15 shirts a week

[theonlygirl]

DS2 starts big school in September, meaning there will be 15 shirts in the laundry each week. DH 5, DS1 5, DS2 5.
no issue washing and drying them but it will be a cold day in hell before I stand ironing their shirts. I don't use a tumbledryer so they all definitely need ironing.

Option 1 - make them iron their own.
Option 2 - drycleaners

Curious to know what others do

The kids definitely need a clean shirt everyday, the smell would be horrendous.

I am teaching DS1 to be self sufficient; cooking, keeping his room tidy, being organised for school, gets his own sports kits sorted, ironing is the next step, but frankly I'd trust the 11 yr old with an iron before him.

I confess the shirts do sit in the machine sometimes, good tip.

When I was in the start of year 5 of junior school so just turned 9 a girl in my class came in with a deep burn down her arm (clearly would scar badly)... I was shocked to find out it was from ironing her older brothers uniforms until several other said it wasnt that strange.

I dont think its right and I would never trust my kid with an iron but then people said my mam was a 'helicopter' mam so it does deffinately happen in more 'traditional' families where girls are taught to be housekeepers from a young age.

I know many girls that where expected to iron as part of their standard chores from a fairly young age so by 12 it didnt strike me as wierd if someone said they ironed their uniform.

I should say though I could count on 1 hand the amount of things I have ironed in my life (all occasionware for weddings) and its really not a skill I feel I lack in life (but then I have a tumble dryer, never knew that changed the dynamic lol).

It takes less than a minute to iron a shirt! But if it’s too much, dry on hangers on the line, then steam them with a steam generating iron to finish.

In our house, kids shirts (3 kids, 5 shirts each) are no iron ones and DH irons his own

My mum gave me the advice years ago to a) only spin a wash at 800rpm and b) to fold the dried washing carefully to reduce ironing. (Although I'll still do things like towels at a high rpm)

As it happens, I don't mind ironing if I have something to watch on TV hand washing on the other hand.... . But dh was/is also prepared to iron his own stuff and I also trained ds from a young age that if he didn't put his dirty washing in the wash basket by the Friday night, he wouldn't have clean, ironed stuff by Monday.

He went off to Uni knowing how to iron his own stuff ( and wash it ) and now, when he's home, he'll get the ironing board out himself if he needs anything ironed.

When our washer/dryer gave up the ghost a few years ago, we replaced it with just a washing machine as we almost never used the dryer function.

I bought non iron shirts, grabbed them out of the machine as soon as it finished, then hung them on hangers to dry.
Never had a husband who wore shirts for work, but my mum used to send my dad’s out to get ironed. They both seemed to think it was money well spent.

M&S non iron shirts, and they shouldn’t need more than 3 each per week, surely? That’s 9 in total, wash and dry on hangers

The only most fervent ironer in our household is... adult DS who is in the Army. I can recommend cadets to teach them how to do it properly.

Option 3- dont iron them.
Dry shirts on hangers.
I don't own an iron.

^Admittedly we time a shirt wash so that we are around to whip them out and put them on hangers, but they seem fine. Good tip. Don’t leave them in the machine to get crumpled.

Also how much of the shirts do people see. They’ll be wearing jumpers for about 6 months of the year. Or if it’s one of these blazery schools the shirts won’t be seen at all.

In a family everyone should contribute. It's not about "not being arsed" to do it, it's about fairly distributing chores and of course teaching kids how to do things for themselves. 11 is old enough to iron, vacuum, help with laundry, clean the bathroom, etc.

Hang them on a hanger to dry, creases drop right out!

This. Especially if you do buttons up too. Also goes for polo shirts. DH can do his own shirts if he wants the ironcreased arm look ?

Doesn't resolve the problem, but we hang them on coat hangers to dry and it really makes it easier to iron them

I don’t iron school shirts, they go under their jumper and they aren’t allowed to take them off so…

It is always such a badge of honour on MN to never iron. I, on the other hand, like wearing linen or a crisp ironed, cotton shirt. And I don't find ironing a chore, but I don't have many clothes that require ironing.

This I hang shirts on plastic hangers out to the garden then straight in the wardrobe for children.

Children do not need to be in a ironed shirt. Adults can choose to iron their own shirts if they wish. This is dead simple stuff!

Why shouldn't older children look after their own clothes? I was in charge of my washing and ironing from around 11 as was my brother.

I wash shirts together with polo shirts and thin T-shirts using a lowish spin as others have mentioned. Then get them out immediately, shake and usually line dry.
Then bring them in carefully and hang up or air.
DH brought in yesterday's washing and left it in a crumpled heap. Bad error in a no / low iron system.🤨
On the bright side it's mostly his.

If my ironing looked good it would probably be far less hassle than careful laundering. However my shirt sleeves are never right. And I hate fiddling around plackets.

Why can’t the 5 year old re-wear shirts?

If he’s wearing a jumper over his shirt it often won’t be dirty or smelly.

And does the 5 year old really wear a shirt every day? Most schools now seem to do a come in PE clothes on PE days thing.

This.

Full disclosure - I'm a guy.
Don't bother ironing them. If they are creased, they are creased. There are more important things to worry about :)

Low spin, hang immediately. No need for any ironing.

So all the shirt-wearers in the household wear a clean shirt for just one day? Really?