Ironing Incentives
I really don’t like the idea of ironing and since I stopped using the tumble drier when we moved (and downshifted to a simpler way of life) in favour of the outside washing line to conserve energy usage I do get a lot of crinkled clothes forming a large pile in a basket in the corner which grows and grows until I have to spend a really good chunk of time tackling it and getting it down again.
This morning I felt really bad as my dear Bealers was driving off to a sales meeting in Birmingham and couldn’t find any of his shirts – they were all crispy and crumpled in the ironing mountain. Not good housewiffery! Oh dear.
I’ve come up with a solution which I hope is an incentive to getting ironing done as it comes in off the washing line – when the pile is still fairly manageable…
I tell the children they can watch a ‘family film’ (usually something by Disney/Pixar which requires an adult with them as its a bit violent/scary in parts) if they are really well behaved all day and that it’ll be nice for me as I’ll be able to do my ironing while they are watching it.
The kids then tax me out to get the ironing board out as they are so keen to watch the film and there are only so many times I can say ‘in a minute…’ so eventually I do end up getting through the ironing and its never quite as bad as I think it will be especially as I chuckle away with the kids to our favourite lines in Finding Nemo or Toy Story 2. End result is that by the time Bealers arrives home all the ironed shirts are hanging up in his wardrobe and happy kids are in bed getting ready to dream computer animated dreams of fishy/toy characters.
December 3rd, 2006 at 11:36 am
I have to confess that I don’t iron ANYTHING (not even work shirts – life’s too short) and I don’t own a tumble dryer for environmental reasons either!! I always follow these tips for virtually crease proof clothes without going near an iron!
1) Get stuff out of the washing machine asap.
2) Give all items a massive ‘crack’ or 2 (a single very strong shake).
3) Hang VERY precisely on the line/ airer.
4) Hang shirts on hangers – again, VERY precisely.
5) When dry, fold very neatly before putting in airing cupboard/ drawers etc.
If you’re really really careful, this will also work on linen clothing!
Le voila! Crease-free clothes and an extra hour or 2 of life!!