AIBU the elephant pile in the room

[JesterA]

Recently our family has grown from 4 to 5. DD was a surprise, we also have DS1 and DS2 plus I have a male DP so the washing And ironing pile resembles an elephant it's soooo big. It doesn't matter what I do it never goes away it's always just there.
In my mother's house growing up she ironed everything, bedsheets even (seriously!), so I have always felt I should do the same, but I am not as organised as she is. So I guess my question is AIBU to just declare unless absolutely necessary, ironing just isn't happening any more?

I don't even have an iron. May need to get one next year when the DCs are in proper shirts not polo shirts if I can't hang the creases out but that will be the only thing it gets used for.

Ive gone full circle now. I iron so infrequently that on the odd occasion I do get the iron out I actually ENJOY it. It smells like Sunday afternoons when I was a little girl.

I haven't ironed anything since I was in school over 10 years ago.
Wouldn't even have bought one if DP didn't need one for the shirts he never wears.

Did a pile of washing yesterday so just about to tackle ironing whilst waiting for an ambulance to take my dear old dad into hospital (that's another story)
Some has been tumble dried some dried naturally can't for the life of me work out how they don't need ironing Unless don't mind wearing crumpled clothes look so much nicer with a quick press
Most of the stuff is 100 cotton
My sheets are 600 thread Egyptian cotton so need a press to look decent

I don't even own an ironing board.
Life is too short.

I am loving all these tales of ironing rebellion, it's really spurring me on! I'm currently half way through the Elephant and have only 5 items so far that look like they could do with an iron, probably from being crushed. DP is gonna get the shock of his life when he gets home hahaha!

Thanks For the info Nora, I've never been asked to complete one of these, could be fun though!

My parents ironed absolutely everything.

Well, I say 'ironed'. What they actually had was a giant steam press with two terrifying sort of roller/bolsters. You fed the laundry in through the hissing fabric mangle bit and it came out flattened into interestingly permanent clothes-origami.

They gave it away after too many near-misses with toddler fingers and heads, and I have never ever come across another one.

(I don't date back to the 19th century, by the way.)

I hope your dad is okay Rosie

I declared the house a non ironing zone. DH now sends his stuff out to be ironed if he wants it done - there is a local ironing service

I used to iron everything like my mother (who always ironed every Monday night without fail in front of the telly). I used to iron everything - including towels, school uniforms, jumpers bedsheets and all my now ex DH's work shirts.

Then I met my current partner who is a woman and who basically banned me from ironing. She showed me how to fold things so they didn't crease and refused to let me iron her work shirts - she does them herself.

We have two teenage boys who often want their clothes ironed but I showed them how to do it and so they iron their stuff themselves - they do more ironing than me. I ironed a dress last Friday and realised it was the first thing I've ironed for months.

Only iron essentials. Everything is carefully hung on the line and then goes straight on a hanger if at all possible.

If DD's school trousers are hung up by the creases, they don't need doing. Shirts/blouses get ironed. T-shirts only if DH took them off the line and didn't hang them really creased or we're going out. I also bought a steam generator so things only need ironing on one side.

I used to iron everything, also grew up with a mother who even irons tea towels.

As our family grew I iron less and less. I do still iron a fair amount compared to some on here, but if you stop ironing, school uniform (polo shirts, sweatshirts etc.) pyjamas, sheets it makes a huge difference to how big that pile gets.

I try not to iron wherever possible - although I do have a tumble dryer which helps. When DS was 4 I got the iron out as we had his younger brother's christening and needed to iron a couple of shirts. He said "Mummy what's that for?"

I found a mummified dead mouse in the ironing pile once heaven knows how long it had been there. Nowadays I iron nothing if I can help it. I hang things up properly as soon as they come out of the washer and mostly they dry flat. (School shirts are interesting - if you never iron them from day one they don't seem to need it. If you iron them once they seem to need ironing ever after.)
DH does his own shirts.

"iron" starts to look like a really odd word when you see it over and over again...

As you were...

Now to just deal with my mother who will notice instantly and will ask why her DG look like 'Oliver Twist'

I defy anyone to reliably tell whether or not something has been ironed once it has been worn for a few minutes, if someone has sat down in the clothes, or been running around in them, providing that the clothes were either tumble dried or given a shake and hung up to dry. Ironing is simply unnecessary in 99% of cases.

We got rid of the ironing board a couple of years ago after the kittens ripped the cover off by using it as a climbing wall.

On the odd occasion anythign needs ironing, which can be counted on the fingers of one hand per year, we just put a towel on the kitchen island and use that as an ironing board.

My mum irons almost nothing. Her mum ironed everything. I iron almost everything.
If I didn't iron I'd have to spend ages hanging everything out and even then lots would still have creases as we wear a lot more cotton etc than polyester. And I can iron in front of the tv.

Ironing is a horrible chore and a time-eater! YANBU!

nonever DP found a dead mouse in the vacuum cleaner pipe once. I feel quite sad as it could have gone in there and got stuck . I blame the cats for that too.

I have found my tribe...

Notfromstepford, your story reminds me of the time when my mum was reading a picture book with DD2 many years ago. The 'I is for iron' page was met with 'wot dat?' then 'wot is iron?' and a puzzled face. The shame of it!

I'm one of the older generation, I iron everything including tea towels. I enjoy it, I do it while listening to the radio.

YANBU.

I apparently own an iron according to my husband. Where that iron lives, I do not know.

An ironing board mysteriously appeared down the side of the wardrobe one day and this apparently arrived at the same time as the iron. I have never used either.

Ok this thread is extremely timely for me.

I will start by saying that I have ( diagnosed ) OCD and have always ironed everything apart from socks.

That's clothes/underwear/pyjamas/tea towels/towels and even the fuking flannels.
Oh and bedding.

Due to my fibromyalgia going into overdrive I've not been able to do it ( apart from bedding and uniforms and stuff as needed ) and I have 6 huge piles staring at me.

I'm feeling brave and liberated.
Am going to see if I can start by getting rid of half of it now and put it away.

House is like a laundry ( a nice clean laundry but still )

I'm so impressed that hardly anybody irons.
Will report back later :)

I do do some ironing.

There is a mid way point between all or nothing!
But you need to seriously look at the clothes and decide if they actually need ironing.

Lets be clear, T towles, sheets, towels and underwear NEVER need ironing.
Clothes - jogging bottoms, sweatshirts, wool jumpers, jeans etc - NOPE.

shirts and T shirts - depends, if you hang and fold properly, then smoothing, folding and leavign them in a pile int he drawer is pretty effecting in place of an iron!

I do iron cotton shirts, and I have 2-3, and ds school shirts are cotton.

School trousers - hang and fold. white polo shirts? smooth and fold!