Some people hate ironing, while others don’t mind it at all. Whichever the case for you, there are ways to make the task easier. Just follow some simple techniques and preparations, and you’ll be done in no time.
Remove any clothes to be ironed when they are slightly damp. Fully-dried clothes have fully-dried wrinkles set in, so a slightly damp garment is easier to iron. If you use a machine dryer, set the timer or setting to leave the clothes slightly damp. If you line dry, shorten the time that the clothes hang and check them every so often. Then pull out those that you need to iron.
Take each item to be ironed and give it a good shake out of the basket. Smooth the garment, and if you aren’t going to iron it right away, lay it flat or draped to prevent wrinkles from setting in. Most of us tend to leave clothes sitting in a basket or even in the dryer for hours or days after the load is dry. Pulling the clothes out as soon as possible means that some items may not need to be ironed at all.
When ironing, first spray the garment with water. This helps smooth out wrinkles and even creates a little steam as you iron, making it a lot easier to make the garment smooth. My iron has a built-in sprayer, but if yours doesn’t use a small bottle sprayer. You can purchase a small bottle sprayer at any bed and bath store or even at dollar stores. The sprayer is so convenient that I sometimes use it instead of the iron’s built-in sprayer.
Start with your most delicate garments first. This way you can iron on a low setting as the iron heats up or before you raise the temperature to a higher setting for studier items. You won’t have to wait for the iron to cool back down between garments.
For delicate fabrics, such as silk, take out wrinkles by hanging the item in the bathroom while you shower. I did this the other day for a long silk skirt. By the time I was down with my shower, the skirt was ready to wear, and I didn’t have to stop to iron it.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. Starting June 1st, don’t miss her articles in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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