Things you can’t get your head round, e.g Non ironers

[Supersares]

Is it just me or does anyone else not understand how people who don’t iron manage ? Whenever someone tells me they don’t iron my brain can’t compute how they manage to have clothes looking crinkle free- without consciously buying clothes that don’t need ironing! I hang clothes on coat hangers, fold consciously to avoid creasing but still have to iron things like blouses, dh shirts and my dd school skirts, for example. Do I need to buy better quality clothing, is that the key? Can any non ironers out there share their secrets please 😀🤓

Yup am- don’t iron, don’t bleach, no grim artificial scents and no tumble-dryer.

I don’t get the consumption of animal parts.

Yup. We are all unemployed. Every last one of us.

I think you've missed the point. An interview was an example of somewhere you might want to look particularly smart and they were asking if you'd iron for that.

I'm a non ironer but we are also a non shirt wearing family (manual jobs, polo shirts for school). My husband has a few short sleeved summer shirts but they can get away without ironing as long as you treat them right.

The key for me is fabric conditioner, a really good shake before you peg on the line (I'll also pull school trousers side to side once hung to ensure they are flat etc)

Things are brought in flat over my arm and hung straight away or for things like polo shirts I have a bench next to the washing line and I fold and smooth them straight away (the hand iron!)

Best thing I did was get rid of an ironing basket. Things like dress shirts that would need an iron are hung and then spruced up before worn. I found once stuff hung about in there it had gained too many creases and I ended up chucking it back through wash!

I also accept the annual school uniform iron as it does have to be done to get packet lines out but after the first time I don't bother.

DH wears shirts most days so he irons them and looks smart. I can’t imagine buying only non iron clothes as I find it hard to find things I like anyway without limiting the choice further.
This comes down to aesthetics. I like to look good, I like my house to look good so I’ll put the effort in.

I’m definitely interested in a steamer though.

This. I don’t iron and my life is immeasurably better since I stopped. Life is too short for that nonsense and I don’t wear anything that has to be pressed to avoid looking a mess.

And bleach I only use for the toilet. I can’t abide the smell.

I iron as little as possible here. Youngest school uniform has changed so no more school shirts. And work is now "dress for your day" rather than business wear every day. So unless I have meetings etc, I'm in T-shirt and jeans. Eldest lives in sportswear.

If something is obviously creased I will iron it, but would rather try to ensure it didn't get so creased in the first place.

Honestly don't have time to spend stuck ironing a big load of washing.

Don't use bleach. It triggers my asthma.

I missed neither the point nor the tone.

That wasn't a genuine question, it was a 'don't you know everyone thinks less of you... would you seriously'.

'Tin hat' disclaimer or none, ask a sneery question, get a sneery answer.

And no, I don't iron my clothes for a job interview, because, as many, many non-ironer PPs have already explained upthread, I:

a) buy clothes that don't need ironing,
b) don't use a tumble dryer,
c) dry / hang my clothes in a way that means they don't crease
d) hang things in a steamy bathroom for the very rare occasions I need to straighten something out

I'm a woman and I have never felt repressed in my entire life.

I am with you on this one! The "air fresheners" are horrid things! Also scented toilet paper and menstrual products. Or scented fabric softerners.

I’m a non-ironer but I DO use bleach to clean the loos. It cleans loos lovely and doesn’t take any more time or effort than using toilet duck or some other cleaner that doesn’t work.

I rarely iron.
Some things I get out and think “that could do with an iron” so I do it. Never stand and do a pile, just individual things as they need it.
Used to iron school uniforms but tbh at primary school they come out covered in mud and paint anyway and at secondary they’re not allowed to take their blazer off so no point in doing the shirts.

DC iron their own work uniforms.

Interestingly I stopped using fabric softener about 5 years ago and things are much less creased without it. This was unexpected as I really thought fabric softener would help prevent creases.

I have nothing useful to add to the thread but I thought your title said Norn Ironers, which is how the people from Northern Ireland refer to themselves, hence me clicking on the thread as that is where I am from

"I missed neither the point nor the tone.

That wasn't a genuine question, it was a 'don't you know everyone thinks less of you... would you seriously'.

'Tin hat' disclaimer or none, ask a sneery question, get a sneery answer."

I don't think anyone was being sneery. I think you missed the point.

They asked if you'd iron for a job interview, you could have just explained that you didn't need to as you have done with your last post.

I love ironing. DH irons his own clothes (tailors son). My DS had my ex military father as his nanny so he irons too. DD 20 not a chance!
I have had huge steam generator irons for decades. They push the steam through both sides of the fabric. I even iron pleats with pegs on the ends. However I hate house work, love bleach (Welsh heritage) but don't use plug ins (disgusting smells). DH won't have a tumble dryer due to the cost. We have a drysoon rack and cover for the winter. We line dry.
My DH has a new uniform which is non iron, he won't wear it and wears the old one. The new shirts look like darts players to him. He likes a crisp sleeve crease.
We also wash our pillows and duverts. No dry cleaning due to asthmatics.

I tumble and shake too. If you do that then get it straight onto a clothes hanger it's fine. DS has polo shirts. DH works from home how so no longer needs a shirt ironing everyday. He just wears a T shirt and I'm not ironing that. The iron comes out about 3 times a year when we attend a formal dinner.

Quite a lot of people don't remove the peg marks!

As for the poster who said what is the point of ironing when the clothes look creased again so quickly, you might as well apply the same logic to cleaning, vacuuming, tidying - it all soon needs doing again.

I only iron curtains when it's fabric where the creases don't drop out. I don't wear any clothes that need ironing.

Can I ask why you put it all in the airing cupboard after being ironed?

I'm also an ironer, but to me that is the last step needed to get any damp out.

But then again, I don't live in the UK (hot country) so I'm thinking this isn't the case there ?

@Threenow don't get me started on slovenly hanging out of clothing. 😆My neighbour OMG and her poor baby with big peg marks across her little rompers. Mind you they let their dog shit in their garden and leave it for days so they're not too fussy.

You do this to let any steam or starch that you may use air out. You don't want to crush them into a wardrobe straight away.

I sleep in cotton sheets. I don't feel like I need to be able to "get away" with not ironing them. They're bed sheets, I simply don't care if they are creased so I don't buy them thinking "what won't need ironing" as I don't think any bed sheets need ironing.

Mould removal products contain bleach, don't know if the other ingredients do anything more really, but we've found neat bleach on the sealant works very nicely round the bath at any rate.

Don’t have an airing cupboard but I hang after ironing otherwise you’ll be folding and creasing again if you do it too soon.