Does anyone pay to get their ironing done?

[Dalrymps]

I'm thinking of providing an ironing service in my local area to earn a bit of extra cash. Just wondered if anyone uses a service like this and if so, what the charges are etc

I have done a little research and was thinking of something like this:

Medium bag/basket £12
Large bag/basket £20
Single duvet cover and pillows £2
Double duvet cover and pillows £3
Kingsize duvet cover and pillows £4

If just a few items:

70p per adult item
35p per childrens item (under 10 yrs)

I would pick up the items and drop them off ironed 48hrs later. I am thinking of hanging shirts on hangers provided by customer or using cheap wire ones. I might put the items that are on hangers in those plastic bags you can get.

I was also thinking if cost is under £10 to charge a £1 collection/drop off fee but free for over £10.

What does everyone think? Please feel free to pick holes and tell me if you think anything is too expensive etc

Wow thanks for the links, I did google and found 1 competitor but they're quite a way from here. They charged per item. Off to look at the links

Looked at the links, very helpful. I need to design some leafelts I think!

Google or yell.com some local companies and see how they charge and what they charge. You could make yourself a little cheaper to get you started?

It would be a lot easier to charge per item than by weight. Lots of hassle weighing stuff.

I use an ironing service. She picks up on a Monday and drops back on a Wednesday and I just put everything in a bin liner with my hangers. A good tip for delivering clothes so they don't get creased in transit, is to tie a peice of strong string from one of the hangers above your back door to the other door and hang all the clothes on the string.

She charges £10 for 25 items. If she does my lads clothes she counts two of his items as one adult one and if she does sheets or duvets she counts them as two items. If I want to add more to the bag, she charges 40p per item.

Very simple way of working out payments for both of us.

Good luck

I haven't read all the previous posts but I pay someone to do my ironing for me and it's £8/hour with free collection/delivery.

We are in a small village in the South West.

I send a huge Ikea bag full to burst every fortnight and she seems to do it in 2 hours - amazing - would take me all day!

I wouldn't bother buying hangers tbh - ppl are fussy about hangers so would prob just switch for their own anyway and yours would end up in the bin! If they want things on hangers then they can send them with the clothes. I personally have ours folded back in the bag (no plastic - would also end up in bin).

My girl advertises in the post office, newsagents etc with nice colorful flyers.

She also offers 20% off your 1st hours worth and 10% off your next hour if you recruit a new client for her.

You could possibly charge a surcharge for 24hr turnaround if someone wants their things in a hurry?

Sorry if any/all of this has already been mentioned!

we have each week

60 childrens items
20 adults items

bedding for on average 2 double beds
1 single
1 cot

amounts to two blue ikea bags FULL

any guesses?????

Oh and when we lived in Kenya we used to send all our laundry out to be washed/ironed etc and they did charge by the KG.

To weigh it they had a springy hand held weighing thing with a hook and you just put all the clothes in a light plastic bag.

No idea of proper name for this device - sorry! Probably really simple and I will look like an idiot!

I have just started using one which charges 75p per item or 65p for over 20 items. Children's items are 55p which I think is a bit much as I have a 3 year old and a baby (so they tend to wear creased clothes!).

They return all the shirts on wire hangers which I put back in the bag the next week.

any guesses for mine

PaulaYatesBiggestFan

I get charged £16 for one ikea blue bag so I am guessing £32 for two??

£5 - sometimes less!!

I used to do it for a family. Charged by the hour/ half hour/ quarter hour to avoid arguments.
It made legs and back ache after 4 hours!

£5! Bargain! Do you have small elves living under the stairs?

Can they also do my ironing??!!

i am embarrassed locally because she is too too cheap!

She is not the worlds greatest ironing but for every single item for a family of 8..hey? whose complaining?

Sorry, posted and rushed out... poor form I know!!
Couldnt tell you how much all that weighed for sure...I`ve looked for the leaflet for costs per pound and cant find anywhere. Can say it was a blue IKEA bag full, but not over flowing.
Am in Darlington btw

Trust me it is far far far easier to stick a bin bag on a set of luggage scales than it is to count (and potentially segregate) the number of items in a bin bag stuffed full.

Wow, loads of posts, really helpfull.

I still can;t decide which charging method to go for, I just keep swinging wildly between all options.

I'll have to think about it.

In the meantime, any inventive names for my little 'business'?

My name is Amy, not sure weather that should be incorperated or not...

Press Gang (I think there may be one of these round here - but I think you can use the name as long as they are not local to you)

Ooh nice suggestion DoNotAnnoy, any more ladies?

The Iron Lady
Pressed for Time

Ironing by Amy

Ooh I like pressed for time too

I do quite like the idea of including my name too though, might make it more personal

I used to offer this service a couple of years ago and charged 7.50phr with free collection and delivery (Surrey)
I advertised in newsagents and post office and had 7 iron runs couldnt manage any more.
I offered 24hr turnaround which people really liked,and occassional. Extra coat hangers were charged at 50p extra(tesco cheap ones) stopped people not putting in enough
I had business cards printed up(vistaprint) with total for the week then would receive the money when picked up the next week.
On average i could earn between 400-600 a month especially around christmas time, but it was very hard work, hated bloody duvets !!!!!! and was working full-time and had a DS as well......

Loppylou - So it sounds like there is a demand for this then! I just want to make a little extra each month really, i'd be over the moon if I got 7 customers!

I don't work full time but am looking after ds 18 months so will have to fit it round him

Obviously you are starting out. Some things to think about that may make it easier/quicker once you get going:

Silver reflective cover for your ironing board - you may only have to iron 1 side of some things.

MIL also has something v similar to this. It is fantastic. The one she has (which I am sure is the same) GURANTEES no scotching, burning or shining - saves damaging customers clothes. She has even had customers (with debt ) try and claim she has scorthed their clothes. She has invited a couple to come and attempt to scortch it and they have had to conceed that they did it to try and get out of paying as you really can't scortch with her iron.

But if you get going and have a bit of profit and keep it up longer term I would recommend something like this. The vast majority of clothes can be done on it and it is soooo much quicker than an Iron.