To not iron DD’s school uniform?

[Rainallnight]

DD is in Reception and this term they’re allowed wear those lovely gingham summer school dresses.

I don’t iron. I hate it. And I’ve had a weekend of drudgery.

But they really don’t look right at all, and I’m worried about sending her in looking like a scruff.

What do people do?

I never iron, it's a waste of time! I hang clothes on the coat hanger while wet, my DCs school clothes always dry nicely!

@BlueLobelia I totally get what you’re saying. My DS sounds very similar, and I always want him to look well presented so that people know that someone cares and puts time into him if they just see a snapshot. I also recognise how mad it sounds.

I bought a swan hand held steamer. I hate ironing, so I just put a shirt on a hanger, then steam it using the steamer. Gets the creases out in seconds.

@Stellaris22

I grew up with parents forcing me to project a certain image through how I dressed and looking a certain way.

Trust me, it's not something you want to force on your child. I'd want my child to focus on their education, not worrying about their appearance.

As for interviews as an adult, I'm fairly sure employers care about ability not how you look. DH got his professional job while having unironed clothes and scruffy hair!

I disagree with your last point. Many institutions/companies have a dress code which employees adhere to. Failing to do so at interview (because yes, applicants would be expected to research this and turn up appropriately attired) would indicate that you were unwilling to uphold standards.

@Pottedpalm

You could have ironed a little dress in the time taken to oost and read replies.

Quite!

I can't believe the lengths people go to to avoid ironing. I don't enjoy it but if something is creased just do it, it's quicker than faffing about with sprays and hovering round washing machines and tumble dryers to snatch things out as soon as they finish.

@Wannabegreenfingers

I don't understand non ironing people. Clothes look much better when ironed, it takes no time to iron a 5 years old dress.

I don't understand people who iron.

Also, some people struggle. So maybe think about those people before judging ay

I don’t have a tumble drier.

For the non-ironing crowd, I did give it a really good shake when wet, put it on a hanger and smoothed it out before hanging up to dry and it still looked awful.

I suspect this has been dealt with by now, but in my experience all school dresses, ironed or not, look the same once they've been worn for a few minutes.

But you might like to invest in a steamer for emergencies.

Would take less time to iron it than it took to write the OP

That would only make sense if OP ironed the dress once and her DS wore it for the read of the summer term with no further washing!

I don't iron. When Dd was is reception and got the gingham summer I dresses, I did actually iron some as worried about how they'd look - could barely tell when I'd finished! So now I don't bother

I have never had to iron those, they go straight on a hanger to dry and they’ve never dried with creases.

I’m in the non-ironing camp and DS certainly never wore anything that needed ironing throughout his school career. However, while some of those gingham dresses are made from man made fibres and ironing would be a complete waste of time, others are made from a thick cotton and would benefit from a press. The only other advice would be a slower spin, whip it out of the machine as soon as it has finished, good shake and line dry.

I iron everything, it's my Sunday morning routine. I listen to podcasts while I do it, and quite enjoy the quiet time.

I couldn't put unironed clothes away in the drawer, and I wouldn't go out in unironed clothes, so I wouldn't expect my Dc to.
Getting scruffy during the day is to be expected, but I like them to start off clean and tidy.

School shirts and summer dresses I iron wet straight from the machine, then hang them up to finish drying, it doesn't take long.

I never ironed my DDs’ school clothes. And I think it’s sexist and impractical to put young girls in dresses. Shorts or trousers mean they can play freely, do handstands, use outdoor climbing frames etc without worrying about the boys mocking them for showing their knickers.

I preferred ironing kids clothes when they were little because it takes seconds. (Although thankfully most of it was fine without ironing) Bedding or DH shirts are much worse.
Although teen DD now has a pleated skirt which is a PITA to iron and doesnt hang right if you dont.

I'd wash the summer dresses, shake them and hang them to dry.
I loved those dresses.

I don’t do ironing and haven’t for over a decade. I vote focus on the drying more e.g. when l had a work uniform l would whip it out of the washing machine and hang it on a hanger to dry

I saw a friend’s post about it being the last term of ironing uniform (her youngest is year 11 and 6th form don’t west uniform). I was people iron uniform? I buy fabrics that don’t need ironing. Dc are 9 and 13 and look smart.

Can’t remember last time I used an iron. I just don’t.

A handheld steamer is a game changer (I hate ironing too!). Dress on hanger and run the stream over to get rid of the creases. Couple of minutes.

@m0therofdragons
We dont get a choice of what fabric (or style) secondary uniform is. The skirt has to be a particular one from the supplier and unfortunately looks awful if not ironed. I dont iron DS primary uniform as that looks fine without.

I buy fabrics that don’t need ironing. Dc are 9 and 13 and look smart.

There’s a difference though isn’t there between “doesn’t need ironing” and crumpled yet “can’t be bothered”. I just can’t imagine sending them in to school in clothes that look like they need ironing.
I’m clearly in the minority though 🤷🏼‍♀️

@WalkersAreNotTheOnlyCrisps my Dh wears shirts with rolled up sleeves and a waistcoat in the summer and jumper over shirt in the winter so rarely irons his shirts. He’s exec level at work. If anyone got an item out that was truly crumpled we would iron it.

Get a steamer if you must but you should iron them. Summer dresses show up every little crease and can even shrink a little if you don’t iron regularly. I hate ironing (dyslexia and dyspraxia so it’s dangerous and takes ages) so DH usually does it but when he can’t I always set up extra time to do DNs uniform. It’s not important to me but looking presentable is important to her.