Do I really have to iron the school shirts?

[ThirdChildFourthPile]

DS is going to secondary school so it's proper shirts, ones that appear to need ironing.

I've just ironed 4 of them and I hate it. There must be another way?

I'm crap at it, I don't like doing it, and it makes me really hot.

Is there a magic spray or a trick that means I never have to see the iron again?

Sorry Winosaurus must be getting you confused with someone else. Many apologies and I will now bow out, red faced.

Get him to do them himself?
I taught mine ds x2 to iron at the end of Y6, iirc it was because I didn't want to raise a man child x2
They only had to do their own uniform, but that's all there was anyway.
Your future dil will be very happy you did this.

I hate ironing. I do 3 per week. Dd is starting year 7.
Soon I'll teach her to iron her shirts.
She does her own packed lunch.
I miss summer dresses and white polo tops!
It's easier if you shake them and hang when wet.
Heated airers are great too.

I don't even own an iron. ironing is definitely not essential.

wash, shake and hang to dry. Whilst I accept that if you put my DS and another boy in an identical shirt but ironed side by side the moment they got dressed, then you would be able to tell the difference. However by the time they all actually arrive at school nobody can tell the difference.

also I second the many voices saying that a clean shirt every day is required. Maybe not always, and maybe not every day, but for most teen boys, most days either the sweat or the general grime collected in the course of the day (especially if playing sports at lunch or travelling on public transport) necessitates it. (also my DS is a hopeless case for getting pasta sauce down his front etc.)

I choose to iron ds's Shirts. Since day 1 of primary, so for 10 years now.
And Dh's.
I know I could choose not to, but I think they look better, are softer etc.
Not a problem to me.
But if op or anyone doesn't want to, then simply don't.
Simples.

@Rebecca36 I think you muddled up Winosaurus with Winter which in this context seems to me to be rather an insult.

I hang my dd school uniform up and then hang it from the top rack of the heated dryer never had to iron any of it and it’s dry about 2 hours later.

We take it in turns to iron school stuff but realistically DH does it more often as he usually does after ironing his work clothes. I'm one of the lunatics that irons polo tops, they're not white though and the creases show up really easily.

Ds wasn't safe to iron at 11. He's small and a bit inept! (I did try to teach him). Some of his friends at that age were a good six inches taller and just sturdier, and some of the girls in particular were ever so sensible and practical. My dreamy, short on common sense boy? Nope! He can do other things though.
Not all kids develop the same things at the same time but on MN people are very fond of making proclamations about what 11 year olds ought to all be doing.
Clean shirt every day though, always. I thought everyone did!

Life is too short for ironing if you ask me!!

I really hate it when I see discoloured polo shirts they are so cheap to buy. I think an ironed proper shirt looks and feels so much nicer .

Audreyhelp I hate to say it but I get really judged about dicloloured polos and shirts, when they go that horrible grey colour I just think for the love of god, bleach them or replace them for a few £. They’re so cheap to buy.

Nothing needs ironing.
Ever.

I have three sons and I never iron anything. Life is too short. There are shirts available that don’t crease much when washed carefully and then use the tumble dryer.

I hate ironing but some clothes do need it. Unless those saying nothing needs ironing just don't give a fig about looking crumpled 😲

You have to get the shirts out of the washer immediately as the cycle ends and hang them up on a hanger. Also, don’t overload the washer.

Ironing is a waste of life. Dh and ds are both in shirts for school and work. None are ever ironed.

Greatduck - an item that really needs washing can just go to the charity shop. I don’t iron.

If your kids are secondary school age, they can iron their own bloody shirts. I was doing mine from 11!

That's a bit drastic.

I did my own in secondary school and used to just iron the V at the front - ie the bit you could see when I had my school jumper on! Worked for me.

My mum was a ritual ironer. EVERYTHING got ironed (apart from tea towels but my gran even ironed them!) I carried on ironing until I met my husband and he moved in and then I used to get really annoyed that I was suddenly blessed with double the amount of ironing. We tried an ironing service and I tried to teach him to iron his own stuff and one day I just said "stuff it I am not ironing". That was 8 years ago now and my iron comes out about once every 3 months for the odd item but mostly I find careful washing, drying, folding and hanging eliminates the need to iron. I will need to teach DD to iron if she wants ironed shirts for secondary school.

I ironed my own since i started secondary school. I knew I'd have to. I saw mum enforce the same rule on my older brothers.
Get DS to iron his own. Best way.

Great duck, you are wrong. As seen here loads of people including myself never iron anything. I have had moments of wondering if I look constantly crumpled to other people. Then discovered that a friend who is very chic and well presented and who I would have guessed ironed everything, also never irons. So it's official, only you know if you iron or not. So if you iron, you are doing it for yourself, there is no NEED.

Re school shirts, I never iron them, or my husbands work shirts. Shake well and hang on a hanger to dry.

Assume its a joke that "nothing needs ironing ever". I only iron what actually does need ironing, have a friend who iron socks,pants, towells. Guessing most of the shirt would be under a jumper,or top, yes, hang the stuff on hangers straight after machine, pull them straight, get out as many creases as possible. Have a relative who never irons, the clothes are always screwed up and grey, (she shoves everything every colour in on a hot wash) When I was nursing, you could tell who ironed their uniforms and who didnt, when I started they were starched!