To ask how don't you iron?!?!

[anxious2017]

I have a normal washing machine and I put my laundry into it. I make sure I don't put too much in and when it's finished I take everything straight out. I wash at 40°.

Why oh why does everything come out like a crumpled rag? I've tried other washing machines and it's the same.

Also I have to dry everything apart from underwear, socks and towels on Aires because all clothes items shrink, even if I use the cooler setting. Why?!

I can't dry outside as I don't have a garden.

I'm disheartened by all these threads about tumble drying and not having to iron when nothing I do works and the clothes are always so creased and crumpled, ironing is unavoidable.

What am I doing wrong?

Looks good to go Tink.

I love ironing too but there's just two of us. I'm always up at the crack of dawn so generally do it first thing while catching up with my crappy viewing list on Netflix or Amazon. OP, as others have said, maybe you load the machine too much?

I must admit that most things go in the dryer and I haven't ironed hardly anything for years.
If I'm hanging on the line or airer though, I will shake each item, then fold as though putting away in a drawer, leave folded for about five minutes, shake out again and hang.

Usually find this dries clothes crease free.

Line drying helps with creasing. Obviously you need dry weather for that. I only really iron work and school shirts and various T shirts etc.

For the most part, in winter only DS's cotton t-shirts, my once a fortnight shirt and little else need ironing. Summer is worse.
But many clothes really don't need to be ironed.
My favourite are some C&A t-shirts that really don't need ironing, but I hang clothes soon andhngfter washing, and shake them or stretch them to smooth them and hang them carefully.

Same as everyone else. Hang on hangers and put away when it's dry. I have got a few things which which really look awful (ill-advised linen purchases) but most stuff looks fine.

Experiment this week, don't iron anything just put it away And see what you think. You might find that you can overlook a free slightly crumpled Tshirts when you've gained an extra hour on Sunday.

Unlike MN, I iron weekly. Dh's work shirts, ds1's school trousers, ds's school shirts. M&S white school shirts say 'non iron' but I think they look poor, and also don't feel as nice, if not ironed.

So, yes, I do think ironing makes a difference.

i’m one of those people who spends too much time ironing. I am getting better, but I find even non-iron shirts sometimes need a quick once over.

It’s a good time to,catch up on films and tv, though.

I love ironing. I did consider the poster who felt women had to give themselves permission to watch tv etc and think there is a degree of that. But for me it helps me focus on the tv rather than messing on my phone.
I’m currently waiting for my last load of the weekend to dry so I can iron it watching the football 😄

That looks ironed, Tink!

I'll have to try and get a picture in a bit of how my stuff comes out.

My mother said people who don't iron are slovenly. I can't post pictures of my bed on Instagram as she'll ring me and tell me off for not ironing the duvet cover

I don't really notice if people don't iron if I'm honest. I'm sure some of the children in my class don't have ironed uniforms but I can't tell which ones.

I have a lot of pure linen and pure cotton dresses and I never iron them. Use a bit of fabric conditioner (only thing I use it for!) wash at 40, spin at 1200, then hang on a hanger on the line or above a radiator.

They come out perfectly smooth.

Ah - one other tip; only wash a few items at a time if you want them to come out smooth. Filling the machine to the brim with items that you do not want to iron will never work.

DCs polo shirts look like this.

I can tell if a shirt has been ironed or not on the children at school but I don’t care or judge. We do notice if not clean though and “rarely in clean uniform” is something that is noted for various reasons.

I DO iron. Usually a couple of hours twice a week catching up on TV that DH doesn’t like. I’ve just done a couple of hours while watching a couple of episodes of Call The Midwife.

I do not iron underwear, sheets or towels though and I don’t iron anything that really doesn’t need it. Last week I hadn’t ironed a cardigan I wanted to wear; it had had been on a hanger straight from the wash (I only tumble dry in emergencies) but when I looked in the mirror it didn’t look ‘right’ so I wore something else.

everybody can tell they're just too polite to say

I welcome the non-ironing judgement. I'd be mortified if people thought I'd nothing better to do with my time but iron.

I tend to wear stretchy tops so any wrinkles aren't visible once on. DP wears cotton shirts and T-shirt, kids have school uniform polo shirts and trousers.

I spin at 1600rpm and empty the machine immediately, and shake items and hand up to dry. School trousers keep the crease for a good couple years.

When you first put the clothes on you can tell they aren't ironed, but by the time you've been squashed on a commute and got to work, there's little difference.

OP- that does look a little crumpled at the sleeve. BUT, if your dc is going to put a school jumper over it, does it matter?

Maybe it's the way you are hanging them up to dry? I have a ceiling airer, and if I straighten clothes out when I hang them up to dry then I don't need to iron most things.Work shirts I hang on a hanger inside out until barely damp, then go over quickly with an iron.

Alas, DS is taking his cost and jumper off literally as he goes through the school door.

I do try and hang them nicely but I'll try harder 😁

I just don't iron. It's that simple. I wash my clothes, dry them and wear them.
I did have a tumble dryer and it was beer but I manage not to iron even without. I don't even own an iron.

My husband irons his own shirts. Our sons likewise when they’re home.
Otherwise minimal ironing and rarely use the tumble drier. We dry over the Aga and sometimes smooth clothes flat on the hotplates.
Mainly I wear jersey wrap dresses for work with a jacket and they rarely need an iron. Any creases fall out within an hour.
Non work clothes we wear dog walking clothes. Tunic and leggings or long jumper with muck boots/jeans, corduroys and waterproof. Creases are hardly noticeable.
Bedding the cleaners do.

Lower expectations are key to this, the ability to not see the wrinkles. It takes time and laziness to develop this skill, but I have now proudly mastered it. Admittedly my DH has been mistaken for a homeless man before, but still we both steadfastly refuse to iron. Why spend hours slaving over an iron just so that your clothes look impressively flat. I'm still baffled as to why we see that as important. Clean clothes yes, but flattened clothes not really important in the grand scheme of things surely. I appreciate OK that does nothing to help answer your question, I'm just hoping we can overturn the tyranny of ironing once and for all by converting as many people as possible and then no one would need to think about it.

That should be *OP

All the people who say they like ironing because it’s a chance to watch TV uniterupted or etc. Take it from one who used to be the same - it’s so much better doing that without the ironing element.

I only iron if I am packing a suitcase. Perhaps the OP’s spinner is set too high. I only tumble dry if I want to air a few things so I can put them away.