DO YOU IRON?
Recently I had dinner with two friends who said they don’t iron any more. Neither even owns an iron! I was surprised. Both are always put together without a wrinkle. Plus, they grew up when well-dressed folks were starched and ironed, cleaned and pressed to the nth degree.
I’m accustomed to the young whose clothes have that pulled-from-an-overnight-stay-in-the-dryer-or-on-the-floor look. I see them everywhere, including church–some are even related to me. I’ve been known to leave clothes in the dryer overnight. But my solution is to dry them again with a fresh fabric softener sheet. (In really bad cases, I run them through a short rinse cycle, then dry again.)
The bottom line is if I’m going out and what I want to wear is wrinkled, I have to iron it. I can’t help myself. Maybe that’s because ironing was one of my jobs beginning in junior high—not all the family ironing—but enough to help my working mother and teach me responsibility. Before I could go to town with friends on Saturday, I was required to iron a reasonable number of items. We may have been the first people on the block to embrace spray starch. It certainly made life easier, and my mother was all for that.
It’s not that I love ironing. I’m always looking for an easier option. Ralph Lauren Polo shirts were in vogue when my children were in high school. With all the clothing changes teens do, there was no way was I ironing all those button-downs. I taught them to iron. They caught on fast and still do me proud in their appearances. I felt liberated when I decided to send Terry’s shirts and khakis to the laundry. He certainly looks better for it.
Now I hang up everything when it comes out of the dryer. If something is wrinkled, I iron it when I’m ready to wear it. My dandy drop-down ironing board makes it simple. With all the great no-iron fabrics that isn’t often.
But to not possess an iron! No way! There are still things that just look better ironed! Last weekend I pressed a table cloth and ironed crinkles out of pant legs that got bunched up against the side of a hanger. I just couldn’t help myself.
For the record, ironed clothing is my “going-out” standard. If you drop by my house, you might find me less than pressed!
But back to my question: Do you iron?
If not, how do you look so good?
“It would be mortifying to the feelings of many ladies, could they be made to understand how little the heart of a man is affected by what is costly or new in their attire… Woman is fine for her own satisfaction alone. No man will admire her the more, no woman will like her the better for it. Neatness and fashion are enough for the former, and a something of shabbiness or impropriety will be most endearing to the latter.”― Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
I iron on an as needed basis and have many shirts I must iron. I can't imagine not owning an iron! One of the favorite things I took from my mother-in-law's house after she passed away was her old iron. I imagine all the shirts she ironed, and always with love. Like you, ironing was one of my first chores as a child. I ironed Daddy's handkerchiefs. T.
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Yes, I iron. But only as needed. However, I love to iron!
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I iron! I like it too! Iron about every other week. Gets my mind off of all the overload out there. My mother's family did laundry and ironing to just get by during the Depression (1930s for you young folks). Mom taught me ironing and sewing. Can't sew properly without an iron. Heck we had one of those big pressing roller machines that one sat at using your leg/foot to operate it as you guided the clothing/sheets through the rolling press!
I love the feel of nice soft, crisp [starched] pillowcases. Some times I iron the sheets too. Try it some time as they stay nicer longer. Always, fine linen tablecloths. I even iron the Coldwater Creek “No Iron” blouses I wear.
For me, ironing does make a difference. Nice crisp ironed fold on the trousers, jeans can't be beat!
Yikes, I even iron my grubby work clothes! Oh my!
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You go girl! The part about pressing as you sew is the difference between a professional look and “I bet she made that herself! I learned that in Home Economics. My mother didn't sew but I used to.
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My first paying job was ironing for my aunt and uncle. To this day, the ironing board is “up” with things that must be ironed before being worn. It's in the attic and the iron stands on its heel ready to be plugged in. I also do not mind ironing, but it is on a “as-needed” basis. Thank goodness, I no longer have army-green fatigues to iron.
Great post, girl!
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Yes, I iron. Even tee shirts if they have been folded to long or look wrinkled. I never minded it, still don't. As a young housewife I liked it that I could iron and watch TV. Good post.
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Update…my trusted Rowenta started dripping water from the bottom! Yikes!!! Just received my new Panasonic 360° Freestyle™ Cordless Steam/Dry Iron and love it! Never knew how nice cordless is with ironing, and it's pointed on both ends so makes ironing quicker and easier. Steam all the way around the iron plate too. It keeps very hot and does a super job. Plus, when I'm done, I just retract the cord in the base, and cover the whole iron and base with the nice lid…off to storage it goes. Makes ironing even easier. Now was that an ad or not! Hope it holds up…we'll see. LOL!
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