I often waited until naptime or bedtime to take care of household chores – I can breeze through them without interruption that way. This makes sense for some tasks, like paying bills, but for others, like laundry, it's doing my kids a disservice to not have them witness it being done. In the first episode of Tidying Up, Marie tells a family the importance of folding in front of their children – something she does with her own daughters.
"I highly recommend doing this with your kids," she said. "They love it. Like reading a book, it's a habit to fold clothes with my children. We often do it together before bedtime. Of course, sometimes when I fold clothes, my daughters crush [the pile]. I do scold them. I ask them not to pull [folded clothes] out."
If that seems oversimplified, well, it is. But, I have firsthand experience that it only takes a few really annoying folding sessions before toddlers start to understand the process and see the value in the end result. If you make it fun, they'll actually join you in the process. Encourage them to fold their own clothes using the KonMari style and, for preschoolers, get them in the habit of putting their own items away.