Is there any hack/ advice for tackling washing/ironing piles

[pippplop]

Seriously though, I just don't have the hours in the day. I'm working 6 days a week, 2 days are 12 hr shifts. DH is also very busy. We have two small kids and the ironing is insane. I don't know how to keep it tidy and out of the way. Ideally I should iron every day to tackle the load but I'm just so tired and busy that its growing daily. I don't know if I could justify and ironing lady

If you have any tips or advice as to how to keep the ironing under some kind of control or to avoid binning the lot please keep me posted lol

Nope. SHE needs to learn to take care of herself. If she's old enough to work, she's old enough to iron.

whats an iron?

I dry everything I can on hangers. Fancier clothes get a whoosh with a handheld steamer before wear.

and the hangers go straight into the wardrobes when dry

Surely dry flat just means don’t tumble dry? I’d stick them on a hanger to dry.

Of course. Which is why I don't buy cotton shirts. Or things with collars.

I buy things with the thought 'does this need ironing' at the front of my mind. In exactly the same way lots of people don't buy things that are dry clean only.

No, dry flat means you can't have it hanging it's own weight - like a knitted jumper that would stretch out of shape if you pegged it up.

I either hang stuff like that over the top of the airer, so it's supported by lots of rails, or in summer I put it on the trampoline.

Take clothes straight from the warm tumble dryer and decide what can be hung or folded. Buy a hand held steamer.

That should live you with very little ironing. I'd iron every couple of days, once you're on top of it, so it doesn't build up. Ironing as you go would make me feel very disorganised and would be added stress when leaving in a hurry.

How do you know if it's ironed or not unless you ask people?

The crumpled look or creases in the wrong places. Shirts or blouses, especially collars, look the worst.

Don’t iron. Anything. DH doesn’t even do his shirts for work. Clothes that traditionally need ironing get Put in a hanger straight out the washing machine to dry on a rail. Iron comes out for interviews and weddings and funerals.

Surely this debate really hinges in the fabric thar your clothes are made from? my husband and I very rarely wear synthetic fabrics and probably 95% of my clothes are made from cotton, linen, silk, or wool. it doesn't really matter how you wash and dry natural fabrics, they always need ironing or steaming at the very least to avoid looking creased.

But lots of things don't need to be ironed and won't be creased at all.

You're just assuming that everything without creases has been ironed.

Don't iron anything you don't have to. I think folk that iron the likes of sheets are nuts.
If you have a tumble drier, stick a damp flannel in and chuck in things that might need ironing for 10 minutes. The steam from the damp flannel will lift the worst creases, Prepare the right quantity of hangers. Open door and QUICKLY hang every item up to air, then put away on hangers. Otherwise hang in the bathroom when you have a shower and let the steam do its work

Don't iron!
Remove from washing machine/ tumble drier as soon as possible and give it a good shake
I dry tops/ blouses on hangers
I don't even own an iron

You're just assuming that everything without creases has been ironed.

No, because if you look at my previous post (where I advise about steaming or hanging) not everything will need to be ironed, and will be crease free.

I'm only assuming the creased collars and clothes haven't been ironed. 😀.

I'm only assuming the creased collars and clothes haven't been ironed.

Fair enough - but why does it matter if they're not ironed?

Just another idea is to just put it away when it is dry and then iron before you wear it.

I did this several years ago and it was a much less stressful system than having a mountain.

You could do what you need for the week even.

So go spend an hour putting it all away, iron what you need for the next few days and s then see how you get on. I reduced how much I ironed.

You will feel better when you have it all filed away!

I also started to look for things that don't really need ironing.

It doesn't matter really @margotrose

I wash overnight. Hang up either in the morning or at night before putting in the next load.

if you shake the wet washing hard before putting it on a rack it doesn’t need ironing.

shirts do need ironing but that’s about all. I just don’t do it unless just before I put it on.

And I do a wash every single day. And that doesn’t quite get the washing done for a family of 5 but it almost does. At the weekend I might do an extra day wash to get through the sheets / towels or the dishcloths

I wear pretty much exclusively linen in summer. Don’t iron. Hang carefully to dry (no tumble dryer either). Put away carefully. No problem.

just stick some lights and baubles on the pile.

That's the worst part for me. I find if I put it on a coat hanger when I'm ironing I don't mind then putting stuff away.

I wash pretty much every day and iron maybe once a week in front of the telly.

I filter out stuff I can't get away with not ironing.

Agreed. Also, I hang some clothes on the bathroom door when I have a shower and the creases drop out. My work dresses I hang on hangers to dry and the creases drop out. The only things I iron are school shirts and a few t-shirts. Duvet covers and sheets are hung over the banisters in winter and the creases drop out. In summer and spring, everything is line-dried but again, I use hangers and not pegs for some clothes.

Iron nothing. If anything is too creased iron before you put it on.

Pay for someone else to do it? Or your husband/partner to share the load?