My husband has worked at banks since he was in high school. Soon after we were married, he told me he had a bunch of shirts that needed to go to the dry cleaners. I confidently let him know that I could save him that money by ironing his clothing for him. Today’s experiment: Ironing.
My intentions were grand, but little did I know that there really is an art to ironing. I had seen my mom iron my dad’s button up shirts and dress slacks for years, but I had never had a desire to learn how to do it myself. She tried to teach me in high school, but I was extremely resistant to learning anything domestic at that time. It wasn’t until an internship in college, when I started wearing professional clothing, that ironing became a true part of my life. Even with that experience, I was truly green about ironing until this year.
When I lived in Europe, I noticed that our landlord’s family always ironed everything. I mean, down to the undies, everything was ironed. When I asked them about it, they communicated that that’s just what you do. Now, I am not suggesting you go nuts and iron everything (though there is something nice about freshly ironed crisp lines that does sound appealing, even in undies).
But I’ve learned that ironing doesn’t take much effort, time, or energy IF you do it the right way.
That was the key for me, learning to do it the right way. Before that, I thought it was bothersome and boring. And I admit, it took me forever to iron anything. I was averaging around 30 minutes per shirt. Yeah, pathetic, I know.
My life was transformed by receiving Rowenta’s free dvd that teaches you how to iron. You can get it here. http://www.artofironing.com/free_dvd.php I would suggest anyone who is interested in saving money this way send away for it. It shows you how to properly iron a dress shirt and dress pants.
The key to ironing well is lots of steam, then ironing the pieces of the article of clothing in the proper order. It simplifies the ironing and makes everything go much more quickly than half an hour per shirt, let me tell you.
If you don’t want to order the dvd, I would suggest you take a look at these websites. http://www.betterlifestyleproducts.com/how-to-iron-a-dress-shirt.html http://www.garmentcare.info/ironing_wrinkles/how_to_iron_a_shirt_like_a_pro.html It’ll help you realize ironing doesn’t have to be the bane of your existence and will make your dress ups look great without spending a ton of extra money.
Has ironing been the bane of your existence? Have you ever ironed your underwear?
I’ve owned my own public Laundry Service and I still do it on the side. You quickly learn how to iron when you’ve tons of items to do in a day. Thanks for the heads up on the DVD
Thanks for the info on the dvd. I have always wanted to iron but never knew how!!
a lil embarrassing story. When I first married my husband, he wore BDUs that had to be ironed atleast 2 times a week. He needed me to do that. I said sure. And I did. And after PT he came to work, being the only soldier with the creases the wrong way. Sigh…. I never ironed again. Thank goodness they switched to ACUs.