How to avoid ironing: tried and tested tips

Don’t read this post if you love ironing! You’re still reading? Ok, here are 5 tried and tested tips to help you reduce the time you spend doing this tedious chore. You’re welcome.

1. Use ice cubes. Place creased clothing in the dryer together with some ice cubes. Set the dryer to the hottest setting your clothes will allow and run it for 15 minutes. The steam from the melting ice cubes will help get rid of the creases easily and quickly. Or choose a dryer with steam technology that not only smoothes the fibres but also eliminates allergens.

2. Don’t overfill the washing machine. Let’s be honest, we’ve all done it. Whatever the reason, the result isn’t always exactly stellar. You might find that the stains weren’t removed and the clothes came out all tangled or even damaged. To avoid this, always make sure there’s enough room in the washer for the clothes to move around.

3. Shake out your clothes after washing. Then hang them correctly on the line. To avoid peg marks that need ironing out, hang the clothes by the strongest part of the fabric.

4. Take a long shower. Don’t have time to iron? Just hang whatever you wanted to wear in the bathroom while you’re taking a hot shower and let the steam work its magic. You can also fill a spray bottle with water, spray the wrinkled garment and hang it or lay it flat. The creases will disappear as the water dries.

5. Eliminate. Your grandmother might frown upon this idea, but think about which items really need ironing. The shirt you wear to work? Definitely! Towels and bedlinens? Not necessarily. Eliminating some items this way can save you hours of ironing.

6. Make it fun. Sometimes you just can’t avoid the dreaded iron, but at least you can make it as pleasant as possible. Light a scented candle, pour a glass of wine and turn on your favourite show. That pile of laundry will disappear sooner than you think.