Ironing Is Hard Work

The general assumption is ironing is hard. Hardly anybody likes the chore and if you can avoid it, you will. In fact, many people see ironing as a waste of time and pointless. They argue that in this day and age, ironing is no longer necessary because the trend is towards casual dressing. Moreover, technology has allowed for the creation of different types of fabrics and you now have a choice to choose clothes that require little to no ironing.

While all that may be true, you still may not be able to do away with ironing altogether. There will be occasions when you need to dress more formally. Some professions too require you to wear neatly ironed clothes and suits. You may also have your own preference as to the types of fabric that you like to wear and these may require ironing as well. But if ironing is hard, what can you do to make it easier?

Why Is Ironing Hard?

I have to admit that the task is not that easy to start with. There is a learning curve and you need to practice to make the task easier as time goes by. There are also techniques that you have to learn to iron different items like shirts, dress, and pants. Even with the best steam iron, you need to know the right temperature to set and when it is too hot for the piece of clothing you are ironing. All these come with experience.

But you certainly don’t have to make things harder for yourself. Sometimes, ironing is even harder to do because:

• You pile up the laundry. The more you have to iron, the more reluctant you will be to bring out the ironing board. The thought of working through a big pile of laundry will cause you to procrastinate. This will create an even bigger pile of clothes and it becomes a vicious cycle. When you finally iron because you have run out of clothes to wear, the chore will become almost unbearable due to the amount of time you have to spend in front of the ironing board.
• You have let the wrinkles set. When your clothes are ready to be hung up after washing and drying, do it immediately. Don’t let them sit in the washer or dryer or leave them crumpled up in the laundry basket. When the wrinkles have set, you will have a hard time getting rid of them. Stubborn wrinkles will take you longer to iron away because you may need more than a few passes to clear them.
• You don’t have a good iron. Your iron does make a difference. A $20 steam iron will not give you the same experience as the best Rowenta iron that could cost close to $100 or more. If your iron is not hot enough or has an insufficient steam output, ironing will become harder.
• You don’t have a good ironing board. The best ironing board must be of a reasonable size. If it is too small, you will spend a lot of time repositioning your clothes and new wrinkles might appear each time you do that. A cheap one could also be too flimsy and uneven that it makes it hard to get on with the task quickly.

Can Ironing Be Less Dreadful?

Yes, you can certainly reduce the dreadfulness of the task. If you avoid piling up your ironing load and hang up your clothes immediately after washing, you will have an easier time when you iron. So it will be if you get a good steam iron and ironing board.

You can further cut down on the need to iron by getting a wrinkle release spray or handheld fabric steamer like the Rowenta X-Cel Steam. You can use this for lightly wrinkled clothes and touch-ups. This will further reduce the pile of clothes that you actually need to iron. If you are left with only a few items that you need to bring out the ironing board for, this will automatically make the chore not so dreadful.

Lastly, what can you do while ironing to make it more pleasant? Listening to music and chatting on the phone can help to relieve the boredom and make time pass by faster. Although ironing is hard, some activities can help to alleviate the unpleasantness and you will be less reluctant to get on with the chore.