Folding the Laundry: A Kanban Story

Kanban often gets mentioned in the same breath as Scrum, but they’re not the same thing.

Scrum is a framework. Kanban is a workflow optimisation technique — a way to improve how work moves, regardless of what kind of work it is. You can apply it to software delivery, product design, or even something as ordinary as folding the laundry.

The Laundry Pile Problem

In our house, laundry follows a familiar rhythm: it gets washed, dried, and then tossed into a big basket. That basket usually makes its way to the spare room, where it quietly evolves into a mountain on the bed — a colourful monument to deferred decisions.

When the pile gets that big, it usually turns into a project. We make a big concerted effort — everyone folds, sorts, and stacks as fast as we can. It feels productive, but because it’s such a big job we eventually run out of time. The folded laundry ends up sitting on the table, waiting to be put away. It’s progress, but it’s not done. The value — clean clothes where they belong — isn’t realised until the very last step.

Seeing the Work

Kanban starts with visualisation — making the invisible visible. In laundry terms, that looks something like this:

Unfolded → Folded → Sorted → Put Away

Once you can see the work, bottlenecks become obvious. Folding and putting away are always where the flow slows down. That’s your constraint.

Limiting Work in Progress

The most powerful part of Kanban is limiting work in progress (WIP) — reducing how much you take on at once.

In laundry terms, that means refusing to tackle the entire mountain. Instead, I take one basket’s worth from the pile. From that basket, I fold items until I reach a pile of ten. Once a pile hits ten, it’s moved to where it belongs — drawers, cupboards, wardrobes — before I start the next one.

This small rule changes everything. The mountain shrinks steadily, progress is visible, and the sense of overwhelm disappears.

Flow, Not Flurry

By working in small, finished batches, I create flow. Nothing sits half-done for long. And if I get interrupted — dinner’s ready, phone rings, life happens — I’ve still delivered value. There are at least a few piles of folded laundry safely put away.

That’s Kanban in action: a system that keeps delivering, even when the day doesn’t go to plan.

Bringing It Back to Work

The same approach applies to software delivery. Instead of juggling dozens of half-finished tickets, limit what’s in play. Finish small pieces completely. Visualise where work is stuck. And when life (or production incidents) interrupt, you’ll still have delivered folded laundry value — small, useful increments that make a real difference.

Quick thank you

I’ve been meaning to write something like this for a while. Thank you Adam 👋 for inspiring me to finally write this down, after asking me what the hell I was talking about over lunch.