My Quest For The Elusive Flip Fold

Have you seen the Flip Fold Laundry Folder?  If not, check out this video.

Before the Flip Fold I had been folding my T-shirts like this:

However, the one sleeve was never tucked in perfectly.  And then I found the Flip Fold!

I first saw this awesome contraption on The Big Bang Theory and have wanted one ever since! 

I began to look in earnest for the Flip Fold.   I checked out several stores here in Canada only to discover that the Flip Fold is not sold here.  So I began to check online.  The Container Store sells Flip Folds but they are also not in Canada and quite far from where I live.  However, I discovered that The Container Store now ships to Canada.  Yeah!  The Flip Fold was $24.99 but with shipping and handling it came to over $72.00!  A bit much just to fold the laundry!

It was time for a cross-border shopping trip.  I don't live too far from Port Huron, MI and so Mr. P and I went on a foreign quest for a Flip Fold.  We looked all over Port Huron and couldn't find one anywhere.  I came home dejected, my dreams of having perfectly organized clothes crushed!

I checked out Youtube where I discovered that I could make my very own Flip Fold out of cardboard.  It looked so easy!

It wasn't very pretty and it was really flimsy.  All in all I would say it was a complete fail!  Back to the drawing board.

Mr. P came up with a wonderful idea of putting together a Flip Fold out of plexi-glass.  It's a sturdier plastic and he could drill holes in it for air flow when I was done.  I went to the hardware store with all of my dimensions so that they could cut the pieces for me.  Thank goodness before they made the first cut they told me that the sheet of plexi-glass would cost $65 plus taxes.  I might as well pay for one to be shipped from the US for that much money!

I wandered around the hardware store seeing if I could find something that I could make a Flip Fold out of when I came across this:

This is a 2' x 4' piece of plastic grating that goes over florescent lights in a drop ceiling.  It had built in air holes and was made of sturdy plastic.  Best of all, it was $15.99!  One sheet was enough to make my Flip Fold.  I picked up some "Duck Tape" in some bright colours at Hobby Lobby and I was in business.

I decided that the easiest way to cut the plastic would probably be with some pruning shears from my gardening drawer.  They were meant to cut through some rather thick branches so I figured that they should work quite well on my Flip Fold.  I was right!  However, the plastic did fly all over the room when I cut it.

I cut four pieces; two pieces 28 3/4" long and 10 1/2" wide, one piece 13 1/2" long and 11" wide and one piece 15" long and 11" wide.  I was able to measure the 28 3/4" along the length of the grate and still had enough length left at the end for the 15" on one half and 13 1/2" on the other.  These measurements are rough as I followed the squares and cut in between them.

I then covered all the edges with duct tape so that my clothes would not snag on any rough edges.

Now it is time to join them.  Take the smallest square (13 1/2 x 11) and place it beside one of the 28 3/4 long pieces near the top.  Fold it over so that it lays on top and tape the outside.  Open it up and tape the inside seam.

Now attach the other long piece to the other side of the short one making sure to fold it over first so that the tape has enough give for your Flip Fold to fold easily.  Once you have both sides securely attached, attach the 15" piece to the bottom of the 13 1/2" piece.  This one does not get attached to the longer, side pieces just the centre one.

Once all the pieces are attached you have a knock-off Flip Fold!

It worked beautifully!

I am really pleased with how it turned out.  And, with that bright orange tape, if I get tired of folding clothes with it, I can always use it to direct traffic!

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