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

What do you do with the 10 shirts a week you’re already dealing with? Just do that.

I wash them each night and hang them on hangers after a good shake. They are dry and ready to wear in the morning don’t need ironing. Especially under a blazer and jumper.

My kids are 16 and 13. They can both cook to a degree (ds is actually pretty good) and are perfectly capable of making their own breakfast and they do so when dh and I are at work but on my non-working days I always offer. I know dh does the same. What’s the point of having kids if I can’t be bothered to do anything nice for them?

Do they really need a clean shirt every day? Unless they’re sweaty smelly teenagers that’s unnecessary IMO.
Also my DH does his own ironing so once my little boy starts wearing shirts, he’ll do the ironing for them too. I don’t think I’ve picked up an iron in about 8 years

They don't look as crisp as they would do if you'd ironed them, but once you've got them on and worn them for a bit, you can't really tell the difference . On the hanger, yes, they do look slightly creased. Some materials work better than others (Linen never looks great without ironing IMO).

Why do you iron your DHs shirts?
Unless you are a SAHP then surely that’s his job?
So just give him the extra ones to do at the same time.
If not then I’d just iron them.

I don’t have a tumble dryer and hang them up after washing.
Most dry wrinkle free and then I just iron the ones that have got crinkles.

Honestly, they don’t all need new shirts daily! My son changes every other day.

husband gets it daily

some of you wanting your kids to iron their own shirts at 12…. It’s a part of parenting. When my kids hit 14 they’ll be shown what to do.

M&S non iron shirts and I always dry them on coat hangers over night, any creases drop out.

Child: Mum (or dad) are you ironing? Please don’t do mine. Please please let me iron my uniform for the week. I love it. I really do. Please mum……

(every week on a Sunday nigh, or over the weekend, during term time for 7 years)

👆🏻
Something to add to the list of things that just didn’t happen!

Yea, I bet they loved it 😆 You keep telling yourself that. Am no, they so don’t have to do uniforms every day being in guides/scouts - that’s not true at all. What you are prepared to do in your house for your kids, is your business, not that of guides or scouts

I didnt say they did it every day.
Just Saturdays.
Yes they did enjoy doing it because they were doing it as part of family life.
No idea what your beef is?
Just like arguing ?
Mine are all happy, functioning adults so 🤷‍♀️

I've never heard an 11 year old say big school, surely it's what you say when 4 year is moving on from a nursery or playgroup

It would help to know how old the children are

So it will be a cold day in hell before you iron 5 shirts for your DC who is starting big school isn’t that’s what most mothers do? You haven’t got 15 shirts to iron, doos your younger DC not wear polo shirts, either way your DH can do his own so what’s your problem?

Husband in the service here so irons all his own stuff.
kids (11 & 13) probably only get through 3 shirts each a week and none ever get ironed (they’re under blazers and jumpers anyway.
Also both kids sort their own breakfasts and lunches.

I consider my kids old enough to be able to manage basic stuff like this on their own. If any of their stuff ever actually needed ironing they’d be quite capable of doing it themselves - as I was at their age. It’s hardly neglectful - just teaching them independence. I was surprised when I started uni how many people weren’t able to do their own laundry or iron.

In our house DH irons his own shirts. The children's shirts for school do not get ironed.

I don’t like arguing. Look at your first response to me - if you didn’t want to engage, then why post at me (repeatedly).

And if your situation is different to the one In the OP and not what I’m talking about, why even mention it.

Fortunately ours are in polos.

However, one of the first home ec type homework things was to iron a shirt. Took me bloody ages to find a shirt! I’ve only even got an iron because I sew. Otherwise, it’s weddings and funerals only - and we are thankfully past the wedding stage now.

You could send them out for ironing and give them the money if they do their own instead. Or just hang them on hangers. I fixed a rail in the airing cupboard and dry tops and dresses on hangers. Given the state of teenage boys in general, if people are fixating on an unironed shirt everything else must be pretty shipshape and that would be good enough for me!

So I've never ironed DHs shirts. If he needs something ironed he can do it himself (I don't ironed my clothes). So in your situation if DH needed ironing he'd do it himself and it would male sense for him to do the kids shirts as he's ironing anyway (or at secondary age they're old enough to do their own shirts really). If you tend to iron your own clothes anyway then maybe I'd just do the shirts but get DH to take turns

Mine change shirts every other day so only 3 shirts each per week. The primary school ones are non iron. I just have to iron the high school ones.

You are right.
It didnt happen.
They didnt beg to do it.
I didnt say they did!
They did it as part of learning to be independent and learning stuff needed to be done.
Really cant see why you need to make such silly comments and drama over it ?

Then stop with the ‘they liked it’ rubbish ( I can pretty much guarantee no teenager likes it, even if they do it) and stop using your situation to argue with my views on a completely different scenario!

🤦🏼‍♀️

Teaching a child skills ( a must) and expecting them to be responsible for it from the age of 11 because you don’t want to do it, are two completely different things!

That is not hard to grasp.

I hate ironing with a passion. What we do is take the shirts/blouses straight out of the wash and hang them up whilst damp, and let them dry naturally. Has worked for me for 15 yrs!

MN is hysterical about ironing. I find it so amusing. Each to their own. It all depends how you were brought up. Me: working class mam who was taught that cleanliness and being smart made you as good as everyone else. All 5 of us were sparkling and ironed to an inch of our lives (especially for mass on a Sunday/ school). It was a pride thing. Dad was in the navy then police, so was exactly the same. This has very much passed on to all of us. We are all very similar in this way, we iron and there's a pride in the kids being smart.

This doesn't mean my kids can't get dirty- they are filthy😄- washing machines are amazing things (I have strong memories of mam using a twin tub with a huge pincer! God knows how she did it). But I do like their clothes to be ironed, especially school shirts. They don't need much- M&S non-iron- I do 15 on a Sunday night: these and 9 pairs of trousers plus assorted jumpers/ sweatshirts literally takes me less than an hour whilst I'm catching up with a programme. I like ironing, so I'd rather do that as DH polishes shoes/ does bath and bed/ clears the kitchen.

I also, shock, horror, iron the rest of the DC's clothes too. Older 2 can do their own, and do it quite a bit, but I'd rather they were studying.

Like I say, different strokes.

M&S non-iron.
My DS has work shirts , I wash /shake/hang on a hanger .

Going in the timble drier makes the collars go crinkly.

Sad that you are thinking its your job. Its their shirts. The grown-up man needs to do his own and your teenagers need to start learning to iron their clothes too. You are not a laundering service.

Another one asking if they need a new shirt everyday? Ds has 3 a week, which would cut down plus I have never ironed dp's shirts