clean enough to give anyone advice.... :-) - Donna McCann

Anonymous said...

That is exactly how I fold my towels. Of course, I definately go over on the toilet paper, and have at times been guilty of changing it at other people's houses. I know, it seems like that may be going to far.

Susan said...

yep--thats how I do it too. My mom got me 9 sets of towels last year for Christmas. I finally got to get rid of all the old ones. Actually I use them for the dog now!

Unknown said...

Toilet paper up. Towels? I have never seen it done that way. Go Figure.

Lainie said...

Let's not get started on towel folding. Oh.My.

I take the towel and hold it by the narrow end so it's hanging long in front of me and then thirds. Yes, thirds with the "tag" corner going in first so it never shows. I now have a long, narrow towel. Then (with it laying on the couch or a table) I fold both ends towards the middle so it kinda looks like a book... then I "close the book."

No ends show... it's all just folded goodness.

Yes, I know I'm a freak but hey you started it :D

Oh, and toilet paper is always "over" never under. If I am at someone's house that is an "under" I change it to over... I'm sorry, I can't help myself.

Anonymous said...

Marhsy,
I fold like this too. I actually no longer have to fold laundry though! I taught all my kids, including the boys!!! So someday their wives will be happy and surprised!!! Also, too funny about hte toilet paper comment... my step-mother folds her towels different AND she puts the toilet paper on the wrong way!!!!! Glad to know you and I have something in common!!!!

Anonymous said...

hey,,, I left the last comment... couldn't plug it in as my google account... it is me... sammy4meowz!! :)

Anonymous said...

No, you're not yelling at me. Heavens, you'd have to be a little shorter and stouter. That's my mom! She can yell. That's how she folds towels. I'm definitely an over, but I married someone, also an over, who folds the towels in thirds first lengthwise and half and half again. Do you know, it does not even matter how the towels are folded to me, as long as I didn't have to do it. ;-) Dee at expeditionswith3g@blogspot.come

Anonymous said...

I fold towels just like you. When my hubby folds them, he folds them into big squares and they never fit right on the shelf so I have to refold them.
And don't even get me started on TP. I am a FREAK about it, it has to be "over". :)

beckypdj said...

OVER, I do fold my towels that way, except the folding in thirds, just half. That's the way they fit on my shelves. :)

Here's a little OCD for you. Peyton's bathroom has green and brown towels. I like to alternate on the shelf, green, brown, green, brown, etc. even though they in a cabinet behind closed doors. His towels have a few bleach spots from a facial cleanser he was using. Don't even want to think about getting rid of those.

Alison said...

Toilet paper under instead of over?! Gasp indeed!
I'm all for folding nicely and hiding frayed edges! It save me from feeling the need to buy new towels...

Jacque said...

:) I agree. It is very important to teach our children how to fold the towels! LOL
No, really, we fold all towels the same way, stack them all edges the same way, face the folded parts out (like your folded parts are). Same with washcloths, and hand towels, kitchen towels, etc...
but, we fold them in half (top to bottom), then in half to the left(or right), then in half top to bottom again. Or however that works out so that it is opposite foldings each time.
I just cut off the frayed edges.

And, the toilet paper better be from the top so we can pull and tear without using two hands! :)
Actually, right now, our toilet paper is in baskets next to the toilets.

Good to know other moms have to have their towels in order too!
:) Have a great day!

Suzanne ~ TheJoyfulChaos said...

i love that your towels look like my towels!

like them folded like that, but lately i'll take about anything if the kids will just do it and make the towels get off my couch! sometimes instead of thirds we fold in half (makes more room for more towels on my short shelves).

and i DO NOT allow the toilet paper rolls to come from under. that point i have taught well in this house!

Dawn Camp said...

I do fold differently, but I would never, ever, ever have toilet paper under instead of over. I have actually been known to remove rolls other houses (family only, mind you) and "fix" them.

Unknown said...

Toilet paper OVER, for sure.

As for towels, my mom folded in thirds first and then in half, to make it ready to hang on the towel rack. I, on the other hand, don't have a rack. I have hooks, so we fold like you!

Debbie said...

I fold them that way, too--but I think it's because you taught me :) Funny, Aubs was helping me fold laundry a few weeks ago and he wanted me to teach him how I fold his underwear--apparently it fits better in his drawer than the way he folds them. The thing is, I know that I learned to do it from some 80's sitcom, but I don't remember which one! I just remember that it was a ditzy blonde or something...aaaaaaanyway....that's it. Oh, and TP definitely over!
Love you :)

Leanne said...

Glad to see that your faithful readers are just as genius as you and I, as evidenced by the way they all fold towels.

We do fold towels like that. Exactly like you. Cause there just IS no other way. And yes, my perfect, angelic, wonderful children also fold towels that way, cause I taught them, and I'm the genius behind the whole deal anyway...

And yeah, we have towels plural that look like that!

It's just another reason to love you madly!!

Lylas.

Becca~CapturingSimpleJoys said...

I fold differently. I lay it out flat, fold length-wise in thirds then in half then in half again. Every time! I'm also an OVER person on the toilet paper and I too have changed it at other peoples house. I always just assume if their toilet paper is under it means they just popped it on there and won't care I change it;)

I have towels that look like that and they ARE just perfect! I also have towels my parents gave me when we got married that were towels I grew up using. I can't throw them away~you never know when you'll need a towel for some major spill!

Amy from Learning At Our House said...

Oh my goodness, Marsha! Are you sure we are not related????? LOL! I have been harassed by numerous people about folding my towels this way! I can't STAND to have them any other way.

Jennifer Bowen said...

That is exactly how I fold my towels! And I get very upset when they're folded otherwise. Boy, do I get upset! I always tell my guests not to help e fold my towels. They can never get it right. LOL

Jessica F said...

Umm yep, Im pretty guilty of folding towels sloppy. I have never been a good 'foler' to begin with. Maybe I should invest in one of those folding helpers...then maybe it will look like someone from old navy or target came and folded my clothes in my closet!

Sisterlisa said...

Yes, that is exactly how we fold them too. :)

Anonymous said...

I fold my towels in half vertically first (so it's really long) and then half horizontally twice. This way, when I go to hang the towel, it's already vertical.