AIBU to hate ironing and refuse to do it.

[Voronacirus]

I genuinely hate it with a passion, honestly it's ridiculous.

When I was a child, my mum ironed everything, even teatowels. The ironing board was always up with iron in situ and it was treated like a dangerous animal - she was always screaming at me if I went near it. When I was about 11,she threw a fit over being the only person in the house that did any ironing, so she tried to show me how. I still have no idea what I did wrong, but she went absolutely INSANE with rage at me, and two things happened, she decided I could never again be trusted with the iron, and I swore I'd never do it again!

Since then, I've made do with line drying, making sure things are always folded or hung up immediately, and anything that gets particularly crumpled doesn't last long in our wardrobes.

The problem is, within a year the DC are going to be wearing new uniform/starting new activities which are going to require clothes being ironed, and I'm starting back to a job which has a smart dress code. I know you can get those no iron shirts, but only in limited colours so it's not going to work.

I'm going to have to buy a bloody iron and ironing board and I'm actually dreading it. I've no idea where to start or what to do, I don't even know where to store the bloody thing in our tiny house, and I am absolutely resentful of the hours and hours I'm going to waste ironing.

We did actually have an iron in our student house, I used to pay my housemates to do mine but despite being very clean and tidy students, it got weird brown marks inside of it which came out onto the clothes and ruined them, wtf?

Is there anything I can do to make this easier? Any particular type of iron or board? Or anything that makes it faster?

What about a steamer? I have a travel steamer and it does the job nearly as well as an iron. Maybe I have low standards though... also I never ever iron I hate it! Dreading DS starting school in case I have to!

I just don't see the point in doing it all at once but we're all different

It is far more time efficient doing this. It is far more of a faff to get the ironing board out every time I want to wear something that hasn't been ironed. I never put anything away that needs ironing first. I never have a big pile of ironing, especially since lockdown because I dress mostly in jeans and T-shirts these days.

We got an Iron and ironing board for a wedding gift and I have never used it. We got married on 2014.

My husband uses it to iron work shirts as that is kind of not negotiable. Have never ironed my 2 year olds stuff either.

Just take it out of the wash, shake it, hand it either outside on the whirlygig or on the clothes horse upstairs. 🤷🤷

Clothes look and feel so much better when ironed. I couldnt wear creased clothes, it would drive me insane. I have a fuck off steam generator iron which ploughs through the pile quickly. It was £££ but worth it in the time saved.

My kids are now 29 and 30, and I never once ironed their school uniforms! Polycotton shirts don’t crease, and are hidden under the school jumper, blazer and tie anyway. I wore scrubs at work (hospital doctor) and lived in jeans and t shirts. I dried sheets by folding them flat, straightening out any creases and hanging them over radiators- it worked fine.
I do own an iron and ironing board, but they haven’t come out of the cupboard since my DH died 28 years ago - we used to take turns to iron his work shirts.

The kids can do their own ironing. I started from when I was about 7 having to do my own school uniform and Brownies uniform.

@RedSheep73

School uniforms don't don't need ironing, honestly. Just hang them up and all will be fine. I haven't ironed in a decade at least. But if you must succumb, just do your own shirts as and when absolutely necessary, don't get sucked into ironing everything in the house just because you've got the iron hot!

I disagree and expect that there's a noticeable difference in the presentation of your children compared to those who do care and iron their children's uniforms.

Fgs how are the children to have pride in their appearance if the parents don't!

Second (third?) the suggestion to get a steam cleaner. No ironing ever takes place in my house, we hang things up (on hanger, from curtain rail, window ajar) and give a quick blast over with hand held steamer. Use scented de-ionised water so it smells nice, et voilà! Literally a few minutes, no skill required and it has liberated an entire section of my wardrobe hitherto abandoned. Changed my life.

SoloMummy - I am totally with you.

You should get a dri buddi. Clothes come out of the washing machine and you immediately put them on hangers and then air dry them (as if it was a hot summers day). I’m a massive fashion fan who never irons anything. It works a treat!

DW and I both need smart dress and rarely iron. Kids clothes rarely need it either, depends on material. Hanging up or tumble drying should sort you out.
By the time your kids need to wear ‘proper’ shirts -11/12 Secondary they will be old enough to do it themselves.
We have a table top board only for the occasion thing that needs it.

@Voronacirus
During covid I haven't been ironing and it's a lovely holiday!
But during term time especially, I organise that I iron Sunday evening. Quite often it's only school uniform and my work outfits. I ensure there are 6 uniforms, so that if we go away or are very busy at the weekend I don't have to worry and can do it Monday evening instead.
It is possible to not let it take over. I don't tend to iron what I class as house clothes, nor sheets, leggings etc. But anything that you can tell when has and hasn't been ironed I do.
Though you don't feel you've looked unkempt not ironing, I bet many Would disgaree as you will once you see the visible difference between crisp ironed clothes and those that have had creases supposed shook out and hung on the line-a world of difference.

Won't your dc wear jumpers over their shirts? It has been a while since I had to buy uniform but isn't it all no-need-to-iron and with permanent crease in the trousers?
I would forget buying an iron etc and buy decent uniform.

What a massive overreaction. It’s ironing, not planning a war. Putting the board up and down takes less than a minute and really isn’t a military operation. I don’t like the look or feel of creased clothing so I iron - ironing everything (not towels or underwear, but everything else) takes me approx. An hour a week for a household of 3. If you only think your uniforms need ironing, it won’t take anywhere near that long.

I haven't ironed anything since DH died, and before then it was very rare I would do it- DH and DS would (ex army DH, cadets DS). Since he went, DS has ironed some of his stuff occasionally but then got a job with a uniform that performs well in a tumble dryer and doesn't need an iron. He occasionally irons for me if I have a dress that is particularly crumpled. I loathe ironing. DH couldn't abide going to work with a creased uniform and trousers had razor sharp creases!

School uniform needs ironing - it just looks scruffy if not ironed, especially the collar of poloshirts. If you are after the “dragged through a hedge backwards” look its fine, but don’t complain your child doesn’t get selected to represent the school etc. You wouldn’t send a child with dirty face, stained and ripped uniform out to thank somebody, collect something or show visitors around, same with creased and out of shape.

People who say that you don’t notice the creases are wrong. Completely. You are walking about a total mess

Utter bollocks. As long as the item hasn't been screwed up into a ball in the drying and putting away process, there is no difference whatsoever between an ironed and unironed garment once it has been put on and the person has left the house/travelled by car or public transport to wherever you are going.

When we had our kitchen installed I asked for an ironing board to be fitted (drawer pulls out with the board)
It's great. Quick and handy. Also have a decent iron. DH irons his shirts as I was sick of doing all the wifework. I iron everything else that needs to be ironed.

@Yurona

School uniform needs ironing - it just looks scruffy if not ironed, especially the collar of poloshirts. If you are after the “dragged through a hedge backwards” look its fine, but don’t complain your child doesn’t get selected to represent the school etc. You wouldn’t send a child with dirty face, stained and ripped uniform out to thank somebody, collect something or show visitors around, same with creased and out of shape.

My sons uniform doesn’t need ironing, the trousers are non-iron and don’t look any different if my boyfriend irons them, his polo collars are also ones with the permanent crease so also don’t look any different after ironing. He irons socks, but has stopped ironing my sons uniform as even he has realised it makes zero difference. He has trutex polo shirts and you don’t get any creases/funny collar positions, they’re great.

We're a family of non-ironers!

Like you OP, I grew up with an obsessive ironer! Every Sunday afternoon the iron would come out, and mum would iron EVERYTHING. From bed sheets, right down to knickers, socks and hankies!

I maybe iron 1 or 2 things a year, like maybe freshening up a top for a nice meal out.

I'm always careful with hanging things to dry, and making sure things are folded neatly, and nothing really gets badly creased.
And if I buy an item of clothing, which turns out gets crumpled really easily... Well, it doesn't last long in our house!

All those saying “you can tell”...how? At work I wear a shirt/t-shirt top, then a cardigan, then a fleece jacket, then my outdoor work coat (work outside); all are part of my uniform. Unless it’s really hot, like last week I’m usually in at least three of these items so pray, how could someone tell whether my shirt has been ironed when it’s under at least two, if not three other layers and is never visible until I get in the car (alone) to go home?

I think I'm possibly sold on a steam generator iron... If I can do it quickly, it's a plus. I like the idea of a handheld steamer but I think it would end up being too bitty for me

Is it worth using ironing water? I really like things smelling nice so that would be a plus

It's not bitty! You waft it over the whole garment and the steam and gravity to the rest in a few seconds. Scented water is a must for me!

I don't own an iron

I don't even own an iron. The fact that people miss is that no matter how long you spend ironing something, it barely looks any different. I've spent an hour ironing a blouse, at the end of which it was just as creased as when I started.