Please remind me, those of you who don't iron.........

[gingertoo]

.....how do you do it??!

I have just emptied my washing basket and my ironing basket for the first time since DS3 was born (he was two last week ) and I'm determined not to get it in that state again!

So, please talk me through it - How do you do your laundry so that most of it doesn't need to be ironed???

I don't buy clothes that need ironing, ie: no shirts.

use fabric conditioner.

don't leave it in the washing machine for too long.

hang everything upside down on the washing line. on a windy day all the creases will be blown out.

put all the nice stuff on hangers straight away, even in my cramped wardrobe it still comes out fine.

hang stuff up immediately. If drying inside, I hang it on the airer on hangars.

I only iron the odd work shirt/party dress for dds.

I don't use fabric conditioner.

I tend to use a slower spin speed on the washing machine for clothes - this means they take longer to dry of course. I use the fast spin for towels and bedding etc.

I give the clothes a very good shake. I put anything that might potentially need ironing in the dryer but only for 10 minutes or so. I then remove it immediately and either peg out "nicely" or hang on the airer (depending on weather). I even do this for tops that will need a quick iron, as it really softens up the creases iykwim.

we have ironing board up in spare room

i only iron my uniforms and ds school polos

everyone else irons their own stuff when needed

childrens clothes don't need ironing do they-unless for smart wear

just fold

I used to have an ironing pile

it was utterly depressing

life is def too short

Buy clothes with Lycra, or go for tops not bluses if you can
Fabric softener
Short washcycles
Hang up on line straight away
Shirts onto hangers
Shake shake shake before hanging
Fold straight off line and then put in piles with towels on top in airing cupboard.

My lovely DH does his work shirts.
I do the occasional smart outfit for the DC's.

I probably iron for around 1 hour a month. I hate it. But I do quite like getting the washing sorted.

most clothes are stretchy tops etc
always use fabric softener
always tumble dry

i only iron the odd thing. i ironed today for the first time in about a month

Fold things neatly as soon as they come off the line/out of the tumble drier. Most creases are made when things lie crumpled in the wash basket after drying. Also, give things a good flap to get as many wrinkles as you can out before you hang them up. And don't buy linen!!!

I don't iron it - end of story. Have never found it a problem.
In fact, I don't have an iron, so I can't iron anything regardless.

Having said that I don't have an office job & neither does dh. (Although even when I did have an office job, the only thing I ever ironed was the linen suit that I wore for client visits in very hot weather.)

The only time I can think that would use one is pressing up hems when I need to shorten things. Oh, and DD was given some iron-on bead thingys which we need to borrow one for.

Oh so helpful
I love love laundry threads

I have a water tight theory re. ironing, and have converted many people to my non iroing lifestyle. It is:

The time it takes clothes to naturally de-crease from from body heat is EXACTLY equal to the time taken for ironed clothes to crease from sitting / driving etc.

That way everyone (I work in office) is in the same state within approx 2 hours.

Same as everyone else.

Even if something does need ironing - I will hang it in wardrobe or fold and put in drawer and only iron it when I need it.

The upshot is that I have positive connotations of ironing - it reminds me of a night out (ie blue moon).

You're spot on there ggirl. My ironing pile has been totally depressing me!! Dh is away this week so I've decided to spend the first couple of evenings catching up on those jobs which always get left then the second couple of nights catching up on those 'pamper me' jobs which always get left too......

Anyway, thank for all the advice - I can see where I'm going wrong. I'm leaving stuff in the washer for too long and the dryer for too long and the ironing pile for too long which is making everything really creased!
I normally do a load of washing at night and put it to dry in the morning so is that too long?

Shirts are a big issue - I hate ironing them and there are loads (1 per day for DH, DS1 and DS2) Can you get away without ironing them if you put them on hangers to dry once the wash cycle has finished?

Sorry so many questions - but this is going to save me hours if I sort it!!!

Don't have an ironing pile. When we had one it was just depressing.

Hang things up in the wardrobe no matter what they look like. If someone needs to wear something then they can iron it before they put it on. This is generally DH with shirts.

I don't use fabric conditioner and don't have a tumble drier. I dry outside when I can.

I couldn't cope with having a depressing ironing pile

I dont hang on hangers straight out of the washer or dryer

I leave things in the machine too long

I dont alwasy tumble

I just will not be a slave to ironing

Icant cope with it

my kids get compliments on their nice clothes

not one single peron has ever said to me that I should iron and they will look better

my dd1 does not stand out as scruffy in the school photo

I cant beleive so many people spend so much time and energy on something so unimpotant

dh doesn't wear shirts for his work

if he needs to wear a shirt e.g for a funeral, he irons it himself

Get easycare/non iron shirts. Hang them up on a hanger as soon as the washing cycle has finished. Also, DS1 and DS2 - can they wear the shirts more than once? My DH hangs his worn shirt on an airer on a hanger and wears it again after a couple of days. My DS will wear his uniform polo shirt until it is dirty.

Do not leave stuff in the dryer either once it is done. Sort it out straight away. Also, make sure you don't overload the dryer as the stuff will come out creased.

I just use non bio liquid, nothing else.

If you need to hang stuff to dry, it won't dry hard if you hang it inside on an airer (on a hanger as well). You can then just put it away as soon as it is dry.

I keep on top of my washing - both washing machine and tumble drier are going round at the moment . I prob won't empty the dryer tonight, but it'll just be towels so they don't really matter.

I either fold straight from the dryer or if I'm hanging washing outside I shake before pegging and fold from the line.
Some thing are a little bit creased when you put them on but body heat tends to sort that out.
I didn't wear my combat trousers today because they were creased and I couldn't be arsed to iron them.

DP does his own work shirts. Occasionally I'll take them to the ironing service which does 10 for £9.
Life's way to short to have an ironing pile.

Well I don't have children so only have myself to dress and to be honest.... I don't care if I look crumpled lol, I work with kids so I'm rolling around on the floor all day anyways.

I don't iron DS's school uniform either - he never seems to look different from the rest of his class and I presume some at least of them must have their clothes ironed.

I'm loving your attitudes to ironing!! It's brilliant! I have been doing this SO wrong. I've been ironing everything (I'm going to blame the influence of my mother who even irons hankies and pants and towels!!!!)
I'm going to have a test run tomorrow and see how I go - Straight out of washer, Shake shake, on to line, bring in, fold and put away.....

(If it works, it will certainly mean less stress for me when DH and step DCs arrive back on Friday from a weeks camping with the washing pile from hell....)

Like the 'scrunch test' cat64

Not going to mention non-ironing experiment to DH and Dcs. Can imagine them all peering critically at the clothes, looking for creases...