There’s something happening with people and folding lately.

Everyone in my life keeps managing to bring the conversation back around to their complete and utter loathing of folding their clothes, and, more specifically, their clean laundry.

As a zealous lover of folding (and promoter of its obvious benefits), I feel it’s my duty to do what I can to restore relations here. And thus, I present unto you: 5 ways to fall in love with folding.

1. Stop viewing it as a dreaded chore, start viewing it as a kind of meditative practice.

The best and most obnoxious tip I can give you when it comes to your feelings about folding is this: stop hating it. Decide to stop having such an inferior regard for it this instant. It really is that easy.

You probably won’t love it at first–that’s a rawther large jump–but you can decide to shift from “I hate folding,” to “I am going to fold,” or “I am folding.” When you stick to the facts, rather than dragging your emotions into the task from the outset (“I have to fold all this damn laundry”), you begin to shake loose your negative feelings towards it.

Over time, as you get better at it and begin to take pride in your skills and derive pleasure from the practice, try to internally move to, “I like folding,” and then, hopefully, “I love folding,” or, “I enjoy folding.”

2. Make it an act of gratitude

I’ve talked about this before, and I believe it’s true as much now as I did then: the way you care for your belongings is infinitely important, not so much because it/they have feelings, but because you do.

The way to feel as though you are worthy of whatever good has come into your life (by the way, not that it matters as much, but the way others feel about whether or not you’re worthy of what you have)–be it career opportunities, relationships, and yes, most certainly, clothes, is to perpetually keep your gratitude for those things in the forefront of your mind.

A person who makes gratitude their way of being, who wishes to be present and aware doesn’t take caring for their belongings lightly. Instead, they see their “chores” as proof of their blessings. And they see the fulfillment of those tasks acts of gratitude, in and of themselves.

This is not malarky, I promise you.

When you shift from lamenting your having to fold your clothes to your wanting to illustrate to yourself (and in this weird way that I won’t go too much into for fear of falling off the woo woo wagon: illustrate to your clothes) how much you appreciate the abundance that is yours, folding becomes a practice that sustains your spirit, in however small a way, not drains it.

3. Give and take, one hand washes the other, etc.

Your clothes do a lot for you. First, hello, you’re not naked thanks to them. And moreover, they help you feel confident, well-suited for whatever activities you’re doing; some clothes even make you feel powerful.

Don’t you think folding and caring lovingly for your clothes is the least you can do in return?

(Hint: it is.)

4. Get really good at it.

None of us really love what we half heartedly do in life, that’s just a fact. If you’ve been folding all ho-hum and sure whatever, it stands to reason that you haven’t been enjoying it!

Since there’s no expectation, there’s no opportunity to achieve excellence, and without that, whooooo caressssss fart fart.

Stop being a sloppy folder. Learn to fold excellently.

Practice. Be exact. Lay it flat, and fold with purpose. I teach all my clients how to fold, and even those who never gave it a second thought become star folders by the end. When there’s a standard in place, there’s a chance to actually get it right, and to gain satisfaction through it. (Do we want an instructional tutorial here?)

5. Make it less painful, ya dummy

Throw yourself a bone by doing what you can to improve your relationship with folding right now. There are zillions of ways I can think of to make folding more fun for those of you for whom it’s not inherently (I have to clarify this because, obviously, I think folding is as fun as…what are collectively agreed upon Really Fun Things? Paragliding? Eating? Seeing movies? I mean, I think folding is as fun as all of those!) Anyhow, here are just a few:

• Have basket, will travel. Take your laundry with you to wherever the action is/to where the tv is/ to where the light is. Fold there instead of whatever corner you usually do it in.
• Listen to music while you fold. Or insightful podcasts. Give your mind something to focus on and let your hands go to work.
• As much as I could happily enjoy folding in an enclosed cell somewhere, I almost always watch beauty guru youtube videos while I fold. Put on something fluffy, something that you might not totally consider worthy of your watching if that’s all you were doing, but since you’re going to be standing in that same spot for the next couple minutes anyhow…
• Make your folding time your chat time. Have a weekly phone date with your bestie while you fold. Speaker phone works, as does facetime. Or, make those annoying calls where you have to wait on hold forever, because, as previously stated, you’re going to be standing in one spot for a couple minutes anyhow.

Got any tips of your own for making laundry a more enjoyable activity? Share away!

Image credits: Photography by Julia Robbs for Refinery 29, unknown, Bjorn Wallander for Country Living, Decor de Provence