Packing work shirts.

lostinrates

DH might be going to work abroad three days a week. In any case, he's away work days. ATM he washes/irons his own weekday shirts, because of this. However, if he starts travelling more I'd really like to help him with this...if nothing else ironing in a hotel room is a bit miserable. Most of the time he wears ''smart casual'' but few times a week he wears ''proper'' shirts and ties. Is there a way I can iron and fold them, i.e. how they arrive when new? I'd like it to be so that all he had to do was un pack them. I know they'll get fold creases, but this might be better than a travel iron?

BitterAndTwisted

You've got some time to perfect your folding technique. It's not particularly difficult to do but I'm finding impossible to describe right now. One thing that's really important is to ensure that the shirts have completely cooled after being pressed and that they're buttoned up before you start folding. I've heard that folding them into tissue-paper stops them getting too crushed but then so will not over-packing whatever luggage they're going into.

Pink.

Hi, lostinrates,

This is how I do it, although I don't use tissue or plastic unless it's for a special event. The trick is not to over pack the bag and unpack and hang up the shirts as soon as you arrive.

Pink

greenbee

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

You've got some time to perfect your folding technique. It's not particularly difficult to do but I'm finding impossible to describe right now. One thing that's really important is to ensure that the shirts have completely cooled after being pressed and that they're buttoned up before you start folding. I've heard that folding them into tissue-paper stops them getting too crushed but then so will not over-packing whatever luggage they're going into.

There are probably you tube videos of how to fold shirts (ETA well done pink for finding it...)! And yes, folding them round tissue paper does help. You also need to make sure that they have room to be packed flat. A suitcase is better than a squashy bag if travelling for business, but most of my colleagues go for the nylon wheely cases rather than the hard shell ones. Its definitely worth investing in decent luggage if he is travelling regularly. Even in economy, he should be able to take a week's stuff in his laptop case and hand luggage if he learns to pack (and dress!) carefully!

I can do it (and I reckon girls need more stuff) as long as I'm not taking gym kit (swimming stuff takes up less room), and it's shoes more than anything that take up space, as I always need one pair of high heels but don't want to travel in them!

lostinrates

Thank you! I knew you would have the answer and the encouragement. I'm a pretty good ironer, the folding bit is the bit I'm more worried about!

DianaMattos

I have been packing my husbands shirts since we were students!! I used to work at M&S as a saturday girl in the Menswear department, so I can fold shirts to roughly the size of an A4 piece of paper (also a Royal Navy requirement as DH was in the Navy).

Anyway, I'm going to try and explain it to the best of my ability:

Button shirt from top to bottom, can do every other button but the collar must be done up.
Turn shirt over
Fold each sleeve into the middle of the shirt using the edge of the shoulder as the outermost point. Looking at the shirt now, each side should have a sleeve and a little of the front folded over.
Fold the shirt up from the bottom so that the cuffs and the bit of the shirt below the bottom button stick out over the collar.
Tuck in the sticky-out bits over the collar in behind the top of the sleeves.
Voila.

When your husband arrives in his hotel, get him to unpack the shirts and hang them up. They shouldn't be too creased!

I hope this is clear enough! It does take practice to get it looking good though, and if you are still not sure, there must be some how to videos on YouTube:)

Owain_Moneysaver

If you fold them you will get fold creases.

Iron shirt and lay flat facing up.

Fold sleeves in diagonally across shirt. Tuck cuffs up if necessary.

Fold up the tail of the shirt.

Start rolling gently from the bottom. You will end up with a shirt sausage with the collar at the top. These can be stacked alternately collar-to-sausage.

When arrive at destination, unroll, shake, put on hanger and leave in shower. Any horizontal creases will drop out - vertical creases won't.

Or just put shirts on thin hangers and use a suit bag.

floss2

My OH has travelled with his job for over 15 years, and he swears by the zip-top plastic laundry bags from Lakeland. Another advantage is that he can just keep them in their bags until he gets dressed, so no major unpacking in each hotel. And finally, they stay smooth and crease free, even after security checks. OH's luggage has been rifled by the security staff of most large airlines, including El-Al when flying into Israel who aren't the tidiest when checking cases.

The ironing gets done, his shirts hang on hangers until he packs, and he has been known to take enough for 3 weeks trips i.e. 15 work shirts plus casual shirts.

The way he does it is this:

Fasten top button & alternate buttons down shirt
Lie shirt face down on bed
Fold body from left seam one quarter in towards centre of back, taking sleeve straight across to other sleeve
Fold sleeve back towards folded edge at a point 1/4 away from other seam
Fold right side across by 1/4 towards centre of back, taking sleeve across to other sleeve
Fold sleeves diagonally & together so they lie down back of shirt
Fold body of shirt up by 1/4 from bottom
Fold body of shirt in half
Turn over, insert into bag & zip up.

Repeat for all shirts, doing the same with dirty ones when packing to return but leave top button open so he knows which he's worn!

This gives an uncreased "chest", which is all that will be seen when wearing a jacket, by the time he takes that off his sleeves will be creased at the elbows anyway!

I would second Greenbee's advice to buy good quality luggage, OH has had Antler's top-range fabric cases for over 10 years (not hard because they are heavier) and has even had a repair done by the Antler factory after damage by an airline.

lostinrates

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

If you fold them you will get fold creases.

Iron shirt and lay flat facing up.

Fold sleeves in diagonally across shirt. Tuck cuffs up if necessary.

Fold up the tail of the shirt.

Start rolling gently from the bottom. You will end up with a shirt sausage with the collar at the top. These can be stacked alternately collar-to-sausage.

When arrive at destination, unroll, shake, put on hanger and leave in shower. Any horizontal creases will drop out - vertical creases won't.

Or just put shirts on thin hangers and use a suit bag.

I have tried rolling shirts unsuccessfully in the past. It seems to work for most things, but not work shirts, for us anyway. I think as floss says, the key is keeping the chest ''sharp''.

Luggage is soft...but good quality. Still....I have a few boxes that smart shirts came in...that might do the trick, even if it does take up more room.

I noticed that the shirt on the you tube video was very stiff! I don't tend to use starch...would it help more or more deeply embed the folds?

floss2

lostinrates wrote: »

I have tried rolling shirts unsuccessfully in the past. It seems to work for most things, but not work shirts, for us anyway. I think as floss says, the key is keeping the chest ''sharp''.

Luggage is soft...but good quality. Still....I have a few boxes that smart shirts came in...that might do the trick, even if it does take up more room.

I noticed that the shirt on the you tube video was very stiff! I don't tend to use starch...would it help more or more deeply embed the folds?

Not sure about starch, but I can now fold as well as OH after lots of practice! Boxes may be too bulky, these are the zipper bags, OH buys the large ones.

lil_me

My Dad always used a garment bag, http://www.ebags.com/product/david-king-and-co/48-deluxe-garment-bag/133327?productid=1346039 like these