Hver gang klesvasken er ferdig, henger jeg skjortene på kleshengere og bretter sokkene.

Hver gang means every time / whenever, with a strong sense of repetition. It tells you this is a habitual action.

• Hver gang klesvasken er ferdig = Every time the laundry is done
• Når klesvasken er ferdig would usually mean when the laundry is done, which can also work, but it may sound more like a general time reference or a specific occasion depending on context.

So hver gang is a very natural choice when the speaker means this happens regularly.

The ending -en makes the noun definite: the laundry / the wash.

• klesvask = laundry / clothes washing
• klesvasken = the laundry / the wash

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about the specific load or batch of laundry that has just finished, so the definite form is natural.

Yes. In Norwegian, klesvasken is grammatically singular here, even though it refers to a collection of clothes.

This works much like English the laundry, which is also often treated as one thing rather than many separate items.

So:

• klesvasken er ferdig = the laundry is finished
• not the laundries are finished

Ferdig is an adjective meaning finished / done / ready, and it is used with er:

• klesvasken er ferdig = the laundry is finished / done

This is a very common Norwegian pattern:

• Maten er ferdig = The food is ready
• Jeg er ferdig = I am finished / I am done

So ferdig does not act like a verb by itself here; it needs er.

Because the sentence begins with a dependent clause:

• Hver gang klesvasken er ferdig, ...

In Norwegian, it is standard to place a comma after an introductory subordinate clause like this, especially when it is followed by the main clause.

So the structure is:

• subordinate clause: Hver gang klesvasken er ferdig
• main clause: henger jeg skjortene på kleshengere og bretter sokkene

This is because of Norwegian V2 word order in main clauses. The finite verb usually comes in the second position.

Since the sentence starts with the time clause Hver gang klesvasken er ferdig, that whole clause takes the first position. Then the verb of the main clause comes next:

1. Hver gang klesvasken er ferdig
2. henger
3. jeg

So:

• Hver gang klesvasken er ferdig, henger jeg ...

If you started directly with the subject, then you would say:

• Jeg henger skjortene ...

Because henger and bretter share the same subject, jeg.

So this part means:

• henger jeg skjortene på kleshengere og bretter sokkene
• literally: I hang the shirts on hangers and fold the socks

Norwegian often leaves out the repeated subject in coordinated verbs, just like English does:

• I hang the shirts and fold the socks
• not usually I hang the shirts and I fold the socks, unless you want extra emphasis

The endings -ene make them definite plural:

• skjorter = shirts
• skjortene = the shirts
• sokker = socks
• sokkene = the socks

The definite form is used because the sentence refers to the specific shirts and socks from the laundry that has just finished. In context, these are known, identifiable items.

This is very natural in Norwegian.

Because the sentence means on hangers in a general sense, not on the hangers as a specific known set.

• på kleshengere = on hangers
• på kleshengerne = on the hangers

The indefinite plural is common when talking about the usual way something is done.

So the speaker is not pointing to particular hangers; they are simply saying that the shirts are put on hangers.

Here, henger means hang or put up to hang.

The infinitive is å henge, and henger is the present tense.

In this context:

• henger jeg skjortene på kleshengere = I hang the shirts on hangers

A learner should know that henge can be used in slightly different ways depending on context:

• something henger på veggen = hangs on the wall
• jeg henger skjorten på en kleshenger = I hang the shirt on a hanger

So it can describe both something being suspended and the action of placing it that way.

Bretter comes from å brette, which means to fold.

• jeg bretter sokkene = I fold the socks

It is in the present tense because Norwegian often uses the present tense for habitual actions, just as English does:

• Every time the laundry is done, I hang the shirts ... and fold the socks.

This is not necessarily happening right now; it is something the speaker usually does.

Yes. Norwegian very often forms compound nouns as a single word.

• klær = clothes
• henger = hanger
• kleshenger = clothes hanger
• kleshengere = clothes hangers

Likewise:

• klesvask = clothes washing / laundry

This is very common in Norwegian, so English speakers need to get used to seeing long nouns written as one word.

Not with exactly the same meaning.

• Hver gang klesvasken er ferdig = Every time the laundry is done
• Etter at klesvasken er ferdig = After the laundry is done

Etter at focuses on sequence in time: one thing happens after another.
Hver gang focuses on repetition: this happens on every occasion.

So etter at could work in some contexts, but it would not express the same habitual meaning as clearly.

It is very natural. It has several common Norwegian features:

• a time clause first
• normal V2 word order in the main clause
• definite forms for known items
• compound nouns such as klesvasken and kleshengere
• present tense for routine actions

So it sounds like normal, everyday Norwegian.