Restoring device settings after factory reset

[spgiva]

So I have had to factory reset a few android phones and getting the phone re-set up afterwards is always such a pain.

Surely there must be some way to save your phone set up (what apps you have downloaded, how you have your apps sorted into folders, what you widgets and apps you have on your home screen etc.) so you do not have to re-do all of this after a factory reset.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

-spg